What We Know

The next morning, both Katherine and Jasper were awoken by the sound of her alarm going off. She had been smart enough to set one before bed to ensure that she did not miss her meeting, but now she was regretting setting a meeting at nine in the morning.

Next to her, Jasper groaned and used the hand that was still on her waist to pull her close to him. "Why is an alarm going off?" he asked in a groggy voice next to her ear.

She reached to turn it off and answered, "I scheduled a meeting with Eric to discuss what's been done about the rebels and my mom. We have to get up."

Although she was tired, knowing she might make progress in finding her mom gave her an adrenaline rush, and she moved Jasper's arm and threw off the covers so that she could get up.

Jasper sighed and sat himself up to stretch out his stiff limbs.

He watched as Katherine put on dress pants and a nice top, and he looked down on the floor at their ripped clothes from the night before.

"I should have brought a uniform with me," he said from the bed. "Now I have to do a walk of shame and hope no one sees."

He ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair, and Katherine said in an annoyed voice, "If you kept some clothes here like I've told you to, that wouldn't have been an issue."

Katherine had been asking Jasper to leave some of his things in her room for years now. She hated watching him sneak away late at night or early in the morning, and she figured it was the best solution. Plus, she loved the feeling of them getting to live together like a normal couple, at least in that way.

"And risk someone finding out about us? Not taking that chance, Katie," he replied in an equally annoyed voice.

"I think you walking down the hall in your shirt from last night that no longer closes in the front is more likely to give us away than anything else."

Katherine, who was now fully clothed, walked over to the mirror to make sure she looked presentable for her meeting. She caught the movement of Jasper getting out of bed in the reflection behind her.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned into the crook of her neck and she could feel his hot breath on her skin as he said, "If walking down the hall half naked is the price for what we did last night, I will gladly pay it."

She closed her eyes as he gently kissed her neck. It was taking all of her willpower to not take her clothes back off and take advantage of the fact that Jasper was still naked.

Last night she joked about him being the insatiable one, but they both knew that she was just as insatiable when it came to him.

Before she could act on her desires, he let her go and started to get dressed in his destroyed clothes from the day before.

"I'll be back in five minutes," he said in his open shirt and slacks as he opened the bedroom door and made his way out.

Katherine let out a long breath when he left the room, and decided to put some mascara on to help hide her tired eyes. If she was not out so late last night with Charles, maybe she would have been better rested.

Pushing the thought aside, she brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror again to make sure she looked better than she felt.

Jasper was true to his word, and less than five minutes later he was back and in his white guard uniform to escort her to her meeting. When they walked out of her room, a guard was already back in place to guard it; Katherine figured that Jasper called for someone when he went to get changed.

As they made their way to the battle room, Katherine felt her stomach start to twist with nerves. What if there was still no progress with finding her mom? It had been about a week now, so the chances of finding her alive and healthy were diminishing quickly.

They entered the room to find Charles and some of the royal guards chatting away while they stood over a large map that was laid on the table.

When they heard her enter, the guards bowed and Charles's face lit up as he said, "Good morning, Kit."

Katherine could feel Jasper stiffen beside her, but she pretended like she didn't notice. "I take it there's good news then since you're smiling?"

One of the guards chuckled and Charles's face started to turn red as he cleared his throat and waved a hand for her to come over.

"Look," he said as he pointed down at the map once she had made her way over to them. "The army has searched all the known rebel locations in Helios, but they have not found any trace of her."

He started to trace his fingers along the blue markings that indicated those locations as he continued, "However, as we were looking over this map, Kyle here noticed a bunch of old mining locations that aren't in use anymore and that have been abandoned for years."

Charles looked at her with wide, excited eyes, waiting for her response.

"You think they might have taken her to one of the mines?" Katherine hurriedly asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. That's why Eric isn't here right now. He went to meet with the army to decide where to send what fleets so that they could go investigate," Kyle came forward to say.

"Oh my," Katherine said as an excited chuckle escaped her lips. She looked over at the older guard and said, "Kyle, if this pans out and they find my mom, I will double your salary so that you don't retire. Clearly we need to keep you here with us."

The old man chuckled and shyly looked down, "It would be my pleasure, Your Majesty."

The guards were well paid compared to most people who lived in Titanus, and even so, Kyle would have just barely been able to retire at the age of sixty. He was someone who had been around Katherine her whole life, and she knew her father had been trying to convince him not to retire for nearly a year.

She knew that being a guard must have been tough on his aging body, but the fact of the matter was that Kyle was the best of the best, and she understood why her father did not want to lose him. She felt the same way, and doubling his salary for his help in finding her mom would be the perfect reason for him to stay.

"When will we know if they actually have her in one of the mines?" she asked, not even trying to hide the hope in her voice.

"By nightfall," one of the guards said.

The room suddenly went quiet as everyone thought about what the end of the day might bring. Katherine looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her. She swallowed hard and let out a long breath.

"Good work. All of you. I guess that now we just wait," Katherine said.