"Is Lucian inside?" I don't wait for an answer from Cysus, instead I push Lucian's room door wide open and walk in swiftly. My training clothes are sticky with sweat and some blood has dried up underneath my nose making it itch but I didn't care. 

Lucian humiliated me and destroyed any semblance of a friendship I might have had with Rosie and it made me mad. 

I see him sitting by his desk at his study and he barely looks up at me before he turns his attention to the folds of papers on his table. 

Prick.

Ignoring Cyscus's pleas I reach his table and stare down at him. My eyes briefly glaze over what he is studying and I see numerous boxes and scribbles in dark red ink. They remind me of the document I pulled out of Lucian's forbidden section of his library the first day I stayed here.

It is a floor plan. But for what? 

Lucian folds the pieces of paper before I can read anything and turns his gaze towards me finally.

"Why don't you get cleaned up?" He nods at my nose and I hear Cyscus rushing up to me but I'm too angry to care if Cyscus is here or not.

"Why did you do that to me in the training center? What was the purpose of embarrassing me like that?" I ask him, the spite in my voice evidently clear.

"Embarrass?" Lucian eyes light up in shock. "You think I did that to embarrass you?"

"I wasn't ready to let them know about us yet," I say, my voice rising with every syllable and I hear Cyscus warning me to shut up but I carry on in a heat of words. "You should have told me before you decided to do that! I could have prepared!"

Lucian stands up abruptly and both Cyscus and I fall silent. My heart beats like a hammer in my chest when I see him look down at me in anger. 

"Leave us," He says without looking at Cyscus and the Plutonian rushes out of the room and closes the door behind him, making me feel slightly more apprehensive. 

"So you are embarrassed to be seen with me," Lucian states and I gulp slightly when I see the fire in his eyes. 

"It's not you, Lucian. It's the dynamic between the fighters. They don't respect those with Plutonian favors," I explain quickly, feeling slightly frightened of this side of him that I've never seen before. 

"And yet they'd do anything for us." His jaw clenches as he stares at me and then turns away and starts folding up those papers on his table. "Did you know Leslie was a fixer a few months ago. He used to spy on the fighters and report to Sergeant Atmos. He's desperate to join the army and he gave us false information, that is why he's still a fighter. And why he's so jealous of a newcomer like you." 

Lucian carries those folded pieces of paper and tucks them into a section of the forbidden part of the library. "Do you honestly think Rosie would turn down the offer if she got the chance?" He asks me pointedly.

A shiver runs down my spine as I realize that he knows about my friendship with Rosie and Leslie bullying me and God knows what else.

"How-?" I barely utter a word before he cuts me off again.

"It's been a long few days and I am in no mood to argue with you or anyone else for that matter. All you need to know is that you weren't going to win tomorrow. I have a team who analyzes the probability of success for your matches and despite your training the odds were not in your favor. Lazarus interfered with the match selections, so I had to do something to undermine Leslie's confidence. You still need to win so I would appreciate if you focused on your match instead of my actions."

I wince at the sharp tone in his voice and suddenly regret my outburst previously. I didn't expect him to get so angry, having never seen this side of him before. 

Before I can say anything Lucian turns around and walks to the bathroom. He then slams the door behind him reinforcing just how angry he is.

I sigh loudly and sink to the floor. Why did I act so rashly?

I am still angry and humiliated but as I stare at the bathroom door I try to think clearly and put myself in Lucian's shoes for a second. 

It's hard to imagine because I really don't know what he is going through. All I know is that he has been missing for the past few days, no doubt busy with work and the construction at the North gate. 

My nose itches incessantly and I start scratching it all the while thinking about Lucian. 

What if I were a child who grew up as the Trinity, someone who never had to answer to others except maybe his general parents. Someone the public feared and doted on at the same time like royalty. Someone who had the clearance and authority to do almost anything he wanted. Nobody spoke back to him and most of the Plutonian's I've seen generally feared him.

I want to slap myself for my stupidity. I should never have attacked him with my questions like that? Who was I to do so anyway? I'm just a human who's pretending to be his lover to observe his sleep.

The truth is I need him much more than he needs me and angering him is the last thing I should be doing. 

The door to the bathroom opens and Lucian steps out with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is slicked back and glistening wet and he looks at me curiously as I sit on the floor staring at him but then he walks to his large cupboard and takes out his clothes. 

The tension in the room is stifling and the dried blood on my nose begins to itch even more. I quickly rush to the bathroom and proceed to wash up all the while thinking about I can do to make things better between us. 

