Indomitable

t w e n t y - s e v e n

Soon after Remi's aunt left the room, the nanny scooped a whimpering Kareem into her arms and whisked him away, leaving Remi standing alone in the wide corridor.

Her thoughts immediately went back to Killure. Where was he?

She didn't want to assume the worst, because if she did that and found him nearby doing nothing wrong, he would only dislike her even more.

She wasn't trying to be controlling, but she was concerned. The hundreds of thousands of people who lived in her city were deranged psychopaths with no morals; there was no line they wouldn't cross in order to get what they want.

Although many of those who were at Killure's auction had been too hesitant to purchase him, they might have reconsidered after seeing him acting tame at Remi's side as they walked through the city some days ago.

She knew Killure could handle himself, but doubts still clouded her mind. Their were many dangerous people out there with their own, twisted agendas, and if they didn't get to Killure, he would most certainly get to them. The resulting bloodbath would cause a divide between the Goldridge house and the house that those murdered belonged to.

Remi let out a frustrated sigh. She didn't know what to do.

Deciding that she would take her chances with Killure hating her and brooding for a while, Remi grabbed her black sun hat and trekked outside, hoping to find him somewhere nearby.

She looked by the fish pond, and on the hill they often went to when Remi felt like painting, and down all the paved walkways he sometimes went down.

Nothing. It was as if he'd vanished into thin air.

And even when Remi tried her hardest to think back, she couldn't remember whether or not Killure had even come to her bedside to ask if he could leave.

Did he run away?

No, he didn't give any indication that he wanted to, other than a few bitter, snide remarks every now and then.

Still; maybe he decided to play nice until Remi trusted him enough to not run away, and then leapt at his chance. He wouldn't have been able to get very far, though. The bonding would exhaust him once he got far enough, literally sucking the energy from his body. The chip's bonding was powerful, and unrivalled. Besides, the city was huge and bustling with the hundreds of thousands of people who lived within it.

After looking for nearly forty-five more minutes, looking behind trees and bushes and near streams, Remi finally gave up.

With sagging shoulders, Remi dragged her feet back to the house.

She couldn't let anyone catch wind of this, so she set off to find her sister.

Faye was in her room sitting on her extravagant bed, and across from her was their cousin Caede, who was eagerly listening to her tale of gossip.

"He's so good to me. He's bought me many things, and treats me like royalty. If I didn't know better, I might make the mistake of thinking I was related to some distant king!"

"We don't have kings here," Remi said, rolling her eyes as she strolled on into the room without knocking. "Only the Council of Shimmering Men."