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Jessie nodded. “He seems to be fine, just some residual bruising.”
“Well, I’m glad. Listen, tell Edgar that Peter should just forget about my existence. If it’s ever safe, when this thing with Korum is over, I’ll contact him myself.”
Jessie promised to do so, and they chatted some more about Edgar. Jessie was supposed to see him tonight, and Mia again envied the ease and simplicity of her roommate’s life.
Mia was now literally wearing the fate of her species on her finger, and the burden felt far heavier than the light silver circle could ever be on its own.
* * *
That night, Korum made dinner for them again. After agonizing over the best way to approach summer plans, Mia decided to just tell him straight out. First, though, she wanted to make sure that he would be in a good mood and receptive to the idea.
The dinner was delicious as usual. Mia gladly consumed another creatively made salad – she had definitely developed a taste for them – and a bean crepe wrapped in seaweed with a spicy mushroom sauce.
If she succeeded in her mission, there would be no more dinners like this. Korum would be forced to go back to Krina – if he even survived the attack on their settlements.
At that thought, Mia felt a strange squeezing sensation in her chest. She didn’t want him killed. He might be the enemy, but she didn’t want to see him get hurt in any way.
Furiously thinking about this, she resolved to ask John to grant Korum safe passage – if she did get her hands on the data. Of course, even the thought of him simply leaving the planet was oddly agonizing. You silly twit, he did manage to get under your skin.
“A penny for your thoughts,” teased Korum, apparently noticing the introspective look on Mia’s face.
“Um, I’m just thinking about all the stuff I still have to do before the end of the week – turn in all those papers and then start packing . . .” Mia let her voice trail off. It seemed like a good segue into what she wanted to discuss today.
“Packing?” A slight frown appeared on his smooth forehead.
“Yes, well, you know the semester will be over soon,” Mia said cautiously, her heart rate beginning to increase. “After finals, I have to go home, to Florida, to see my parents, and then I have an internship in Orlando –”
His expression visibly darkened. “And when were you going to tell me about this?” His voice was deceptively calm.
Mia slowly chewed the last bite of her food and swallowed it. “I thought you knew everything about me already, including my summer plans.” The evenness of her tone matched his, despite the pounding of her heart.
“The background check I did on you a month ago was not sufficiently comprehensive, I guess,” he said, still dangerously calm.
Mia shrugged. “I guess not.” She was proud of how bravely she was handling this discussion. Maybe she would make a decent spy yet.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said quietly. His eyes were taking on that golden tint that she now associated with all kinds of strong emotions.
“Korum, I have to.” Mia tried to think of ways to convince him. “I have to see my parents and sister – she’s pregn
ant, actually – and then I have a really good internship lined up at a local camp, where I would be a counselor for children who are going through a difficult time . . .”
He just looked at her, his lack of expression scaring her more than any outward anger.
“All right,” he said. “I will take you to see your family this summer . . . just not next week. I can’t leave New York quite yet. And if you want, I will find you an internship here as well, something within your field that you would enjoy.”
Mia felt a cold sensation radiating from her core all the way down to her toes. Up until now, even though she knew he regarded her as his pleasure toy, their relationship had a semblance of normality. He might have considered her his human pet, but she could still pretend he was her boyfriend – an arrogant and domineering one, for sure . . . but still just a boyfriend. Now that illusion was broken. If he really did go so far as to disregard her summer plans made months in advance, then he had absolutely no respect for her rights as a person – and probably no qualms about keeping her as his charl indefinitely, until he got bored with her.
Her fists were tightly clenched on the table, she noticed, and she forced herself to relax her fingers before proceeding. “And when you’re done with your business in New York,” she asked quietly, “what happens then?”
He regarded her with a level gaze. “Why don’t we cross that bridge when we come to it?” he suggested gently. “That might not be for a while.”
“No,” said Mia, past the point of caring. “I want to cross that bridge now. If your business gets done next week, what would happen then?”
He didn’t answer.
Mia could feel herself getting even colder inside. Slowly getting up from the table, she searched for something to say. There was really nothing. She wanted to yell and scream and throw something at him, but that would not accomplish anything. The clueless Mia that she was supposed to be would not read anything particularly sinister into his silence. It was only Mia the spy who knew what could happen to a girl that a K regarded as his charl.
So she acted the way he would expect any normal girl to act when her boyfriend was being unreasonable. “Korum,” she told him with a stubborn expression on her face, “I’m going to Florida this summer – and that’s that. I have a life that doesn’t just revolve around you. I made these plans months before I knew you, and I can’t change things around just because you want me to –”
