Page 98 of Fated to the Wicked King

My stolen heart was finally returned.

Even though I knew it no longer belonged to me.

My heart belonged to him.

Always. Forever.

I pressed my face in his neck, against his soothing warmth, and with sated pleasure ebbing throughout my entire body, I fell asleep…to the steady ticking of the tower’s massive clock all around us.

Twenty-Seven

JUMP

“For old time’s sake, I would love for you to be here to witness the grand, inaugural activation of our wondrous machine.”

“You’ve endangered trillions of lives, killed billions—all for the sake of science.”

“We will have sole command of all the worlds in existence.”

“Are you seeing this, Dr. Carter? This is the culmination of your life’s work!”

I woke up with a soft gasp.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I clutched my head at the sudden onslaught of images—all my forgotten memories crashing back in a relentless torrent, each one striking with painful clarity as my mind pulsed, my head throbbed, and my heart hammered wildly against my ribs.

With my own heart finally restored, everything was coming to a fine point as the true horror of what I had done came rushing back.

This was all my fault.

Shall I tell you the tale of Dr. Eleanor Carter?

Eleanor Carter was head of the most prestigious scientific laboratory on Earth. The world’s topmost expert in string theory and quantum universes.

It was a particularly fine day when she was having a messy bagel that she had an epiphany.

Her latest theory could so very easily be proven—if only she could tap into the mind of one random human being, regardless of their consent, use their life essence as a marker in plotting the shape of another dimension, the key to unlocking all the secrets of the multiverse.

And it worked. Of course it worked.

And if Eleanor could exploit one human life to support her discoveries, why not more? If she could solve one theory after another by simply pushing those boundaries, what would it matter? It would all add up to the big picture.

All she ever wanted to do was sate her curiosity about the world. About all the worlds.

I took a deep breath, my chest heavy with remorse and horror.

The General was right. None of my groundbreaking research would have been successful if I hadn’t been arrogant enough to sacrifice human lives. Starting with that one person, and then eventually, entire worlds lost to my theories and trials.

All for the sake of my scientific curiosity.

I was still curled up against Rabb’s warmth. His arm was around me, keeping me close against his hard body. His usually conflicted expression softened by sleep, his chest moving in even breaths. Lifting my hand, I brushed his dark hair off his forehead.

In all my lives, I had never felt this close to anyone.

Eleanor had never been in love—until now.

A momentary rush of warmth shot through me, only to be stopped short by cold reality.

He loved me.