I can't let him shut me out like this, not when I want to know why he's been so busy lately. 

The cold water stings my nose but the pain has subsided considerably. Thankfully Leslie wasn't able to hit me with his full strength because I managed to move slightly away. 

I think back to Lucian's statement about me losing against Leslie. My heart tightens at the thought of Lazarus manipulating my match and it just shows once again how I am caught in a power struggle between the him and Lucian. 

It makes me realize that Lazarus's involvement means I am on Lucian's side no matter what. 

Once I'm done washing up and medicating my nose I get into my pajamas and slip into bed meekly. Lucian is reading his book but I can tell from his glazed look that he is barely reading. His shoulders look so tense they make me feel guilty for some reason. 

I've never seen him with his parents, never seen him having fun or relaxing. He's always either working or trying to kill someone in his sleep. 

An idea pops into my head when I think back to the way my mother used to comfort my father when he came back from a long day's work. I grit my teeth in determination, knowing that I would have to be a source of comfort not anger if I ever really want him to open up to me like he did at the Western border. 

"Can I massage your shoulders?" My question is so sudden it throws him off guard and Lucian frowns at me in confusion.

"What?" 

I fold my feet under me and sit up facing him. "I'm sorry. I was stupid to accuse you like that. And..and you look so tense. And I know you've been busy working and you must be so tired. Please just let me help somehow," I say pleadingly.

Lucian looks like I'd just asked him for the moon. He shakes his head and turns around with his back facing me. "Just go to bed, Aria. You have a match tomorrow."

Why does he have to be so stubborn? I frown and huff in disappointment. "I can't sleep with all that tension radiating off you."

He ignores me and I remain seated just staring at his broad back. After a few minutes of waiting I am about to collapse to my side when he slowly sits up. 

"I have a knot over here." He points to an area between his neck and shoulder making me smile in triumph. 

I don't really know what I am doing, but it seems to work as I press and knead my knuckles into Lucian's taut muscles. He really is tense and he sighs loudly when I hit a sore spot. 

"I've been so selfish. I never asked you why you have been so busy," I worm a question into the silence around us once I'm sure he is properly relaxed. 

"It's fine. It suddenly sprang up, we didn't expect to make these changes so soon as well." His head is hung low as he mumbles. 

I use my elbow now and rub into that damn knot that is stuck in his left shoulder. It is even more stubborn than he is. 

"Changes?"

"Yeah, we're going to announce it soon. We're bringing in a thousand humans this week. A thousand more next month."

My breath catches in my throat and my fingers unconsciously freeze in place. They are going to kidnap two thousand children and bring them here as slaves? The thought alone makes me want to puke.

I quickly press into his skin before he catches my reaction. "Why so many?"

"There's been an outbreak on Earth. A released biological weapon has caused a pandemic. We can't risk losing so many humans. Especially the children," He says in a withered voice.

"Pandemic? Bio-what?" I don't understand most of his words but they frighten me nonetheless.

"A disease. It's killing too many people. We had to do something."

I feel bile rise up in my throat at his justification. How is enslaving children better than suffering from a disease on their own planet? At least they would be able to die with their loved ones.

My hands fall to my sides and I don't feel like touching him anymore. My back hits the pillow and he turns around to lie down facing me.

"Hope you feel better," My words almost choke me but I can't let him know how this makes me feel.

He smiles at me gratefully, looking like a child who has gotten his first Christmas present. It causes a whirlwind of conflicting emotions to brew in my chest.

"This disease...has it killed many humans?" It's impossible to keep the emotion out of my voice and I can't help but think of my parents and brother. Are they, okay? Are they sick as well? Is Lucian lying to me? What if this is just some sick excuse to kidnap and torture more humans?

"Don't worry, Aria. We will take care of it. As your predecessors we will not allow the extinction of the human race. We need you just as much as you need us," He takes my hand in his and squeezes it and I am horrified by the sincerity in his eyes.

Does he truly believe the Plutonian's have been helping us by enslaving us? I want to laugh at myself for thinking otherwise. Of course he does, he is Plutonian after all. They think they have helped all the planets they have colonized. I slowly nod my head knowing that I have to act like the rest of the humans who believe their propaganda and love them profusely.

"Thank you," I say, the words like acid in my mouth.

Lucian's eyes light up at my appreciation, then he closes them and falls asleep with his hand still wrapped firmly around mine.

Heyyy did you enjoy the chapter? What do you think about the Plutonians bringing more humans as slaves?