Roihan Page 16

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Roihan

  They landed, and Aielle was waiting for them at the tree line.

  “I think I've done it," she informed them. “However, this is the only crystal we have. I had to use the magic from one of Mother’s other crystals, and I don’t have another like it.”

  “So you’re saying we can never make more of the antidote?” Aria asked.

  “Not unless we go back to Baihu and get another crystal,” Aielle replied. “Or we find a miracle on this planet.”

  “Well, then, we better get it right the first time. Let’s get this crystal to the device and try it,” Roihan said. “After we finish curing people, maybe we can use it to fight some Ardaks. Who knows, we may get lucky.”

  Aria nodded faintly and led the group back to the lab they had been using.

  “She’s all yours,” Mordjan said, standing and picking up his tools. “I’ve just finished soldering the last piece into place. And Valdjan and Simban hauled up plenty of sucrose for us to begin.” He pointed to four enormous buckets in the corner as Aielle slid into the seat he had just vacated.

  Aria examined the tubes for the carbon, magnesium, oxygen, hydrogen, potassium, calcium, synchisite, sucrose, and trace minerals, which were connected to the device at different points before she turned it on. "It isn’t a linear synthesis," Aria explained to Aielle. "You see how those two tubes come together about halfway through and join a third for the last reaction? Tristin's team discovered that process of convergent synthesis. Our only addition has been this." Aria adjusted the crystal housing to fit and then locked the device into place.

  "Now all that's left is to test it." Aria flipped the switch, and the machine sprang to life. "It should take about two standard hours to synthesize about a pound of the product. But if we've done it correctly, that pound should cure around a thousand people."

  "How many pounds can we make with the material you have?" Aielle asked.

  “Maybe about a thousand. We’ll run out of synchisite first. But we have no idea how long this crystal is going to last.” She grabbed a tester. “I’ll measure the energy after we’ve synthesized five pounds and then we can estimate how long we have. Let’s just hope the antidote is the strength we need."

  “We’ll find out in two hours,” Aria replied.

  "How are we going to test the antidote once it's done?" Tordan asked.

  "I have a feeling there will be some people sick enough that they will want to try it," Aielle answered.

  “Or children sick enough that their parents will want them to try it,” Roihan murmured.

  Tordan clasped his shoulder. “Quite right, my friend.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Aria

  Aria stayed in the background as the others filed out of the ship, going toward the palace to get food and await the first batch of completed antidote.

  Then she turned and snuck away, down the corridor to one of the other labs.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Roihan’s voice startled her.

  “What do you think?” She answered his question with a question, unclasping the chain from around her neck.

  “You were going to do this alone?” he asked, his voice almost angry.

  “We need to see what’s on it. And this is the perfect time.”

  “Yes, we do. When we do dangerous stuff, we do it together.”

  She looked upward. “Or we don’t do it at all. I’m a grown woman, Roihan. I doubt I’m going to ask your permission for everything I do.”

  A look passed between them, and he came closer, brushing a piece of hair back from her face. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just trying to be around in case something goes wrong.”

  “Well, now you’re here. Let’s find out what’s on this.” She plugged the key into the computer before sitting in her chair and reaching for the connector.

  His fingers brushed hers, and he held the connector out of reach for a moment. “I wish I could go in there with you. What will I do if something goes wrong?”

  “Pray that Aielle can fix me a second time,” she muttered, reaching for the connector. “Look, we don’t have a choice. Someone has to see what’s on this key. And he said it would bring back my memories.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He handed her the connector and dropped to his knees beside her chair.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of that. Not anymore.”

  He nodded unhappily.

  Aria closed her eyes, unsure what to expect. A simple line flashed across her field of vision:

  Welcome to RESIST. Please enter your name.

  She entered her name, and a moment later, red letters flashed across the field.

  Name unknown.

  She tried the name the Ardaks had given her.

  Welcome, ARRIA.

  There was a momentary flash of blackness and then a menu filled her vision. Home. Jailbreak. Firewall. Communications. Files.

  She mentally clicked Home, but the same menu appeared. She tried to open her eyes to ask Roihan, but her physical body was completely paralyzed.

  Telling herself she needed to stay calm, she mentally clicked Jailbreak, and another prompt came up.

  Jailbreak chip? Y / N

  Ouirer had told her that she was so much more than she thought she was and that this would set her free. Jailbreak sounded as if it would set her free, so she mentally clicked Y, hoping she wasn’t making the wrong choice.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Roihan

  Roihan stood over Aria, watching closely and wishing he knew what was happening inside her head. Her eyes were closed and her face was relaxed, so he wanted to believe it wasn’t anything bad.

  He had tried to shake her after about ten minutes, but there was no response, not even a fluttering of her eyelids. As the seconds passed, he counseled himself to be patient.

  Ouirer seemed to care for her. I doubt he would give her anything to hurt her.

  Slowly, the wait was driving him mad. To keep from ripping the connector from her neck, he moved around the room. He examined some of the other devices she was working on. Most were energy related, but others seemed to have something to do with magnetism.

  After about thirty standard minutes, she took a massive breath.

  She let it out in a whoosh, and her head fell forward into her hands. She began to sob.

  He ran to her, unhooked the connector, knelt, and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all right, baby. It’s going to be fine.”

  “It’s so horrible.” Her voice was a pained whisper. “I hate them. I hate them.”

  “Who do you hate?”

  “The Ardaks. Lying, conniving, deceitful . . .”

  “We all hate them, baby. But we’re fighting them. It’s going to be okay.”

  She cried and cried, but there was something different about her tears that he hadn’t felt before. There was a strength behind them.

