Page 94 of Blinding Light

“I get it. I used to love being out most of the day. Dinners were always spent together with the family and our closest advisors and guards. But come evening, I’d be here, alone, listening to music and playing games. Sometimes I’d just sit here and stare outside.”

“Well, this place sure has a magnificent view.” Cyprian gazed outside and at the mountains. “That’s not the capital city, is it?”

“No, Zephyr is on the other side. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but the Green Mansion is on the far edge of the city, right by the hills. The city is at our feet.” Moargan hunched down and pressed his multi-slate against a panel, making the room fill with soft music. “I’ve got us something.” When he stood, he held a data chip in his hand.

“What’s that?”

“Let me show you.”

Moargan entered the chip in a holo computer and the projector lit up with a report.

“Are thosehandwrittenreports?” Cyprian asked.

“Zimeon is an old dog,” Moargan chuckled. “He used to love writing everything down on paper. Still does. This is the original contract signed by your father.”

There was a jumble of important-looking curls and dots, andCyprian had to squeeze his eyes to catch the actual meaning of those words. “It’s hard to read.”

“It is. Part of the game, undoubtedly. Write something they can’t read, don’t give them the full information, and have them sign regardless.”

“Is my name in there anywhere? Like, my real name?”

Moargan looked up, a soft glow in his eyes. “Your name is perfect, lover. It suits you.”

Cyprian smiled. His heart fluttered at the words. “Does it say the name of my mother?”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” Moargan tapped his finger on the holo screen. “Look at that address. That’s not where we went the other day. Looks like your father moved afterward. At least you weren’t born in that shithole.” They scrolled down to the end. At the bottom of the document was Ludo’s signature. “There’s no sign of your mother. I wonder if they accepted the babies even without the agreement of both parents. Aww…look at that.” Moargan scrolled lower, revealing the image of a newborn. “Baby Cyprian.”

Cyprian’s throat locked up, chest tightening dangerously and his eyes burned.

Baby Cyprian.A chubby, little creature laid in a cod, dressed in nothing but a diaper. Curly handwriting said:Dariux 36.

“That’s me.” Cyprian’s fingers reached for the projection, flitting his tips over the lines of the baby. His little frame, small head, a tuft of dark hair. “Sold to the laboratories.”

“Survivedthe laboratories,” Moargan corrected. “You are part of us,aeon. You are Dariux. You are part of the few artificially gifted people who were made to rule this world.”

Cyprian looked up from the holo screen. A tear rolled down his cheeks. His chest hurt. Perhaps it was because of the contract, so carelessly signed by Ludo Fandi, or to see himself as a helpless baby, brought to the laboratories, ready to die. Moargan was right. He hadn’t died. He was still here. But rightnow, with the bitter truth projected right in his face, that didn’t make him feel any better. “Visions and voices. Exploding light bulbs. That’s all I can do. What if I’m defective?”

Moargan’s eyes flashed. “You are not defective.”

“No.” Cyprian looked back at the report. Part of him knew that, and realized what was happening inside of him. But that other part, that boy from Tulniri who had left his past behind to understand his future, was afraid. “I’m scared. I’m sorry—” He wiped his eyes.

“Don’t be scared. We will find all your truths.”

“I still have questions. I know I should be grateful for the answers I have so far, but…I want to know where my mother is.”

Had she wanted him?

“Where are my siblings?”

Were they still alive?

Cyprian looked around as if taking the room in for the first time. “I want to know whoyouare.”

“Your bonded, lover, that’s who I am. Your prince. And you are my chosen one. My Royal Consort.” Moargan crawled back onto the bed until he reached the headboard.

“My bonded—” Cyprian gazed outside the darkening sky. That made him feel better. In a ridiculous kind of way.He wiped his tears away with the back of his sleeve. “Helion light truly is fascinating.”

Behind him, Moargan chuckled. “I don’t know, lover. What’s the light like where you’re from?”

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