Page 4 of The Explorer
Aubri
The sight of my uncle’s drone flying off with my cousins Freya and Thor, my brother Mason, my friend Belle, and my brother-in-law Jonah, left me with a mix of emotions.
There was a feeling ofoh fuck why did I offer to stay behind? But even more so there was a feeling of pride. Because of my bravery my twin brother Mason could now marry my good friend Belle, who was pregnant with their child.
“I can’t believe you look relieved,” Indiana muttered next to me.
With the drone now a mere spot on the horizon, I turned to my life-long friend and saw him standing with his hands on his hips.
“Of all the trouble you’ve gotten me into over the years, this one takes the cake.”
“I didn’t ask you to stay,” I defended myself.
“It’s not like I had a bloody choice. Thor is the heir, Jonah is married and has children, and Mason had to focus on saving his woman and child. I was the only protector able to stay.”
“I’ve told you a million times that I don’t need a protector. I’m not like other women.”
“No, that’s bloody obvious. A normal woman wouldn’t have a strong death wish.”
I scoffed and mirrored his stance. “I don’t have a death wish.”
“Then why do you insist on putting yourself in danger all the time? Don’t think I’m fooled by your so-called self-sacrifice. The moment you met Banni and the other Explorers, your lust for adventure was ignited. I saw it in your eyes, Aubri.”
He was right, of course, but I hated to admit that, so instead I rolled my eyes and walked back the way we’d come.
Once we got back to the office of the French Prime Minister, all signs of Thor’s angry outburst had been erased. The chairs had been picked up from the floor and put back in place, and there were no papers spread out over the floor.
Victor was still there and the tension in the room told me that he had been arguing with the Prime Minister, Rafael Moreau.
“I trust you sent them off well?” The smirk on Rafael’s face made me want to throttle him.
“Yes.” I gave him a bored glare. “Let’s hope for your sake that they can talk my father and Khan into not starting a war to get me back. If I were you, I’d sleep with my clothes on for the next few weeks. If my father decides to come, he’ll start by killing you himself.”
Rafael’s hands went to his bald head and his thin gray eyebrows furrowed. “Jonah wouldn’t allow a war. He speaks with the weight of the Council of the Motherlands; surely your father and uncle would respect that.”
Indiana snorted. “If you think Magni Aurelius will just let you take his daughter, then you don’t know him. He’ll burn down all of Europe if he has to.”
“And kill innocent people?” Victor stood up from the chair he’d been sitting on.
I crossed my arms. “My father is a warrior and a protector, Victor. He’ll do whatever it takes to get me back.”
“Unless Mason, Thor, Freya, and Jonah can convince him that I’ll protect Aubri, that is,” Indiana added. “Let’s hope for your sake that they succeed.”
Victor’s eyes looked sunken in his skull as if acute sleep deprivation and worry was sucking him dry of energy.
“It’s your fault, you know,” I pointed my finger at him. “I still want to kick your ass for speaking to Freya like you did. She was trying to be brave and offer herself so that Mason and Belle could be happy together. You humiliated and degraded her in front of everyone.”
Victor’s hands folded along his sides. “I don’t know what Freya’s game was about, but I know that she didn’t mean it. There’s no way in hell she would truly want to live with me.”
We had all been under pressure when Rafael Moreau had demanded Freya stay behind in exchange for him letting Belle go. We had all watched in horror as Freya offered to sacrifice herself. Her demands had been that she didn’t want to give up her children like they did here in Old Europe, and that she wanted to have them with Victor. Knowing my cousin Freya, she had picked Victor because of his status as a genius. It had to be that because his personality was obnoxious.
Scowling at Victor, I spoke in an accusatory tone. “I’m not claiming to understand Freya’s logic, but you tried to fucking crush her. That thing you said about preferring to drink radioactive water rather than sleeping with her was more than I could listen to. You’re such a bag of shit, Victor.”
Indiana grunted in agreement.
Rafael stood up from his chair behind his large desk. “If we can move on from these childish squabbles, we should look at the practicalities. I’ve already instructed Victor to take you to your apartment. You’ll be delighted to hear that it’s above ground and close to the park.”
“I didn’t think you had any available apartments. Isn’t that what you tell the people living below ground?”
