The Significant (19 page)

      
“I was hoping that it wasn’t true.”

      
“Rayal told you,” Isa said knowingly.

      
“He’s terrified for you,” Remus hissed.
“When he comes to
me
, I know there is
a problem.”

      
“Kailynn is not a problem,” Isa said, her
tone turning cold.

      
“You are having sexual relations with a
Significant,” Remus near-growled. “You have put her life, and your own, at
risk.”

      
“I am no stranger to risking my life,”
Isa said, standing next to Kailynn. “And I will protect Kailynn,” her eyes
hardened, “even if I have to protect her against you.”

      
Remus shook his head.

      
“You misunderstand,” Remus assured. “You
know I would never report you. However, this is still a problem. Kailynn needs
to leave.”

      
“I don’t believe that is your decision to
make,” Isa responded.

      
“
I’m
the one paying for her to be here,” Remus said. “She violated the law. I should
have her arrested for even touching you.”

      
Isa’s eyes hardened.

      
“Would her cell be next to yours?”

      
Remus blinked at the Golden Elite,
surprised. Kailynn’s eyes shot wide as she connected the pieces, looking
between the Elites.

      
Isa looked at Kailynn. “I was the one who
asked Kailynn to be with me. If anyone violated the law, it was me.”

      
“Isa, this is
not
the time to be defiant,” Remus growled. “We have half the system
breathing down our necks and trying to find a way to tear you down. The Ninth
Circle is threatening to destroy the Crescent Alliance. Are you willing to risk
that because of this sort of distraction?” Remus motioned to Kailynn. “I think
it would be best if she left. She’s only here because I’m paying her. If I
stop, she has no reason to stay.” He turned to Kailynn. “That
is
the reason you’re here, right? The
money?”

      
Kailynn hesitated, caught off-guard by
the question. She looked at Isa, not sure what to say. The Golden Elite looked
at her briefly and then nodded once.

      
“Fine, I will pay for her,” Isa said. She
glared at Remus. “You are not the only one with money in this room, Remus. How
dare you put her in that position?”

      
“She’s
using
this for money!” Remus snapped. “You’re a fucking Elite, no
one should
use
you!”

      
“I’m a fucking Elite,” Isa repeated
coldly. “I was made to be used.” She nodded to the door. “Good day, Remus. We
will discuss this at a later time.”

      
Remus ground his teeth together and
sighed heavily.

      
He swept out of the room as Kailynn
turned to Isa.

      
“Isa…I…”

      
“I don’t want to hear your answer,” Isa
said. “It was not fair of him to ask such a loaded question.”

      
Kailynn glanced at the door.

      
“He was your previous lover,” Kailynn said
knowingly.

      
Isa nodded slowly. “He was.”

      
“Makes sense why Venus didn’t kill both
of you,” Kailynn said. “You were both Elites.” Kailynn hesitated. “In school,
too?”

      
“Yes,” Isa admitted. “We were sexual partners
for many years.”

      
“Did you love him?”

      
Isa’s eyes turned sad.

      
“Elites have no human emotions,” she
reminded the Significant. “I cannot fall in love.”

      
Kailynn’s brow furrowed, the words hurting.
She looked at the door once more.

      
“But he’s jealous.”

      
“No, I don’t believe so,” Isa disagreed.
“He’s worried. He knows the risks of this sort of relationship.”

      
“Why did you two call it off?” Kailynn
asked, confused, turning her eyes back on the Golden Elite. “You could have
ignored Venus’ order and continued to keep it secret. And you still work
together and clearly you still talk to one another.”

      
Isa hesitated, her eyes falling to the
ground for a moment as she thought about her answer.

      
“Things just ended,” she said slowly. “I
can’t say that there was one reason in particular. There were a lot of factors
and we decided it was best to comply with Venus’ order.”

      
Tarah dropped her eyes to the ground,
swallowing hard.

      
“It is in the past.” Isa waved the
conversation away. “In a way, I am relieved he knows.”

      
“Why?” Kailynn asked in horror.

      
“Because it saves me trying to keep it a
secret from him.” Isa turned to Kailynn and smiled gently, brushing her fingers
over the younger woman’s cheek. Kailynn’s body shuddered as her eyes were
captured in Isa’s powerful gaze. “I do not want you to worry about him, or
about the money,” she assured. “I will be sure you are properly paid for your
time.”

      
“But…Isa…”

      
“No, you do not need to answer his
question. It does not matter to me if you are here because of the money or
not,” Isa said. “What matters to me is that you
are
here.”

      
Kailynn blinked at Isa, following the
Elite’s fingers as they left her cheek. Kailynn almost cried at the loss of
contact.

      
Isa turned to return to work but Kailynn
grabbed her arm, turning her around and grabbing her face. She crushed their
lips together, hoping that her feelings about Remus and the money were conveyed
in the kiss. She knew Isa did not want an answer, but she wanted to give one.

      
While she was frantic and desperate to
convey her emotions to Isa, the Elite was quiet and calm, as usual, slowing the
kiss to a gentler pace.

