Fandare (The Complex Book 0) Read online

  “So…” Halley said.

  “So,” I replied.

  “You and Fandare…”

  I paused and looked at her before going back to what I was working on. “Is that a statement or a question?” I asked.

  “A little of both,” she replied. “I don’t know if you know this, but Fandare is really a good person. You should give him a chance.”

  “Who said I wasn’t giving him a chance?”

  “Well, I know you haven’t really taken things very seriously since you’ve been here. I’m just trying to let you know that Fandare would totally be worth it.” She smiled and nodded her head.

  “I kind of got that, thanks.”

  “So… you and Fandare.”

  I tossed my rag down. “Are you going to keep repeating that, or is there something specific you want to ask me?”

  “I’m trying to see what you thought of him.”

  “I think he’s a great guy. He was a true gentleman last night.”

  Halley looked around before she leaned in closer to me. “What about the goodnight kiss?”

  “What makes you think he kissed me?”

  “There should be a kiss—he’s Strogi. But if there was anything else, I don’t want to know.”

  I smirked. What I wanted to say was Oh, there was something else. Just, you know, the two of us getting bonded together, and now we are officially sisters and in the same clan, but other than that, there really isn’t much of anything else to say. But what I ended up saying was “You don’t have to worry, I won’t ruin his reputation.”

  Halley’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “Oh, no, no, no, that wasn’t what I meant at all!”

  “I know, Halley, calm down, it’s okay. I was giving you a hard time.”

  She smiled sheepishly. “So, when are you going to see him next?

  I knew he was getting closer: my mark warmed up the nearer he was to me. “In about three seconds.” I nodded to the door as it dinged and he strode over to us.

  “Good evening, my sweetest Cyn and the loveliest Halley. How are you two ladies today?”

  I heard Halley sigh next to me. Who knew she was a hopeless romantic? But I really couldn’t blame her—Fandare was charming.

  “Much better now,” I said truthfully. “Are you ready?”

  “For you I’m always ready.” He bowed slightly and Halley sighed again.

  “Brother, why don’t you get Cyn out of here before my wife starts hyperventilating because she has sighed so much over you?” Lucian stated from the other room.

  “Now that is one command I am more than happy to follow,” Fandare said as he offered me his arm.

  It felt like I had been made to be there, tucked up against his rock-hard body.

  “What’s on the agenda tonight?” he asked as we strolled through the Complex streets.

  “Duce says he has more information for me. I thought we could meet up and I could introduce the two of you while he tells me what he knows. We are running out of time and need to find the relic.”

  “We’ll get it.”

  He was so confident—so much more than I was. I guess it was good that one of us was. Even if I couldn’t find the relic, I felt better knowing the fact that Fandare would find some way to save me. I had a deep feeling that you didn’t want to cross him. While he might look and act charming, there was something underneath that ran dark. I was pretty sure he was twice as deadly as he was handsome.

  Same as the night before, once we arrived at my quarters, Fandare stood against the wall and waited for me. I went in and quickly changed into proper clothing, knowing we were going underground. I was hopeful that Duce would find something—anything to get us one step closer to the relic. I also hoped that he and Fandare would get along. There weren’t many people I could rely on, and if they were friendly, well then my life would be that much happier.

  I looked over at the calendar, and felt my heart sink and the turmoil in my gut begin to swirl again. Mentally counting the days, I saw there wasn’t much time left. Maybe today was the day we would find the relic and I would be free.

  Chapter Thirteen

  FANDARE

  March 17, 6 AS

  Since I didn’t know Duce, I didn’t trust him. I don’t care what he had or hadn’t done for Cyn—my job was to protect her. He had to earn my trust before I would allow him near her alone. I wanted the meeting on my terms, so we met at Marfa II, where I could control the outcome. Everyone there was on my side.

  When we arrived, I nodded at Bob behind the bar and his eyes slid to the end, where Duce sat alone. I was impressed he was there early and didn’t appear to be playing any games. Without a word he followed us to one of the back rooms, where we would have privacy yet be on guard with the one-way mirrored windows. I didn’t want people to know any more than they already did.

  “Have a seat.” I gestured to the couch on one end of the room and we sat down on the adjacent one. I pulled Cyn close to me, letting him know there was no doubt she was with me. “Cyn has been telling me that you’ve been helping her. We appreciate that, but now I’m also going to be helping. Any information you give to her, you can give to me. There are times I might ask you to do some extra work. Cyn highly recommends your skills. You, of course, will be paid handsomely for any information you get us.”

  “Of course.” Duce nodded. “I always love to unravel a good puzzle.” He looked at me and then at Cyn, then back to me. “I’ve always found it is interesting to dig underneath the surface of what people show you to find their secrets. Don’t you?”

  “Everyone is always hiding something,” I said. “Especially those they barely whisper to themselves. So yes, I can understand the allure of finding out everyone’s secrets.”

