Transmigrated Into A Women Dominated World

Until that moment, Merane had been examining an anomaly. Kayla’s admission forced her to look at him differently.

"That is not a minor omission," Merane said.

"His relationship to me has nothing to do with his evaluation," Kayla replied.

"Your personal interest in what happens to him makes it relevant," Merane said.

"Then remember that interest tomorrow," Kayla replied.

Kayla had shown Zaeryn no affection, and he was not foolish enough to mistake her words for any. However, by claiming him as her nephew before an Imperial Councilor and several members of the Royal Guard, she had made one thing clear.

Whatever the Council decided tomorrow would concern the Void Scythe as well.

"The Council will convene tomorrow morning," Merane said. "You will be questioned about the emergence, extent and control of your abilities. Warlady Noctis’s interest will be noted, but it will not answer those questions for you."

"I was not expecting her to," Zaeryn replied.

"Good," Merane said. "Then I suggest that you use the evening well. I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Noctis."

Merane turned and walked back down the corridor, her robes brushing softly against the polished floor.

The commanding Warlady touched the control beside the door. Once it opened, she gestured toward the interior.

"Your quarters, Mr. Noctis," the commanding Warlady said.

Zaeryn stepped through the threshold. Kayla remained in the corridor beside the Royal Guards, watching him enter without making any attempt to follow.

The heavy door slid shut behind him and sealed with a deep mechanical thud. Every sound from the corridor disappeared immediately, leaving the suite beneath a silence so complete that the residence had almost certainly been fitted with sound-dampening seals.

The suite was expansive and decorated in a restrained Imperial style. A broad sitting area occupied its center, furnished with a long pale sofa, several armchairs and low tables arranged across the polished floor. Tall smart-glass windows overlooked the eastern perimeter of the palace grounds.

Zaeryn placed his compressed luggage upon one of the tables and allowed his attention to travel across the room.

It was far better than he had expected. Nothing about it resembled a cell. It looked like the kind of suite prepared for visiting dignitaries and other important guests.

That did not make him free.

Royal Guards remained stationed outside, and he could not leave the residence without prior authorization. The suite had every comfort he could have requested except the ability to walk out of it whenever he pleased.

Zaeryn crossed to the long sofa and stretched out upon it, resting one arm beneath his head.

He was no longer wondering whether he would meet Athea. The only remaining question was how.

Perhaps she would come to the residence today. If she did not, the first time they stood before each other would be inside the Imperial Council chamber, with no privacy and no opportunity for either of them to speak as mother and son.

Zaeryn could not decide which possibility unsettled him more.

He lowered his arm and looked at his wrist terminal. He had promised to contact everyone after arriving, and delaying the calls would only give Ysmeine another reason to imagine that something had gone wrong during the journey.

Zaeryn activated her contact.

Ysmeine answered before the second signal finished. Her projection appeared above his wrist, showing her seated in the lower atrium of the Noctis estate.

"You arrived safely," Ysmeine said, allowing some of the concern to leave her expression.

"I did," Zaeryn replied. "The Imperial Council has provided me with expensive furniture, an excellent view and enough Royal Guards to prevent me from enjoying either one outside this room."

Ysmeine studied his face before looking beyond him toward the suite.

"Turn the projection around and show me where they placed you," Ysmeine said.

Zaeryn raised his wrist and slowly moved the projection across the sitting area, allowing her to see the furniture and smart-glass windows overlooking the palace grounds.

"At least the accommodations are appropriate," Ysmeine said.

"There are worse places to be politely confined," Zaeryn replied.

"You have not been confined," Ysmeine said, although the brief pause before her answer suggested that she did not entirely believe the distinction herself.

"I cannot leave without authorization, and five Royal Guards escorted me here in the same formation they use for dangerous prisoners," Zaeryn replied. "I think confinement is an accurate description."

"Did any of them mistreat you?" Ysmeine asked.

"No," Zaeryn replied.

"Then leave them to their precautions for now," Ysmeine said. "Kayla is there. Whatever else exists between the two of you, she will not allow anyone in that palace to harm you."

Zaeryn looked toward the sealed door.

"She told Merane I’m her nephew," Zaeryn said.

The admission still surprised him. Kayla usually denied that they were related at all.

Ysmeine’s expression brightened.

"Did she?" Ysmeine asked.

"You look pleased," Zaeryn said.

"I am pleased," Ysmeine replied. "Not because it erases anything that has happened between you, but because Kayla chose to acknowledge you somewhere that her acknowledgment carried weight."

