Chapter 17: Chapter SEVENTEEN

The group raised many curious looks as they passed through the Pupil. Adam and Irina were obviously recognized as each individual greeted them and the couple returned the salutations with a smile and a quick nod. On the other hand, Mia and Ethan were watched with a glimmer of curiosity that automatically created unease in the blonde reminding her of her first day in the city. Everyone here seemed to know who they were, which was less and less the case as they moved away from the Heart.

Maybe because they have other more important concerns than the rich over there, Mia thought inwardly to explain the phenomenon.

Everywhere she went since she arrived at the Arena, she was looked at as a curiosity, as someone, if not something, that shouldn't be here or that was simply apart from the others. She might find herself in the middle of her congeners, she was still given the impression that she was not normal. She was placed in a dangerous situation that she had not chosen, to support a role that weighed heavily on her shoulders. Ethan was right, she was not ready for this war, and even less ready to embody the symbol of emancipation that they wanted her to represent with Ethan. She was just an earthling lost in a war that was completely beyond her.

"Are you okay?" asked Ethan, worried seeing her lost in thought, biting her lip in anguish.

"I feel like I was thrown into the ocean and told to scramble to get to shore when I can't even swim," Mia replied defeatedly. "That's a lot to take in between the war, the soulmate thing, humans... Just when I was barely getting used to the Arena. Seeing them stare at us like freaks doesn't help me..."

Ethan stopped and captured her fingers in his to hold her to his side. He slid his free hand along her temple, his fingers digging into her hair, and kissed her forehead tenderly. The contact between his lips and her skin lasted only two seconds, but Mia could feel all the comfort he wanted to bring her through this gesture. Touched, she tightened the grip of his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers to keep moving forward. The physical attraction she felt for the Vila that was first triggered by the pheromones was one thing, but witnessing and receiving all the affection he was capable of was quite another. Their relationship had been mostly physical so far, at least for her. Sure, she had learned to appreciate his presence and to know his more obvious personality traits, but they didn't know each other that well and, above all, they hadn't shared a lot of things until then. Their emotional bond was still fragile.

At least I'm not alone with him by my side, she reassured herself, finally choosing to ignore the looks the Pupil citizens were giving her.

The rest of the trip passed in dead silence, the anxiety of the news to come eventually winning over the enthusiasm of Adam and Irina. Everyone was worried for different reasons, but that was enough for a heavy mood to spread over the group. The closer they got to HQ, the less talkative they became, and the conversations ended up dying for good. Mia was completely lost in her thoughts, leaving it to Ethan to guide them by carefully following his brother and his soul mate. The trip to the Heart lasted about twenty minutes during which they zigzagged between passers-by, horses, and carriages used by the wealthy classes to get around. She had not seen a stable or other building to house horses near the couple's home and deduced that they may not have had a personal means of getting around. Which was surprising, given their privileged status in the city's society. And yet, again, their home was at the outer edge of the Pupil, and not close to the Heart as she might have expected for high military dignitaries.

Like the first time they took this route, they reached a high wooden palisade whose gate was guarded by two careless soldiers, marking the entrance to the Heart and the path leading them up the cliff. The main HQ building was on the other side, but the quarter extended throughout the rock structure, allowing them to reach it from any angle.

They climbed in the magic elevator to reach the third floor two short minutes later. A heavy steel door on the rock prevented anyone from entering inside without being checked and attested by the four soldiers in the room, two of whom were seated at a desk, a setup similar to what they saw at the prison. Everyone's entrances and exits were logged for each quarter of the Heart to ensure that any civilian did not wander through the labyrinthine maze of rooms carved into the cliff.

A long, endless hallway dotted with metal doors and a few open doors leading to desks finally led them to an enormous hall which, to the young couple's surprise, was bright unlike the rest of the structure. They hadn't been able to see it since they hadn't visited the other side of town, but the HQ hall was an open room on one side, with a rock-cut half-wall on the instead of a wide wall running to the ceiling that offered a sweeping view of the rest of the city. The room, therefore, had a large window of light thanks to this kind of balcony which made it possible to observe part of the city below.

Citizen salutes and curious looks quickly turned into military salutes and serious faces. The HQ was swarming with individuals who ran in all directions or who discussed with great seriousness. The jovial and light atmosphere of the Pupil no longer existed here, and this considerably reinforced the anxiety of the group.

"It's busier than usual," Irina remarked, the anguish in her voice. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

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