My body's buzzing with anticipation as I walk past the onyx coloured lobby doors, pink lights glittering on the walls around me, criss-crossing and clashing with each other on every surface like tiny serpents. 

There are many Plutonians lounging by the lobby. Most of them catching a drink or meal after a long day's work. A few eyes flit my way but mostly they are too busy catching up with their counter parts, everyone preoccupied with their conversations. 

I stop by the lifts and press my finger to th sensors by the doors. A mechanic voice chimes, telling me that all exclusive access has been granted and the lift doors swing open within a second. I walk inside and tap my foot on the floor, the heel of my shoe clanking hard against the pristine mosaic tiles. 

I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've barely eaten but it feels like I want to throw up. No one else has this effect on me. Not Lucian, not the dozens of commanders constantly trying to court me and certainly not any other plutonian or alien I've ever come across. 

I always feel like I have this power over others. Like I can bend them to my will with my charm or distract them till I get what I want. It's always worked for me but Lazarus is a different species altogether. 

Aside from his obvious trust issues, the male can make love to me till I forget to breathe and yet keep me in the dark about every other thing in his life. Even though he made my dreams come true by proposing to me, I can't imagine living a life like that.

I can't imagine being someone whom he keeps by his side for the sole purpose of strengthening his power and warming his bed. I've seen the darkest parts of him, seen what he has been capable of. The assassinations and the murders over the years, the blatant abuse of power over human slaves. 

The paramour he choked to death last year by accident. He managed to cover it up, throwing a pathetic excuse regarding human frailty over the entire thing and no one was the wiser. Except the Plutonian who had been watching him.

Although, he doesn't know that I'm aware of most of his secrets. He doesn't know just how much I've seen. I wonder what he would think of me if he did?

I exit the lift when we reach the highest floor. This place is a favourite between the three of us Trinity. We've come here together many times before, mostly because I enjoy the food and the privacy so much. 

The attendant recognises me immediately and takes me to the private balcony usually reserved for us. My heart sinks when I see the two empty chairs flanking both sides of the oblong marble table. 

Why did I entertain the idea that he would be here before me? I should stop having these kinds of expectations because they always let me down. He seems to always let me down. 

But then why can't I let go? The more he antagonises me, the more I want him. I shake my head before taking a seat, wondering why he drives me so crazy. The waiter holds out a tablet with the menu and I tell him to wait. 

My appetite is abysmal, it's especially hard to think of food when my stress seems to increase by the minute. I wait for a while longer and feel like I'm about to combust from apprehension any second. 

Lazarus saunters in just as I take in the view of the North City light show. He's in a flimsy white shirt, the buttons haphazardly done up that he paired with dark blue pants. The wind catches and his shirt lifts giving me a view of his very defined abdomen. I swallow hard, he barely wears white but when he does it's enough to make my pulse race. 

Why does he have to look so beautiful? So regal? So..so delicious. He looks so calm, so unbothered when he walks over to me and sits down. 

"You're late," I tell him snappily, annoyed by the fact that I am so frazzled in comparison to him. 

"You never specified a time." He smiles at me lazily and my heart does stupid little flips. 

I school my expression, trying to remain calm. "I said fifteen minutes." 

"Fifteen minutes from the time of your call? From the time you left the house? From the time I got out of bed?" He shrugs, eyes glinting my way deviously. "Again not specified." 

I grit my teeth, knowing that he's doing this on purpose. He wants to drive me mad and so far he's doing a pretty decent job at it. 

I lean back, trying to gain some power by appearing unaffected. "Would you like to have something to eat?" 

Lazarus leans forward, his fingers interlacing with each other as he licks his lips. "Yes, I do. I'm looking at her right now." 

Again with the innuendo. I sigh and wave the waiter over, ordering our favourite drinks and a starter. Once the plutonian leaves, I turn my attention back to Lazarus. 

"I want us to be able to tell each other everything. I want us to be that kind of couple, not like my mother and father. That is why I haven't said 'yes'." 

Lazarus studies me, the playful expression leaving his face slowly. "I want that too." He finally says. 

The hope in me grows but I keep it at bay, barely restrained. I've learnt that lesson far too many times with him. I decide to lay all the cards out on the table. If I want him to open up to me, I'm going to have to do the same. 

Since nothing else has worked with him, I'm hoping my honesty will. 

"I know about Alya working for you and my father." 

His eyebrows raise but he doesn't look surprised. Either that or he's better at hiding how he feels than I am. 

"Her assassination wasn't a coincidence, was it? I was never the intended target, only the decoy."

Lazarus still doesn't say a word. I wonder if he's waiting for me to say more. The city is alive around us, zooming gliders below leaving behind zipping sounds that fade in the background around us. There's a huge screen on the building across from us, a female celebrity sings in a ghostly voice, filling the silence between us. 

"Alya wanted to expose you and now she's dead. She was about to pass the SA minister a message and he's dead too." I cock my head to the side, studying the way his pupils narrow. "Definitely not a coincidence, correct?" 

His turquoise blue eyes are searching as he stares at me like I am the only thing that exists here and now. Such laser focus that has me on the edge of my seat. 

"Yes, she had to be dealt with." He looks up at the corners of the restaurant and then under the table. 

