Chapter 43

General Aldric summons me to his hotel room again and I have no choice but to sneak in like before. This time his suite is much brighter, with light blue orbs adorning the ceiling from one end to another. 

The smell of roasted wargol and sea food hits me the moment I walk in and I catch him cooking behind the bar with his back to me. 

Shock isn't enough to describe how I feel. I've never seen a general cook food in my life, everything's usually prepared for us.

"General," I greet him with a subtle bow when he turns around with a ladle in hand. 

"Luna, make yourself at home. I should be done in a moment." He uses the ladle to point at the half open bottle lying by the bar. There are already two glasses set out for us. 

I'm wondering what's the occasion as I walk over to the bar and pour us both a glass. There isn't anything to celebrate considering the trial has been postponed and all his efforts derailed. 

I sniff the liquid and take a sip, noting that it's fermented juice from Taygetha. The date on the bottle tells me this must have cost him a lot of gold. It feels wrong to share something so pricey with the general so I put the glass down. 

He turns around and I notice his cheeks have turned pink from the heat. 

"I didn't know you cooked, general," I murmur, trying to distract myself from his piercing gaze. 

"I do a lot of things that you don't know about." He winks at me and now I find the need to finish the entire glass of wine just to wash down my distaste. 

He prepares two plates by himself and it occurs to me that he's dismissed all of his attendants for this meeting. His hotel staff who lead me to the lift must think we are having an affair because of all the secrecy. 

"General Aldric, with all do respect, I don't think it's appropriate for us to meet here alone." I gesture to the empty suite. "I'm afraid your staff might spread the wrong message."

He's too busy laying the table to bother about my concerns. "My staff are bound to secrecy the moment they are hired, it is in their contracts. Rest assured, I have never had a problem with them thus far."

He pulls out a seat for me and I take it hesitantly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" I look down at my plate that has toasted rhye, roasted meats and dips, algae and herbal leaves from Cixin.

"I felt like dining with my favourite person on the planet, that's all." He says, taking a seat across from me.

That sounds like something Lazarus would say but the similarities end there. Unlike his son, who oozes charm despite his abrasive persona, the general only makes me want to retch every time I look at him. It's not the way he looks -General Aldric is a handsome Plutonian for his age- but it's the way he looks at me. It's highly inappropriate and I can't believe I've never noticed it before. 

Maybe because I've always been focused solely on his son. 

"Try it." He puts another piece of wargol on my plate and proceeds to cut it for me. "It's my own recipe." 

"General," I push his hand away as politely as I can. "Thank you for having me over for dinner but this is hardly the time and place to celebrate, considering the trial has been stalled." 

"The trial will commence within these seven cycles. I'm working on it. All you need to do is keep yourself safe and ready for the stand. You are my prized possession after all." He proceeds to eat, stuffing his face with the meats he prepared. I have to admit they do look quite tasty. 

Prized possession. I hate the words with every fibre of my being. It is as if he owns me now. Does he even have evidence against me? Maybe he doesn't. Maybe this is all a ploy to use me. 

I eat a few pieces and stare at him in deliberation. All I have to do is act the part for the next few cycles. I'll need him to trust me fully before I can drug him and mess up his memory. We don't even know if those memory device alterations will work. I've read that there are studies that have been made to manipulate them, the Elcians have tried but there is no evidence that it has worked. 

The food is tasty but my mood sours. I can't think of an alternative for now. If those memory devices don't work, I'm doomed. 

"You're a small eater." General Aldric notes, studying my plate. "No wonder you have such a slim figure." 

I squirm in my seat, wishing I'd worn more unflattering clothes. "General, have you visited your son since the explosions?"

He frowns at my words and drinks some of that expensive wine. "Xia has but I'm too busy to see that brat. He was behind the explosions, I'm sure." 

Nothing has been traced back to Lazarus so far but judging by how fanatical his supporters were, it's no surprise if one of them acted independently. Although it does sound too convenient. Lazarus is always a step ahead and I always underestimate that. 

The general reaches out and puts his palm over my hand, startling me. "Please, call me Aldric, Luna. We are comrades now." 

His thumb brushes my skin and I slip my hand out from under his. 

"It's getting late, I should leave." I say quickly, wiping my mouth with a napkin and washing down my food with some wine. 

"Wait." He puts up a hand to stop me. "I have something to show you. It is why I called you here." 

Dread fills my lungs, making it harder to breathe when he gets up and heads to his room. He waits for me by the door.

"General, I don't think it's appro-appropriate." I mumble. I don't want to get up from my seat, my feet feel heavy, like they've been glued to the soft carpeted floor. 

He chuckles softly, enjoying my discomfort. "I just want to show you something. Come now, don't make me wait."

I get up slowly, my hand going to my side where I keep my knife only to find the slot empty. They took away my weapons before letting me come up here. My hands bunch to fists by my sides. I can take the general on if he tries anything funny. 

"What is you want to show me?" I ask him as I take a step inside his room, arms braced and ready to defend myself. 