  “As you said, it would appear we are on the same page. Of course, you know I would do anything to help Cyn, and I’m assuming you also feel the same way.” Duce stared at me.

  “It would appear so,” I said.

  “Oh, for the love of everything you hold dear, will you two stop it? We’re all on the same side here. I’ve been working with Duce for over a year and a half now. I can trust him, and he can trust me. He knows I don’t do anything illegal with the information he gives me. And I can see that he isn’t going to turn me in. We are limited on time and we are running out of Metas to search—which means we are either going to find the information I’m looking for soon, or we’ll have to start all over again. I’d prefer not to have to do that. Let’s keep our heads in the game and leaving the pissing contest outside the Complex.” She gave us both a look that showed she was serious.

  I looked at her again and couldn’t believe we were bonded. She was amazing.

  “Thank you for being there for us, and I know how much it means to Cyn that she can trust you.” I stood up and offered my arm in respect.

  He grabbed my forearm. A slight ripple went through the air. There were no telltale signs as to what he was thinking or feeling, yet something shifted. If he was going to double-cross us, he wouldn’t survive. I had no problem killing.

  Chapter Fourteen

  CYN

  March 17, 6 AS

  “No, you’re not doing this,” Fandare said.

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Now you’re telling me what I can and cannot do? You do realize I’ve already searched the vast majority of the Metas’ quarters here, and now you’re telling me I can’t?” My voice went up in volume at the end.

  “It was different then.” He folded his arms across his chest.

  “How was it different? It is the exact same thing I’ve done every other time. I’m safer now because we are bonded. Not only do we share your magic, but we have an innate sense of where the other is and if there is any danger approaching. Before, all I had to rely on was my invisibility and skills.”

  “I don’t like it. I think I should be the one to go.”

  “Why do you think you should go instead of me? Because you are a man?”

  “No, that
’s not it at all,” Fandare said. “Don’t you understand I’m supposed to protect you? How can I do that when you are going into some place that has the potential to be dangerous? I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to like it. But I’m going. You know what’s at stake, Fandare.”

  He gathered me up in his arms and held me tight. “I worry about you. I don’t want to lose you now that I have found you.”

  “I understand. Trust me, I completely understand. You’re going to have to trust me that I can do this. There's still some time to search. Yes, we are running out of it, but let me do this. Please.”

  Fandare pulled away from me and locked eyes with me. “Please,” he said, using the same tone I did. “Do everything you can to be careful. I’ll be as close as possible and aiding you with my magic. Promise me.”

  “I promise, with everything I am, that I will be careful.”

  “That is all I can ask.”

  With a quick, hard kiss, I left him. Walking away from Fandare was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but I needed to, and it would all be worth it.

  I walked through the Alpine dome, Main City, and then into the Arid dome, all while I was invisible. As I walked by one of the quarters, my bonded mark began to heat up. It led me past the one Fandare was using. The plan was for him to be as close to the quarters I was going to be searching as possible.

  As usual, I quickly searched all the typical hiding places. It didn’t take long. I stood in the middle of the room and slowly spun. I knew I was missing something. Where was the secret? Everyone had one. Closing my eyes, I reached out with my limited understanding of my magic and tried to search, using it to go into places I couldn’t see. As an extension of my body, I used it to seek out what I was looking for. Before long I found the hidden box.

  This was different: I could tell there was ward placed on it to make the average searcher pass it by. However, with Fandare’s magic I was able to see it. I tried to calm down the hope that wanted to burst from me—that I had found the relic, and therefore my freedom.

  Carefully, with shaking hands, I opened the lid and started searching through the information. I couldn’t see the person who was doing the recording, but I could see who they were talking to. It was Duce. My heart was breaking as I continued to look through the box. I knew the Meta was part of the Mishonnock Tribe that held my freedom.

  There were two people in the Complex watching me. One I had no idea who it was, and the other had befriended me, making sure I was doing what I was supposed to do. I was so focused on the box and my heartbreak that I didn’t hear the door open.

  “Show yourself.” A deep growl filled the room. “I know you’re in here.”

  I froze, and before I knew it Fandare was by my side, grabbing me and flashing us back to my quarters.

  “I’ll kill him,” Fandare said in a low, menacing voice.

  “I can’t believe I was so stupid. Why did I trust him? It was all for show—nothing was real?”

  “He’ll pay for his this. I’ll rip him apart, limb from limb.”

  I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “We have bigger problems. They’re going to know we’re on to them. We need to come up with a plan. My freedom could be jeopardized.”

  Suddenly there was banging on the door. Fandare and I spun, looking at it.

  “Cyn, let me in. I can explain everything.” Duce’s voice carried through the door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  FANDARE

  March 17, 6 AS

  In an instant, I grabbed Duce and pulled him into the room and pinned him against the wall, shoving my forearm against his throat. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shove my hand inside of you and pull your insides out.”

  “Wait,” Duce choked. “Let me explain.”