"Don't worry, I disabled everything that could record us," I nod towards the small black camera by the far left wall and the one at the door. They're no longer invisible now that they've been deactivated. 

Relief fills Lazarus's face not before he looks at me with a mixture of caution and admiration. 

"How do you know of this?" He murmurs curiously, thrumming his finger on the table. 

"Lazarus, I know you bugged my vehicles and house after I came to the party at yours. I know you've been monitoring me."

He lets out a sordid laugh. "Clearly not well enough. So let me guess, you did the same?"

"I only did so after Alya died. I had some suspicions and well, things were just not adding up." 

His gaze turns skeptical. "The chances of you tracking me through the 'all seeing eye' is abysmal. I've made sure of it. So how did you manage this? There must have been someone who led you to me."

My stomach clenches and I force myself to keep a straight face. It's true, Lazarus has made it close to impossible to track him and his calls. But not my father. I need to keep that fact hidden at all costs.

"Like I said, Alya lead me to you. I traced her calls, after all she was in my squad and she didn't do a good enough job keeping her side hustle a secret." It's easy to show the bitterness on my face because I feel it so potently. I trusted Alya with a lot, more than she ever deserved.

He looks away now, his gaze focused on the advertisement of a pink haired celebrity applying the latest nano tech to her hair to make the strands thicker. I reach for Lazarus's hand and swallow hard when I feel him stiffen from my touch. 

"I don't want to antagonise you. I only want answers. I want the truth." I gaze at him pleadingly. His answer will determine everything, it causes my throat to feel tight enough to choke. 

"And what will you do with the truth?" He murmurs softly. 

"Nothing," I admit. 

For now. 

After a pause that feels like eternity he finally turns his palm upwards and interlaces his fingers with mine. 

There's some resignation on his face and he looks embarrassed. "I never wanted you to worry about these things. I wanted to take care of you, to keep these worries to myself but I've been wrong. I've underestimated you and what you can handle. Are you not mad at me for killing Alya?" 

I notice he takes the blame for the entire thing, leaving my father out of the conversation. 

"She betrayed me. She brought her fate unto herself." I tell him sordidly and he nods. 

"We may have exaggerated a little on the trial's success rate." He says this so softly, I have to bend across the table to listen. 

He turns to me, his gaze faraway, like the depths of the Oceanus constellation. "We do not have a success rate of ninety five percent." 

Those words are mentioned so callously in passing but the weight of them settles on my skin like a lead blanket. How many humans have died? How many disfigured? How many have they used and tossed away like trash?

"But the more we test, the more it improves. The more we get it right. You know how these things work?" He shrugs, gazing at me hopefully and I give him the smallest smile of encouragement. 

"Of course," I squeeze his hand tight, but more out of anger than assurance. Thankfully, he can't tell the difference. 

"And how much is the actual success rate?" I ask him. "For now?" 

He chews on his lower lip, staring at me in deliberation. "Seventy five percent. For now. With the way things are going, we can only expect it to improve." 

His answer surprises me. I thought it would have been much worse. Seventy five percent is still the best we've ever achieved, the war council would dance to those figures. 

"That's not that bad." I blurt out honestly, to which he smiles. 

"It isn't. But Alya had second thoughts, if you had tracked me better you would have known she wanted more money to keep quiet about the whole thing." 

I run a hand through my hair and the waiter places our drinks gently onto gold coasters. I take a piece of the medium rare wargol bites, dipped in black sauce. I then take a sip as I wait for our attedant to leave us. 

Once we are alone, I squeeze Lazarus's hand again. "I found something. Something that could potentially be serious."

He leans in, gaze curious. "And what would that be?"

"A missing human. Possibly more. Their records have been erased but there are no reports on how they died. They literally went missing off the face of Pluto." 

Roman's face flits through my mind but Lazarus shows no reaction. He doesn't look like he knows what I am talking about. 

"Are you sure? We have reports on everything regarding the humans. We even record their injuries, surely their deaths must be documented. Give me a name and I'll look into it." He says.

My stomach churns and my gut feeling is so profound, I can't ignore it. I decide to lie. 

"Chadwick something. Number 5433, I think." 

"And how have you heard of this missing Chadwick?" Lazarus eyes me suspiciously. 

"I was supposed to turn in a report. Came across this empty log." I quickly take a swig of my drink, hoping he doesn't see through my pathetic excuse. 

He doesn't look like he does, but he doesn't seem convinced either. "I'll look into it." 

"Thank you." I smile and then his fingers tighten around mine. 

"About this morning, I knew you were coming, Luna. I had those females there on purpose but I'm sick of these games. You know all my secrets now. I'm going to ask you one last time and then I'll drop it--."

"Yes, Lazarus. Yes, I will marry you." I tell him and he freezes like I'd just slapped him. 

"You will?" His face is twisted in disbelief. 

"Yes. I'm yours, Lazarus. I always was."

And suddenly the table is flipped over, marble clanking loudly against the floors, our glasses crashing and drinks spilling over in pools. I don't have time to react because I am pinned against the wall, his hard chest pressing against mine. 

He kisses me hard, stealing my breath like he's been starved of it. 

"Finally," He murmurs before kissing me again. "I'll take care of you, Luna. I promise."