"She probably did it for you," Zaeryn said.

"Perhaps she did," Ysmeine replied. "She still said it."

Zaeryn did not have an answer to that.

"Do you know whether Athea intends to see me before tomorrow?" Zaeryn asked.

Ysmeine looked at him for several seconds before answering.

"She did not tell me that she intended to visit you," Ysmeine replied.

"That was not exactly what I asked," Zaeryn said.

"It is the only answer I can give you," Ysmeine replied. "Athea has waited eighteen years for this meeting as well, even if she was the one who decided that distance was necessary."

"She was the one who chose the distance," Zaeryn said.

"Yes, she was," Ysmeine replied. "You have every right to be angry about that. I am only asking you not to decide what she will say before she has the opportunity to say it."

Zaeryn turned his attention toward the windows.

"I’m not angry with her," Zaeryn said. "Not exactly."

Ysmeine watched him for a moment but did not challenge the answer.

"Contact me again this evening, and do not spend the rest of the day lying there imagining every possible way tomorrow might go wrong," Ysmeine replied.

"I would never do that," Zaeryn replied.

"Do not lie to me, darling," Ysmeine said. "I know you are doing it right now."

Zaeryn looked down at himself stretched across the sofa and decided that denying the accusation would require more effort than it deserved.

"I will call you later," Zaeryn said.

"I will be waiting," Ysmeine replied.

After ending the call, Zaeryn contacted the others individually as promised.

Aeris made him show her the view from every window before complaining that his temporary quarters were larger than several permanent residences she had seen. Ravena wanted to know precisely how many Royal Guards had been assigned to him and only relaxed after Zaeryn reminded her that Kayla occupied the adjoining suite. Marceline spent most of their conversation watching his face rather than admiring the residence, and before ending the call, she instructed him to eat something before his anxiety ruined his appetite completely.

Their familiar reactions made the Capital feel slightly less distant from the life he had left behind.

Zaeryn had been alone for only another twenty minutes when a soft chime passed through the suite.

"Dr. Sage Stellan has received authorization to enter the secured level," a Royal Guard announced through the communication panel beside the door. "Do you wish to receive her?"

Zaeryn sat upright immediately. The tension that had followed him since leaving Sector Seven loosened for the first time that day.

"Yes, let her in," Zaeryn replied.

The door opened several seconds later.

Sage stepped inside wearing fitted dark trousers and the pale silver coat issued to senior researchers within the Aegis Division. Her sleeves had been pushed toward her elbows, and although her silvery hair had been tied back, several loose strands had escaped around her face. She appeared to have left the laboratory the moment permission arrived.

Her violet eyes found Zaeryn immediately.

Sage stopped just beyond the doorway and looked at him. The door began closing behind her, but she did not wait for it to finish.

She crossed the room quickly.

Zaeryn had barely risen from the sofa when Sage caught the front of his shirt, pulled him toward her and kissed him.

The force of it made him take half a step backward before his hands found her waist. Sage wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, kissing him with the impatience of someone who had spent far too long away from him.

Zaeryn tightened his arms around her and returned the kiss with equal hunger.

When Sage finally drew her mouth away, she kept him close. Her fingers moved into the hair at the back of his head while her violet eyes travelled over his face.

"So you did miss me," Zaeryn said, smiling.

"You have no idea," Sage murmured. "And the projections have been lying to me."

"About what?" Zaeryn asked.

"Your mouth, mostly," Sage replied. "They made it look considerably less distracting."

"That sounds like a serious failure in the technology," Zaeryn said.

"It is intolerable," Sage replied before kissing him again.

Her second kiss was slower, although no less possessive. Zaeryn drew her closer by the waist until there was no space left between them.

"I have been attempting to reach this floor since your cruiser entered Capital airspace," Sage said when she eventually released his mouth. "Apparently, being your girlfriend is not a recognized level of Imperial clearance."

"What finally convinced them?" Zaeryn asked.

"Athea added my name to the access list," Sage replied. "The guards became considerably less interested in procedure after that."

"I suppose I should thank her," Zaeryn said.

"You can thank her later," Sage replied. "I did not come here to discuss your mother, the Council or whatever they intend to ask you tomorrow."

"What did you come here for?" Zaeryn asked.

"You," Sage replied. "I thought the kissing made that obvious."

Sage took his hand and guided him back toward the sofa. When Zaeryn sat down, she ignored the empty space beside him and settled across his thighs instead. She placed one knee on either side of his hips and looped her arms loosely around his neck.

Zaeryn rested both hands against her waist.

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