Twisted Metal Heart - Eve Langlais Page 0,34

he moved out of range of the fog and climbed the hump he’d just exited, looking around to get his bearings. He could see the hillocks formed by the buried bunkers. Fifty-three was the actual count. Only one being used as a home.

Rather than risk his life going back for Alfred—He’s just a robot—or the supplies, he set off for Haven, wondering what he’d say. What his friends would think when they saw his new limbs.

Predictably, Gunner said, “Fucking awesome. Bet you that arm can jack off for hours.”

Axel shook his head. “Ignore the idiot.”

Whereas Oliander, their doctor, examined it and declared it, “A marvel.”

People kept telling him he was lucky to be alive. Lucky he’d made it back home. So why was he so miserable? And why did he want to leave?

Eight

Riella had yet to find a way to escape, though not for lack of trying.

She’d been in the dome a month, and the security around her remained tight. Earl Arianne suspected she’d try and rarely let her out of her room. When she was allowed to leave, usually for more tests or a walk outside for exercise, it was under heavy escort provided by the queen. How nice she’d donated extra Centurions to the cause.

Given her vaunted status, no one at least bothered Riella. But at the same time, she was more restricted than the usual Madres—what they called the women imprisoned here. Marked by their white dresses, they served the needs of the Enclave by providing genetic material to birth the next generation.

Riella was more than just a breeding womb. She was a metal manipulator, a strong one, descended from the queen. Problem was the Earl knew all of her strengths and weaknesses. She’d ensured Riella had no metal at all to play with. Polymers and plastics surrounded her. She was fed simple fare, and she ate it even as she understood they drugged it. She could feel it in the way her senses were dulled. Her interest in the world was barely existent. Not caring meant she didn’t bother rebelling much. Why go through that pain?

The soldiers who escorted her only carried the pain rods and no metal armor. The times she left her room, she felt demeaned and dehumanized, as they saw her only as an object for testing. She wondered, why so many tests? She’d never had so many before. No one explained anything.

Despite the queen’s threat, they’d yet to send someone to try and rape her. The delay surprised her. She’d expected Mother to have her bedded the moment she was deemed fit to breed.

Which led to her wondering, Is something wrong with me?

During that long month of waiting and depression, she missed the citadel. Mourned the loss of Alfred. Not the father who’d raised her but a friend, despite his circuits. She couldn’t help but think of Titan. A man who’d given her the kind of pleasure she thought didn’t exist.

She played the what-if game. What if she’d left earlier? What if she’d never saved him? What if he hadn’t died?

The last was the most pathetic fantasy because it gave her a false hope that he would come to her rescue. Never mind the insanity of it. She had a dream where he smashed down her door and carried her away.

Therefore, was it any wonder her heart thumped and fluttered when, without warning, her door suddenly opened? The soldiers marched in as if they had every right, and they did.

“Let’s go. The Earl wants to see you.” They grabbed her by the arms.

“You know, you could just ask me to go with you nicely,” she said with a good deal of sarcasm.

A guard grunted, and she had a moment to notice neither of them wore any metal. Not even a button for her to filch.

They took her down to the main level but not out to the courtyard where she’d seen daylight only four times since her incarceration. She was marched down the hall to an office, already occupied by the queen and Earl Arianne.

Entering, she heard her mother say, “You’re sure?” Her gaze slewed toward Riella, a cold appraisal without a hello.

“We ran the tests numerous times to cross reference. Each time the result was the same.” The Earl pointed to something on her desk. Something Riella wasn’t asked to look at.

Since they seemed intent on their conversation, she took a moment to examine the room more than she had the first time she saw it. A bigger white box than