Page 64 of Undeniable

“Then how can I give up everything?”

“I have the power to reset this world and those who live in it,” she says. “No one will remember who they are or who they love, and you will have to live with the consequences. Only you will retain your memories. No one who loves you now will remember who you are except that you are their leader. Their queen.”

Chapter 13

“No, Ivy!” Boris rushes over to hug me so tightly it feels like he never intends to let me go. “I refuse to lose my memories of you and our life together. I won’t let that happen. Do you hear me?”

It’s not your choice to make, I want to say, but I know Boris would just argue the point.

“Why are you making her do this? She has people who love her. Don’t you understand how important that kind of connection is to us?” Margaret asks angrily. “Why can’t you leave us alone? What right do the all mighty fae have to decide our fate?”

“Those are very good questions,” Agatha acknowledges, “but I’m afraid I don’t have those answers for you. I am not fae. I simply took the form of one.”

“Then what are you?” Simon looks at her in disgust. “What manner of creature can decide the fate of a whole world?”

“I am an artificial intelligence. I was made by a fae to look after this Earth and to place you on trial to earn the right to rejoin the real world.”

“Real world?” Margaret says with a frown. “What do you mean the real world?”

“This is Earth 104,” Agatha explains. “You are inside an artificial world that the fae created for you to live in. Think of this world as a ball you would hold in the palm of your hand. The ball is this world and everything outside that ball is the real world.”

“That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard,” Simon scoffs, clearly not believing a word Agatha said.

“It may seem crazy to you, but it’s the truth,” she replies, not showing any emotion at being called a liar.

Simon shakes his head in denial, but Margaret looks alarmed now that she’s armed with the truth.

“I wondered how you could destroy this world without destroying the fae along with us,” Margaret says. “Now I see how.”

Again, everyone falls silent, but the room is far from quiet. My sobs of heartache and loss fill the space, echoing off the walls like a song of sorrow.

“Shh,” Boris says, hugging me even tighter. “We’ll figure a way out of this, poppet. We always do.”

With a sniff, I raise my head from his chest to look at his face. “Not this time. I don’t have a choice. We all die if I don’t do what she wants.”

Boris glares at Agatha like he wants to strangle her with his own hands. “Why are you making her choose to do this?”

“To prove humanity is worth saving,” she answers simply. “Damon showed courage and compassion in his trial. Alek showed the willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends. Simon was supposed to show logic and be able to see beyond his momentary needs. He failed to do that, so Ivy must do it for him. Taking away everyone she loves is the only way to prove humanity can see beyond their own selfishness and do what’s right for the greater good. That is the only thing that will save you. If she refuses, this world will cease to exist.”

“When?” I ask, stepping away from Boris and wiping away my tears. “When will it happen?”

“I will give you until tomorrow morning. After the twilight hour, everything will change.”

“But how will you do it?” Margaret asks. “How can you wipe everyone’s memories?”

“All of you have little machines inside your bodies called nanites. It’s placed in your water sources for moments like this. It’s how the first humans on this planet woke up without any memories of what happened in the real world.”

“What do the nanites do?” Margaret asks. “Do they eat the part of our brain that stores memories?”

Agatha shows her first emotion, confusion. “That is an odd assumption. No, they do not eat out your memories. They send out electrical pulses inside your brain. These pulses will wipe your memories clean so you can start fresh.”

“Give me one,” I beg her. “Give me one person who retains their memories and knows who I am. Please, I can’t live a life where no one knows me.”

Agatha tilts her head. “And who would you choose to remember you?”

I don’t even have to consider my answer. I know it instantly.

“I would choose Boris.”

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