      
When they parted, Kailynn took a deep
breath and swallowed hard.

      
Isa smiled and ran her fingers over
Kailynn’s cheek, leaning down to kiss her again.

Chapter
Fourteen

      
Kailynn’s eyes fluttered open lazily as
she slowly came back to reality with the help of Isa stroking her hair. Her
throat was dry and her breath came in pants. She was hot and sticky with sweat,
which made resting on top of Isa uncomfortable, but she did not want to move.

      
She propped herself up and glanced at the
Golden Elite, who looked amazingly composed for someone post-coitus.

      
Isa ran her fingers over Kailynn’s
cheekbone, looking over the younger woman’s features. Kailynn turned her head
and kissed the Elite’s hand before leaning into the touch and turning her eyes
back on Isa.

      
“Isa…”

      
“You don’t need to say anything,” she
whispered. “I know.”

      
But Kailynn was sure that the Elite did
not
know. How could she know the complex
feelings coursing through the Significant when she could not feel human
emotions? Kailynn knew that it was her last night with the Elite. The following
day, Kailynn would return to Companion and then to Trid with the money she had
earned being with the Elite. She would be returning to free some of the
criminals who had tried to destroy Venus, the very computer Isa obeyed.

      
Kailynn leaned down and kissed Isa, her
lips hovering over the Golden Elite’s when she pulled away.

      
“Will you be alright?” Kailynn breathed.

      
Isa’s hands tenderly stroked Kailynn’s
back as she pecked another kiss on the younger woman’s lips.

      
“Yes.”

      
“Are you sure?” Kailynn pressed. “It
sounded like things with Caroie really heated up today.”

      
Isa sighed and closed her tired eyes,
trying not to recall the difficult preliminary negotiations for Caroie and the
number of planets she found trying to thwart her every step.

      
“This is certainly not an easy
situation,” she said. “I will have to be very careful how I proceed.”

      
“…I feel like I have only been a
distraction,” Kailynn murmured. “You’ve had to handle Remus and Rayal chewing
you out because of me, on top of all this shit with Caroie.”

      
“You have been a very welcome and
necessary distraction,” Isa assured, smiling. “As difficult as it is to turn my
brain off, if I don’t distract myself from time to time, I do not do my job as
well.”

      
“Maybe that has to do with the brain
damage from falling down stairs,” Kailynn tried to tease, finally swinging her
leg over the Golden Elite and taking her place on her side next to Isa. The
Golden Elite chuckled.

      
“Perhaps,” Isa agreed. She turned to
Kailynn. “May I ask you something personal?”

      
“Uh oh…” Kailynn laughed nervously.

      
“Why are you trying to make money as a
Significant?”

      
Kailynn’s entire body went rigid. She had
not been expecting the question at all.

      
“Why do you ask?”

      
“I’ve noticed that you know more about me
than I know about you,” Isa murmured. “If you do not want to answer, you are under
no obligation. I just want to know if there is any way I can help.”

      
Kailynn was silent for a few moments.

      
“What?”

      
“You have done much more for me in the
last few weeks than you probably realize,” Isa said. “I want to return the
favor.”

      
“You mean you just needed to get laid?”
Kailynn joked.

      
“Perhaps,” Isa laughed. She turned onto
her side and propped her head up with her hand. “But it has also been nice to
have someone here who doesn’t treat me like I’m made of glass.”

      
“They’re just worried about you.”

      
“I know,” Isa said, brushing some of
Kailynn’s hair over her shoulder and gently touching the Significant’s cheek.
“Why are you trying to earn money?”

      
“…my brother is in trouble,” Kailynn
answered vaguely.

      
“Is he ill?”

      
“Yes,” Kailynn lied.

      
Isa nodded slowly, her eyes going
distant, lost in thought.

      
“How much do you need?”

      
“No, it’s fine,” Kailynn assured quickly.
“The money from this will be more than enough.” She did not know what the
average cost of medical treatment was and she did not want to make Isa
suspicious.

      
“If Remus refuses payment, for any
reason, let me know and I will take care of it.”

      
Kailynn looked down at the sheets,
feeling awkward. There were a lot of feelings coursing through her, including
the dread of tomorrow, when she knew she would have to leave the Golden Elite’s
home. The thought filled her with a sense of emptiness that scared her.

      
She leaned forward and took Isa’s face in
her hands, kissing her again.

      
The following morning, Kailynn moved
slowly, gathering her clothes and placing them in her bag. She had awoken to
being alone in Isa’s bed. She did not look for the Elite. She did not want the
entire morning to be a drawn-out, awkward goodbye. She felt like it was getting
harder to breathe as she realized her time to go back to Companion was coming
closer.

      
She brought her bag into the main room,
where Tarah was waiting, trying to hide her tears.

      
“It’s going to be so quiet, now,” she
said slowly.

      
Kailynn could not imagine how lonely
Tarah was, being alone for most of the day with very little human interaction,
always around Isa and the other Elites. It was no wonder the younger woman
clung to Kailynn and Rayal whenever they were around.