There's a large screen facing the bed and he leads me to sit down facing it. 

I rest my hands on the soft sheets and my grip tightens when I see a recording of Lazarus and I leaving the base with the humans secretly. This clip is then replaced with one of my father and me. The screen is blank but I hear my voice, agreeing to help them smuggle Ron and his friends to Earth.

I knew he had proof of my involvement but seeing this in reality only reinforces it. 

General Aldric sits down next to me but I barely register his proximity. He puts his hands on my shoulders, massaging them. "You already know I have these. But let me show you something better." 

The feed commences to the next clip and this time it is a blurred image of me admitting of my smuggling humans to Lucian. This was before we decided to invade the labs on Earth. 

The general leans in and kisses my neck, his lips sending shivers down my arms but I'm frozen, I can't move. 

"You know what this means, Luna?"

I can't stop staring at Lucian, my world slowly sinking around me. "I've implicated him." I whisper in a broken voice. 

"Yes, you have and since he never came forth with the information, he would be considered complicit."

I whip away from the general, my face red. "What do you want with me? I thought you wanted the two of us to take over?" 

"I do," He reaches for me beseechingly. "Under my terms, I do." 

"So you're going to blackmail the both of us forever?" I grit my teeth with anger. 

"I only want to have a second chance at love. Is that too much to ask?" The general grabs my hand and pulls me to him. "You can marry Lucian and take over leadership but behind the scenes you are mine. You report everything to me and I shall advice accordingly and more."

"And more? General, I was engaged to your son." I exclaim.

"Who doesn't deserve someone like you. We both deserve more, can't you see that?" His tone grows desperate and I try to get up. All I want to do is get away from this sick Plutonian but I must now think of Lucian. If I anger the general now, it will only get worse.

"Please give me some time to come to terms with this." I take his hands in mine and smile at him earnestly. "I did not expect such an admission from you." 

"Of course, I would never force myself on you, my dear." 

My teeth clench together silently. But he's willing to blackmail me into it anyway. 

"Thank you, general. Next time I won't be so difficult, I promise."

"We shall spend the night together when I come back from Taygetha. I shall arrange for it." 

My toes curl at the prospect. "Taygetha?"

"All the judges here are too afraid to lead the trial after the last one died. We have a potential prospect in Taygetha. An ambassador with legal background who's not afraid to lead the trial against our enemies." 

"When will you be leaving?" 

"Do you miss me already, my sweet?" He teases me and it takes all my effort not to gag. "We shall be back in three cycles, I will see you after." He squeezes my hands, eyes alight with excitement. 

"Umm, that's great. I shall wait for you." I smile at him and force myself to kiss him on the cheek just to appear more convincing.

I leave the building with a gnawing feeling in my stomach. I told my driver to leave, opting to walk on the sidewalk instead. I lean over a ditch, the overriding nausea making me want to vomit.

Three cycles? That's not enough time to get the devices ready but I need to act before General Aldric comes back. 

"It's me," I say into my communicator, through a secure line that directs me to General Lyra.

"I told you to limit communication." 

"He's leaving tomorrow, we have to use it then." 

"It's not ready. I can make it erase but it can't alter." 

I grip the communicator tightly. "Alright, I will wait." 

I end the call and stare at the lighted sky above me. I can't wait. I can't stomach another moment alone with the pervert general. I briefly consider telling Lucian about this but I'm already guilty for dragging him into this mess. 

There's only one other Plutonian who can help me. I hope.

I find Lazarus in the same garden in the middle of the maze. This time he is stretching on a mat. He gets up and I notice he's sweating, like he just finished working out. 

"Luna, you look pale." 

I switch on the static device that eliminates eavesdropping, not caring if he will notice and walk over to him. Thankfully, he doesn't. He's too busy studying my expression.

"What happened?"

"Lazarus." I put my face in my hands, trying hard not to break down in front of him. I want to crawl into his arms, the sight of him staring at me with concern slowly breaking my resolve.

"What happened?" He gently cups my chin, pulling my gaze to his. 

I tell him there and then about the blackmail, about his father. 

"I can fix this. I've tweaked the memory device we have to erase memory. If we use it on him, we'll be free." 

"And you're sure it works?" Lazarus asks me skeptically. 

I nod even though I haven't seen the results with my own eyes. "All I have to do is get it on the ship tomorrow and attach it to him." 

"No, it's too dangerous. You should not be there when it's used." He strokes my hair soothingly but I notice his eyes are red with anger. "I will arrange for someone to drug him and use it on the ship. All you need to do is pass me the device and give me the flight details." 

"I'm sorry, Lazarus. I'm sorry for my involvement in all of this. It's such a mess."

He hugs me tightly. "No, I am sorry. I always wanted to protect you but I've failed. I will erase his memory, Luna. It will serve us both. Thank you for coming to me. Thank you for confiding in me. I love you."

I can't say the words back even though they form in my throat. Instead I say 'thank you'.








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