  “Did you remember them?” he asked once her sobs had turned to small sniffles.

  She pulled back just enough to look at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Rian and Arian? Yes, of course . . .” New tears flooded her lashes and she pressed herself back against his chest.

  “It’s okay, baby. They’re gone now. In a better place. But we’re still here.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I didn’t know what to do. Should I have convinced you not to remember?”

  “No!” she cried fiercely. “I want to remember them. Their memories are all that exist now. And you and I are the ones who remember.”

  She pulled him closer, laying her head against his chest. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t . . . come back.”

  A tear slipped out from the corner of his eye. “You were my everything. My light, my life.” He brought one hand to his face. “But I wasn’t yours. After we lost them . . . I wasn’t enough. I’m sorry for that.”

  An errant tear slipped down her face, and he didn’t even know
if she was conscious of it.

  She gripped his sleeves, her eyes burning into his. “That’s bullshit. And untrue. You were my life, too, Roihan. The only man I’ve ever wanted. I just didn’t know how to deal with the pain. But you? You were always enough.”

  “I love you so much.” He held her to him, and a great sob of relief filled his chest. “I was so afraid I’d lose you again.”

  “You’re never going to lose me.” She held him just as tightly. “You’re stuck with me, Ronnie. Until my metal parts wear out. But I do have to tell you—” her eyes narrowed “—you did deserve every one of those punches.”

  He barked a laugh and pulled her close, and they held each other for long moments. For the first time in a long time, he felt peace. He didn’t have to be afraid that she was going to leave him. Or that they were going to die.

  At least not for a few days.

  Maybe he could even entice her into a private space sometime in the next few hours.

  Finally, she pushed him away slightly and rose. “We need to check on the antidote. And after we have it, all of you need to see what’s on that chip.”

  “Was it amazing?”

  “Beyond comprehension. But there is so much data that I haven’t even examined a tenth of it yet.”

  They left her lab and found everyone standing around the device. Aria bent over the table, examining the finished product. She looked up just long enough to see who entered before turning to Tordan with a smile. “We have enough to test it, but I think it’s done. Let’s hope it works.”

  “And if it does, the question will be how to distribute it to everyone who needs it," Mordjan replied. "There are five races living on five realms; although, the humans are taken care of."

  "I want to go," Simban said with an exaggerated smile. “Want to travel.”

  Valdjan turned to his brother. "Wasn’t going to Baihu a big enough adventure for you? You flew in space?”

  "You don’t have to.” Simban elbowed his brother in the ribs. “If you’re afraid.”

  Valdjan shook his head and covered his face with his hands.

  More of the tension left Roihan as he witnessed the brothers joke with each other. Despite everything they’d been through, there was still hope for the future.

  Aria poured some of the antidote into a container and then handed it carefully to Aielle, who carried it from the ship to the palace.

  When they passed the throne room, Aria nudged Roihan in the side. “I don’t have to be afraid to go in there anymore.”

  Roihan put an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head and allowing the relief and contentment to settle into his mind.

  Aielle proceeded down the corridor to the left and into a room that was filled with cots. Roihan had expected it to be full of elves and cyborgs all bustling to take care of the sick, but there was only a lone woman and a child.

  "The rest are outside playing," Aielle commented, taking a white towel from the child’s forehead and dipping it into the water before wringing it out and replacing it. "But Jofel didn't feel up to going this morning."

  The child moaned and turned to his side, and she repositioned the covers over him. Her smooth movements spoke of obvious practice at the task.

  "We think we might have manufactured an antidote. Would you like him to try it?"

  The woman’s head snapped in Aielle’s direction and hope sparked in her eyes. She stood and surveyed her charge before closing the short distance between him and the elven queen. "To be honest, my lady, I'd try just about anything at this point.” Her voice was low and fervent. “He isn’t the only one who is in dire need of a miracle."

  Aielle nodded and handed her the cure. “Have him drink this.”

  The cyborgs looked on while the boy drank, and within minutes, his color came back. Five minutes later, he ran out the door to join the others, shouting for them to drink the elven magic potion.

  “I guess it works.” Aria smiled up at Roihan, then turned to the others. “And we have a big job ahead. But it isn’t just about getting the cure to everyone who needs it. There is a rebellion of Ardaks and rebels working together to bring down the king.”

  “Ardaks and rebels are working together?” Aielle’s expression held the same astonishment she’d felt. “How do you know?”

  “I found out when I got my memories back. And you know what?”

  “What?” Roihan asked, taking her hand in his.

  “We’ve been asked to join it.”

  The End

  Or is it?

  Roihan and Aria have found their happily-ever-after, but how long will that be?

  The battle for Aurora continues in Simban: Cyborg Warriors Book 3.

  Author’s note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Roihan. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Roihan and Aria as much as I enjoyed writing them.

  If you’d like to join the rebellion against the Ardaks, you can join my Reader’s List, where you can get a free copy of Tovian: A Cyborg Warriors Tale. You’ll also receive notification of new releases and special offers on my books.

  I also hope you’ll consider dropping a quick review at the retailer of your choice.

  Thank you and happy reading!

  Immortal Angel

  About the Author

  Immortal Angel is always writing. Her specialty? Science fiction and fantasy romances that drop readers into a new world and leave them hanging on until the very end.

  Growing up on sci-fi, fantasy, and romance; she can't help but weave these elements into her stories. Which results in a whole lot of hot human men, supernatural males, and some very sexy aliens.

  Immortal Angel loves to hear from her readers, and of course, she wants to hear from you!

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