Planet Omega

Chapter 30

 One month later, most pawns and EMMA pawns have allowed Mateo and Watson to implant the sphere device chip. All of the pawns on the midnight gala mission have theirs, ready to come together and end this once and for all.

And the entirety of the PRF, those who currently reside at the hideout and those only here for a little while, celebrate the beginning of the end of Emperor Zaselir's reign. Not that we all just believe it'll be that easy, that in two days' time, the world will be good again. I think everyone just needs a reason to celebrate, to have a good time, to smile and laugh one more time.

My heart hurts looking around this rowdy room, full of grinning faces and relaxed demeanors. One look around the room, and no one would be able to tell that tomorrow evening, most of us are going to be involved in bloodshed and violence. How many of us will return the morning after? How many of our bodies will be lying there, caught in the crossfire?

"Oh, chin up, buttercup," Morrigan's melodious voice tunes into my hearing as she takes a seat at the table across from me.

I take notice of the cup in her hand, and shoot her a confused smile. "Why are you drinking that?"

"This?" she holds up the cup, then turns it upsidedown. "There's nothing in this, but it makes me feel like I'm getting drunk with the rest of them. Do I wear it well?"

"Sure," I say with a giggle. Morrigan's always possessed the ability to get me out of my head, even just by saying something stupid. Then again, she could make just about anyone's mood lift. I swear, her ability goes beyond lie detecting. "Are you good at being fake drunk?"

Morrigan makes a face at me, then motions with her thumb over her shoulder, in time for me to peer over and see a few demonfolk falling out of their seats from laughter. "Doesn't look very difficult to me, just be clumsy and laugh a lot." And then, she lets out an exaggeratedly loud laugh, like I said the funniest thing in the world.

My eyes catch sight of Cal looking my way from the far end of the long table. She offers me a thumbs up, asking if things are okay where I'm at. Yeah, Morrigan's fake laughter definitely drew in some gazes, and all I can do is give Cal a thumbs up in return. When her look lingers for just a moment before turning back to the conversation she's having with Watson, I let out a soft breath.

That's the thing about Cal. While she loves deeply, she isn't jealous in the same sort of way most humans are. Despite my betrayal, she trusts me. She trusts me so much that even when talked about Morrigan and any people in my past that I've been involved with in that sort of way, I detected no jealousy. Sure, she admitted she didn't like thinking about the fact that other hands used to be on me, but there were no hostile words about Morrigan.

Actually, Cal said she liked Morrigan. That someone had to be around to lighten the mood for people, and though Morrrigan's a flirt, she's a good person. And then she very brazenly marked my skin several times, even though they healed by the end of it all. She showed me that I'm hers and hers alone, before holding me in her arms, deciding she was going to be the big spoon that night.

"You have to act like the world is spinning, so you look extra silly when walking," I encourage Morrigan, folding my arms over the table. "Maybe even carry two cups."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Are you making fun of me?"

"I would never." But I raise my eyebrows at her and do my best to withhold a smile.

We both break into giggles, and she shakes her head at me. "I really did miss you, Emma. Not that the others aren't fun, but you've always been the one, you know? No, not in that way," Morrigan corrects immediately. "The one who gives a shit. The heart. You're the first one, you got all of the good and the bad. The most human of us all."