Three Conditions

The doors to the holding cell open and I glance up to find an unfamiliar face. It is neither Tracker nor Top, just another guard I have seen around once before.

"Come out. Top wants to see you in the boardroom." The guard instructs gruffly.

Getting up to my feet, I pull Tracker's jacket tighter around myself and make my way out of the cell.

The guard leads me through the tower, all the way to the boardroom where I met Top before and once again, Top is seated at the head of the table, clad in a tailored suit.

Seated by his side is Sera, Tracker, Tech and Gemma are also present. Sera, Tech and Gemma are on the other side and I took the seat beside Tracker.

"Kyra, hello there." Top greets in a tone far too cheerful for someone who had just sent me to my death the day before.

My response is silence and a hateful glare and Top grins, his grin drops when Sera clears her throat slightly, a very subtle warning.

"So, last night...was quite eventful. Can you tell us exactly what happened?" Top asks.

"I'm not sitting around a table, discussing how I failed to get some dick." I state blankly, my anger pushing me past the point of filtering my words.

Top and Tech both burst into laughter, much to my surprise whilst Tracker choked on air, lifting a hand to rub his chest.

Even Sera is thoroughly amused and Gemma just rolls her eyes, clearly not intent on her presence in the boardroom.

"I'm Milo, I think we will get along just fine." Tech introduces himself, waving at Kyra when he finally gets ahold of himself.

"Yes, go on. You can say it however you feel is best." Top assures, still chuckling.

"You could ask him, I hear you both are best friends." I say with disinterest.

"Well, Supreme has a company to run. He's gone out to work and will not be back till the evening hours. He already gave me an earful too, but I want to hear from you." Top said, his tone is now serious.

"He almost killed me." I deadpan.

Top nods like it is extremely normal and I realise that it is.

"Most of us can say the same after encountering him during the mania. Some even come away injured, I myself have a scar or two to prove it...but we get to keep our lives because he can still sense our bond with him, despite the mania obscuring his ability to recognise people." Top says directly.

"Then why would you send me to him?!" I exclaim in disbelief.

"Look at it from this angle. We all have a bond with our Supreme and get away with our lives, but you do not. Which means you should not have walked out of that room alive last night..."

"Not if Alaric was completely unaffected by you." Top states in a serious tone.

"Not only that, Alaric sent a mental order to Tracker to take you to the cells, during the hours of the mania. Usually, he forgets how to use the mind link at the night hours." Tech adds another observation.

I glance over at Tracker and he nods his head, confirming Tech's words to be true.

"Last night may not have gone entirely as we hoped, but it does confirm that your mission is not completely hopeless. We need only identify exactly what gave you away... how could he tell you were not her?" Top asks, staring intently at me.

For a while, I think over the night before. I have already replayed the scene again and again in my head while in the holding cell.

"Because... I am not her. And I can never be." I finally reply.

Top's brows furrow slightly at that and he leans back in his chair.

"Are you backing out already? Because you and I both know what that means." Top's tone is now cold.

"If I do not die at his hands first, I will die at yours. Or spend the rest of my life in a boxed white room. I remember it all just fine." I summarise, my tone is equally chilly.

"Good. We are on the same page." Top approves.

"What I mean to say is, the Supreme and the Luna supreme are mates. I may look similar to her, but the bond cannot be falsified. If someone else appears and claims to be Sera, would you not be able to tell the difference? Even if you were struck by lightning?" I ask Top directly.

"The girl has a point. Their mannerisms are too different and the bond... that cannot be ignored." Gemma supports me.

Top mulls over it for a moment before he nods his head. "Tell me what happened."

"My scent...he says I do not smell like her. But he was not unmoved, despite knowing that I was not her..." I say, my tone is thoughtful.

"I need to know, why you think getting laid will solve your Supreme's problem." I question directly.

"It's not about that, it's about forming a bond that is familiar enough to overwhelm his mania." Top explains.

"If so, then let me do it my way. Not as the Luna supreme, but as Kyra. Let me approach him as myself." I offer in a serious tone.

"He will always be able to tell the difference, even if I end up in bed with him, he will consider me an imposter afterwards. So let me do things my own way... I have three conditions, first I will not go to him every night but only when I choose to." I begin.

Top is about to argue but a glare from Sera shuts him up.

"Secondly, do not expect me to share his bed when you want me to. It may never happen too...but I will do my best to help him with his mania." I continue.

"And what is the third condition?" Top asks.

"From this moment, I will not learn anything more about the Luna supreme. Instead, I want to know about the Supreme himself... everything and anything." I finish, my eyes narrowed in determination.