Page 37 of The Quoram Effect

Wait? Why is he here? Am I imagining him? Again?

His purple eyes snapped my way, his strong jaw set like stone. “I will not allow this woman to litter my world with undesirables,” he spat. “I decide who injects my planet with their essence, not her.”

Blinking back my confusion, I looked to Zuli, then to the screen behind her. The woman’s body had dissolved into the ground. Only tendrils of steam signified where she had lain—where she’d been murdered.

Wiping my sweaty palms on my trousers, I glanced back at the Damson God, but the seat was now empty.

Shit, this is all fucking with my head.

But as my confused and disturbed mind ached with a new tension, I looked to Torz sitting on the other side of me. My heart jolted when I found his chair empty.

As I frantically searched the aisle for him, I caught sight of the door sliding shut at the back of the auditorium. And I knew—he’d already left.

Chapter Nineteen

The ruckus of voices faded as I scurried from the auditorium. I understood the demonstration had been distressing, but what had Torz charging from the room without warning? Without me?

Apart from the assortment of security guards lining the walls, the clean white corridor of this government floor was clear. But there was no sign of him.

“Remi!”

I stopped, turning to Saul. He stepped away from the wall, frowning with confusion.

“Where did Torz go?” I asked.

“He left.” He pointed behind me. “And he told me to wait for you.”

I cursed, once again bewildered at Torz’s adamance to protect others above himself.

I hurried down the corridor, pushing through the heavy doors at the end and meeting the daily grind of pedestrians. Through the bustling crowd, I scanned the vast atrium for my dark-haired commander, well aware Saul was trailing me like an unwanted shadow.

Far in the distance, taking three steps at a time, Torz climbed the main atrium staircase; the broad white stairs a blinding contrast against his black uniform. I launched after him, zigzagging through the crowd of civilians going about their daily lives. I doubted any of them had any idea what was beingdiscussed behind the government doors I’d just exited. And even if they did, would any of them raise an eyebrow?

Ignoring Saul’s plea to slow down, I hit the very top of the enormous staircase, my eyes frenetically sweeping the area. Torz was a way off, marching down the white-walled corridor. His fingers raked through his hair, signifying his anxieties, and I felt it then—the deepening despair raging through our bond. The strength of it had me staggering to keep walking. Apart from in my dream, I’d never witnessed it so strong, so overbearing.

Still with my eyes locked on his back, I scurried after him, recognising the vast open corridor with balloon arches adorning multiple doorways. Dancefloors, elaborately dressed dining tables, and party decorations arranged in varying styles all waved at me as I passed each function room entrance lining the walls. A pull of nostalgia weighed on my mind, recalling the black and grey balloons from my graduation…the smell of cheap aftershave, the elegant dresses, and fake jewellery. I remembered how lonely I’d been walking into the very room I was passing now, until a certain charming eighteen-year-old, dressed in a fancy suit, asked me to dance.

Ignoring the ache in my chest, I pushed on. None of what happened back then was relevant. Right now, I needed to find my friend.

I could no longer see Torz in the distance, but glimpsing the sign overhead, I knew where he was heading. The one place I was eager to avoid.

Still with Saul in tow, I powered towards Fakes Park, but my legs ached as if I was trudging through a strong current of water, willing me to turn back. I’d convinced myself I never wanted to step foot in Titus’s largest biodome again. It would be too overbearing to face the place where I’d first kissed Torz, where I’d panicked at the sight of our spiralling Damson magic. The place I made the biggest mistake of my life.

My steps slowed when the huge frosted-glass door came into view, the image of a blossoming tree etched into its surface. It hissed open, and I sucked in a stabilising breath, forcing my feet forward across the threshold into the bright biodome.

My boots crunched over the pebbled path as I took in the rows of white and yellow flowers thriving among the green grass and scatter of small trees. High above, the biodome’s roof stretched for an eternity, its polarised glass making the darkness outside look a pale blue.

The smells were wonderful—fresh, natural, tugging on my body, inviting me in. A moment of tranquillity washed over me, calming my nerves, and I closed my eyes, relishing the warm air and sounds of flowing water.

Children laughed nearby, and a young family lounged on a picnic blanket adorned with an array of food, whilst an elderly couple sat together on a bench at the top of a grassy mound, looking out over the sparkling lake.

As I rounded that hill, the full length of the turquoise lake came into view, and I paused. I’d forgotten how far it stretched, how beautiful it was. Reeds and grasses grew along the banks where butterflies fluttered and danced. Water trickled from a flowing stream where it cascaded down tiers of small rocks before meeting the main lake.

I’d forgotten how much I loved this place. My final school exams had been on Titus over a span of two months. I always came here to relax, to clear my head, especially when my mum died. It was its own piece of heaven within an artificial environment where I knew I didn’t belong. Nobody did. Humans weren’t destined for the cold darkness of space. Where our ancestors had come from, nobody really knew. There were theories, but no evidence to support them. Had it been a world as green and colourful as Fakes Park?

Glancing back at Saul, I crossed the arched wooden bridge over the rocks and flowing stream. Up ahead, in the distance, a large willow tree came into view, its bowing branches bobbing in the lake and sending ripples across the span of water.

And standing between the tree and me, with the lake before him, was Torz.