      
“Are you going to be alright?” Kailynn
asked.

      
“Yeah,” Tarah assured. “I’ll be fine.
It’s just…with you gone and Isa going back to the Syndicate Building for work
every day, it will be quiet.”

      
Kailynn hesitated. Her immediate reaction
was to invite Tarah to spend time with her outside of Anon, but she knew she
could not offer any place for the young woman to stay, particularly after the
teenager had become accustomed to living in the luxury of the Elite’s home.

      
“I would say you could come spend time
with me,” Kailynn offered, “but I don’t have anywhere to host you.”

      
“That’s alright,” Tarah said. “I don’t
really like to leave the tower anyway.”

      
“Never?”

      
“If I can avoid it.”

      
“Why?”

      
“I just…it scares me, that’s all.”

      
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,”
Kailynn said. “If you ever just want to get out and go on a walk or something,
I’ll go with you.”

      
“Go on a walk?” Tarah chuckled. “No one
does that.”

      
“Exactly,” Kailynn agreed. “So it will be
just us. No one else to worry about.”

      
Tarah giggled, trying to discreetly wipe
away a few tears.

      
“I might like that.”

      
“I think you should,” a voice said behind
them. They both jumped and turned to the door to the guest wing. Kailynn shook
her head, grinding her teeth together. When Isa saw the expression, she
chuckled. “What are you going to do without me sneaking up behind you all the
time?”

      
“I’m getting you a bell,” Kailynn said
shortly.

      
Tarah smiled lightly and bowed her head,
ducking into the kitchen, understanding that it was time for Isa to say goodbye
to the Significant. Kailynn felt her body tremble when she heard Tarah leave.
She stared at the Golden Elite as the door to the kitchen closed.

      
Isa stepped forward, pulling a card out
of her pocket and extending it to Kailynn.

      
“What’s this?”

      
“It’s a small gift,” Isa said. “Fifty-thousand
credits.”

      
Kailynn’s eyes shot wide.

      
“H-How much?”

      
“It’s just a little extra,” she
continued. “To supplement what you’ll be getting for being here.”

      
“I can’t accept this,” Kailynn said,
shaking her head and extending the card back to Isa.

      
“Then don’t use it,” the Golden Elite
said with a shrug. “But keep that card. It will give you access to this level.”

      
Kailynn had to take several moments to
process what that meant.

      
“…what?” she barely managed to breathe.

      
“You are welcome here whenever you
please.” Isa invited. “That card will give you access to the building and to
this level.”

      
“But…I…”

      
“There is no obligation for you to
return,” Isa continued. “The decision is yours. But you are always welcome.”

      
Kailynn stared at the grey card,
surprised beyond words. Isa watched the emotions that passed over the
Significant’s face. Kailynn finally swallowed hard and shook her head.

      
“I don’t know what to say…”

      
“You don’t need to say anything.”

      
“Thank you,” Kailynn whispered.

      
“You’re welcome,” Isa said with a gentle
smile.

      
Kailynn walked forward and rose up on her
toes to kiss Isa, pulling away while she was still able. Isa took her hand and
squeezed it.

      
“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

      
Kailynn could only nod, trying to swallow
the lump in her throat. She turned and picked up her bag, casting one final
look around the room as she pocketed the card Isa had given her. She turned
back to Isa, trying to push down the lump forming in her throat.

      
“Goodbye,” she murmured.

      
“Goodbye, Kailynn.”

      
Kailynn began backing away, her eyes
unable to leave Isa. After a few paces, she raised her voice.

      
“Bye, Tarah!” she called.

      
Tarah poked her head out of the kitchen,
trying to mask her tears.

      
“Bye, Kailynn.”

      
“Tarah,” Isa said, motioning the
caretaker to her. Tarah walked over, standing next to the Golden Elite as Isa
put her hand on Tarah’s shoulder. Kailynn looked between the two of them.

      
“Bye.”

      
Knowing she was seconds away from a
breakdown, she turned and half-ran out of the home. The door opened
automatically for her and she went to the elevator, waiting for it to arrive,
trying to stop the shaking of her body. She forced her feet to move forward
when the door to the elevator opened. The descent of the elevator car was too
fast, and a type of pain that Kailynn had never known before began to seep into
her bones.

      
When the door to the elevator opened
again to let Kailynn into the lobby, she was startled to see Rayal walking
toward the elevator. She was still for several seconds as the former caretaker
approached. Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind.

      
“Leaving?” Rayal asked casually, breaking
her out of her stupor. She stepped out of the elevator and walked past him.

      
“Yeah.”

      
“Kailynn,” Rayal called. She stopped, but
did not turn to him. “If she invited you back, I have some advice. Don’t come
back.”

      
Kailynn tried not to flinch at the words.

      
“This was already dangerous. Don’t push
your luck, or hers.”

      
Kailynn kept walking, keeping her head
up, trying to calm the storm of her mind. She left Anon Tower and felt her head
spinning. She quickly hurried away from the large building, disoriented and
unsure where she was going. She just knew she had to get as far away from the
building as possible.