  “There’s nothing for you to explain,” I growled. “You betrayed Cyn. There is no forgiveness for that.” My eyes glowed red.

  I felt Cyn’s fingers on my arm. “Wait a minute,” she said.

  I swung my head toward her in anger. “There is no wait, there is only pain.”

  “Maybe he can give us some information. We need to understand at least why he did what he did before we kill him.”

  I knew it made perfect sense to get everything we could out of him before I ripped him apart, but the urge to kill was coursing through my veins. It was painful to rein it in and not allow myself to act on it.

  Taking a step back, I released him. Knowing I could move faster than he could, I wasn’t worried about him running.

  Duce bent over and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

  “Tell us now,” I said.

  Carefully, Duce straightened up and spoke to Cyn. “You know what it’s like. You know what they are capable of. You were searching for the relic to buy your freedom. I was watching you to buy mine. We both had a job to do, but now that you know about me, I don’t know what is going to happen.”

  “Seems to me,” I said, “that you are the scum of this system and you’re no better than they are.”

  Duce ignored me and continued to talk to Cyn. “It was the same deal you had. I was to keep tabs on you, give you all the information I could get on the Metas here at the Complex. You know who they are. They wanted to play with you—this couldn’t be easy. I was to pass along just enough information for you to keep searching, but never really find what you were looking for. As long as I did my job and you eventually found the relic, they wanted to play with you for a bit. I would have my freedom too. Otherwise I’d be sold to the highest bidder. As you know, that outcome would be deadly.”

  Shaking her head, Cyn took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”

  “I understand.” Duce hung his head. “All I can do now is help you succeed, because at least I can guarantee one of us will have our freedom.”

  “What do you know?” My voice was low and menacing.

  “Before I tell you, I want you to know, I didn’t tell him about the two of you.”

  “What. About. Us.” With each word, I took a step closer to him.

  “That you are together. I knew as soon as I saw the two of you up on the deck the night of the meteor shower, then you disappeared together. I didn’t tell him about any of that,” Duce repeated.

  “Thank you,” Cyn said. “What else can you tell us?”

  “I know what you’re looking for.”

  “In exchange for your life, I assume,” I said with a sneer.

  Duce swung his eyes back to me. “As much as I would love to live, I somehow think that anything you could do to me would be an easier death than what would happen if you let me go and they sold me. So no, it really doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “Please tell me, Duce,” Cyn asked.

  “What you are looking for is a piece of jewelry—a bracelet, to be exact. It’s an ancient relic. They don’t think it is being worn right now. It should be laying around somewhere.”

  “What is so important about this bracelet?” I asked.

  “It is enchanted. The story goes it originated on Earth, at the very beginning of the Human race. It’s been used over the millennia to bring life to both Human and Metas when their numbers dwindled.”

  I became very still and looked over at Cyn, whose mouth was slightly open. Looking back at Duce, I said, “Do you know what it looks like?”

  “Yeah—it’s about three inches wide, hand-hammered gold, with jewels in the form of a Tree of Life.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  CYN

  March 18, 6 AS

  We were alone in Fandare’s quarters. He wanted to be close to Lucian if anything happened—not to mention his magical tools. We would be combining our magics for the first time and using them to find the bracelet. We sat comfortably on the floor together and faced each other, holding hands we gazed into each other’s eyes.

  “Are you up for this task?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I nodded my head. “Now that we know what we’
re looking for, we should be able to find it. Right?”

  Fandare flashed his charming smile. “There’s no doubt in my mind we will. At this point it doesn’t matter which quarters you have already searched—we are going to go back through them all until we find the right one. You’ll get your freedom.”

  I tried to put a lid on the excitement that was starting to bubble up deep inside so I could focus on the task at hand. We were close, almost there. I wanted to relax and enjoy my time that was left on the Complex with Fandare. Once our time was over, we’d be going home to his planet, forever.

  Fandare squeezed my hands. “I need you to breathe in and out, rhythmically—match yours to mine. All you need to do is follow my magic with yours. Okay?”

  I nodded, and I could feel his magic start to build in the room. I tried to focus on mine, but it was much weaker, but I knew every little bit helped.

  Slowly he started to move further away from our bodies and I followed him. It was strange and felt like no more effort was needed to move my magic than it took for me to move one of my arms. My magic was ever-flowing, with Fandare’s circling around mine. We searched the quarters in this dome and moved on to the next one, and continued through the Complex.

  We knew the instant we found it, and Fandare used his magic to transport us to the quarters. Within seconds I had the bracelet in my hand, and looked up at him with awe and wonder.

  Worn from age, the jewels on the ends of the branches sparkled as the light caught them.

  “So beautiful,” I said.

  Fandare came up and ran his finger over the tree. Out of nowhere came a blinding flash of light and a deafening booming sound. Trying to keep from screaming from the pain, I grabbed my wrist as the cold metal of the bracelet fused to my skin.