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."

Faye fixed a glare on her. "Maybe not, but I'm sure there is a king somewhere! In Vertice, I think!"

"Yes, two of the city islands practice monarchy, and Vertice is one of them," Remi confirmed. "And they're quite unsuccessful in their attempts to control their people. If you secretly were related to a king, I wouldn't envy you."

Although they often referred to where they lived simply as 'the city,' its actual name was Merricrest and it was an entire island that was home to hundreds of thousands of people, all living in a gigantic city. Five other large islands surrounded them, and were also considered cities—Vertice, Blueway, Mallowley, Brightbay, and Belley, but there were also a myriad of much smaller islands that were owned by rich lords and dukes, uninhabited. Remi had even heard rumours of real animals living on some of these islands. Other than tiny mammals like squirrels and birds, and insects, as well as the horses that were mass-bred and mostly used as transportation but also sometimes as meat if they couldn't be trained, there were no large animals in Merricrest. Predators of the past—bears, cougars, even foxes—were all extinct here. Cut down by ancient hunters of the past until they were all gone. Most other islands were the same way. Remi found it quite sad, actually.

Faye narrowed her eyes. "Unless you've come to hear how great my fiancé is, you can leave!"

Remi stopped in her tracks. She'd known Faye was seeing someone over the past few months—someone who their father had recommended, but she'd never learned the name of the man her sister was infatuated with, and never knew they were serious enough to marry. Not many married these days, unless it was to join two households together.

Remi decided to indulge her sister, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment. She'd rather just get on with what she came here for.

"Alright, I'll bite," Remi replied, sitting down by Caede and leaning her head on his shoulder. He gave her a look akin to disgust, but didn't move her off. He was probably worried that she would dirty his fancy clothes. "Tell me about your wonderful fiancé."

Faye's face lit up in vain excitement. "Oh Remi, I'm so glad. He truly is wonderful, you see. Just the other day he took me to Oceanview—which is a really expensive restaurant with an incredible oceanside view from the balcony. We dined on the most expensive of dishes and drank rich wine. He truly held nothing back—not even the ring he slipped on my finger after proposing. Right after I said yes, musicians came in and played the harp and violin while we danced the night away. Romantic, isn't it?"

Remi fought to keep the grimace from her face. She forced a smile, and hoped it didn't looked overly strained. "Very."

Faye quickly brought her hand up, showing the hulking diamond the ring on her finger sported. Remi wrinkled her nose—that diamond was far too large for the thin ring on her finger, and would probably fall off before long. "It's huge! But of course, I wouldn't have said yes if it was any smaller. This only shows just how much my Darium loves me."

"Darium?" Remi repeated, unfamiliar with the name.

Caede glanced down at her in annoyance. "Lord Darium Gallanthus, of course. Don't you know?"

Oh. She recognized the name immediately. Lord Darium Gallanthus was the overseer of a group of professional shipwrights. Anyone who wanted to sail at sea would have to come to him to purchase a ship. He was known for paying great attention to detail; his ships usually lasted for many years to come. He also made custom figureheads, some with really intricate and unique designs. As a result, the lord became extremely rich.

"Of course I do," Remi growled back, pressing her head hard against his broad shoulder and hoping it was hurting him. "I just didn't recognize the lord by his first name."

"That's quite alright," Faye hummed contentedly, still admiring the ring on her finger. "Before long, the only way you'll get to see me is by coming over to his estate and visiting."

Remi held back a shudder. She most certainly didn't want to visit Lord Gallanthus's estate.

On his estate lived an army of archers. They acted as one, and did everything in perfect unison. Every order he gave, they followed with deadly precision, fulfilling the order to every last, tiny detail. He'd purchased the army for his own personal protection, as people often tried to steal his designs. Sometimes his relatives would try to kill him, too, in order to inherit his legacy early.

His army always stopped them in their tracks.

He hadn't even gone through the bonding with them—he didn't want them to all die if he ever did. Remi heard that they were brainwashed into being mindless creatures whose only desire was to serve their master, Darium.

The last thing she wanted to do was run into them.

"Perhaps," Remi said finally, once she'd realized her older sister was still waiting for a reply. "He sounds like a real gem."

Neither Caede nor Faye noticed the sarcasm dripping off her words, or the grimace on her face.

Instead, Faye clapped her hands together eagerly. "So, little sister, what was it that you came in here for? I'm sure it wasn't to sit here and gush alongside me all day. Only Caede treats me that well."

Caede shrugged in response.

They'd been inseparable since they were born, only a few months apart. The best of friends.

Remi attempted a smile. "I'm here to make you both a deal."

"Do go on, little sister."

"You aren't allowed to go into town unless someone else is with you, right?" Remi asked mischievously.

"Right. What of it?"

"Suppose I could convince you both to come for a walk with me. I really need the fresh air."

She wasn't about to admit that her slave was missing—that would be humiliating. If she could get Faye and Caede out for a walk, she would be able to search some of the city for him. It was her best bet. She didn't want to go alone and get kidnapped again.

She'd also have to be extremely careful so as to not strain the distance between herself and Killure and hurt him.

Faye pursed her lips. "And what would I get out of it? You know I hate being outside for too long."

"We'll stop at your fiancé's house on the way back," Remi assured. It wasn't overly far away—maybe only two or three hours from the heart of town if they rode by horse.

Caede pulled back and looked expectantly at her. "And how would this benefit me?"

"I've heard about an outdoor gala viewing, not too far away from Lord Gallanthus's estate. There's supposed to be many beautiful women dressed in their finest dresses attending."

In actuality the ball was for older women in their fifties and sixties, but Remi didn't feel the need to share that tidbit of information. Some truths were best left as surprises.

Caede thought about it for a moment before nodding, his lips tilting up into a smirk. "Sounds good to me."

"Good," Remi breathed a sigh of relief. "Then let's get going."

———

A/N: Sorry if you guys have been getting a bunch of notifications of updates for this story . . . I've been updating / editing old chapters. However, this is a new one. (: