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“Ah, well it seems Earth 104 failed its third trial.”
I bolt up off the bed.
“Is it gone?” I ask, panicking.
“No.” Kyan removes the orb from his inside pocket. “I guess I should have led with that bit of information first before worrying you.”
The crack on the surface is gone. I take the sphere from Kyan and cradle it to my breast.
“Then what happened? I thought one failure meant total annihilation of the planet.”
“Generally, yes, but do you remember me telling you about my little experiment with the AI in this world?”
“Yes. You made it sentient.”
“Turns out, she’s learned to value her own life, so she made a deal with your granddaughter.”
“What kind of deal?” I ask suspiciously.
“Why don’t I give you the details on the way over to your lab? It will save time because your granddaughter is going to need you.”
“Why do I need to go to my lab?”
“Please, trust me.”
Oberon lifts a dubious eyebrow at the geomancer. “The queen has been through a lot tonight. She needs her rest.”
“It’s all right.” I place a comforting hand on Oberon’s arm. “Come with us. That will help me more than anything.”
As we leave my room, Kyan begins to tell us everything that’s happened on Earth 104. Some of it is hard to believe. When he comes to the bargain Ivy made with the AI, my heart hurts for her. My granddaughter is stronger than most people, and able to see the big picture. She has sacrificed a lot, but I wonder if I can help her in some small way.
If the AI is into bargaining, then maybe I can make a deal with her too.
Chapter 16
(Ivy’s Point of View)
What makes a person who they are? From childhood, we’re taught right from wrong, and through years of making mistakes and experiencing triumphs, we become someone. Whether we’re the hero or the villain of our story, it’s our memories of past and present that mold our future. Without those experiences, who do we become? An empty shell? A hollow soul that seeks the answers that have been stolen from us?
Before I even lift my eyelids, I feel the sting of tears burn my eyes like the hottest flame. The emptiness I feel in my heart and soul cries out in a loud, anguished scream.
I’ve lost everything. I have no family to call my own. The man I love will only know me as his queen. In his eyes, I’ll be a veritable stranger. What exactly do I have to live for?
“She’s awake,” I hear Jack say in the room.
His voice startles me. I open my eyes to find myself in the same bed as the night before, naked underneath the covers. When I look at the other pillow, Damon is gone, but I already knew he would be. It was part of my bargain with Agatha.
“Ivy.” The person calling my name sits on the bed beside me.
It’s Emily. My grandmother. The woman who shared her memories with me through the circlet to show me Earth’s past and all of the mistakes that were made on both sides of the war.
Thinking she’s a hologram, I raise my hand and try to pass it through her, but my hand meets flesh and blood. She’s real.
“Am I still dreaming?” I ask, feeling disoriented.
“No,” she says kindly, “you’re awake.”
“How?” Confusion and surprise at her physical presence makes me momentarily speechless. “Why are you here?”
