Read Trapped: Chaos Core Book 1 for Free Online Page B

costumer was right, that there was nothing special planned
for her that night.
    When they met in the
middle, Larken gently took her in his arms. “A little kiss,” he
said before planting his lips on hers for a lingering moment, then he
walked her to the foot of the Countess’s throne. “I present your
Aspen, once lost in the wild, now found and returned,” he said to
her.
    Aspen followed his lead
as he bowed deeply. All Aspen could see were the Countess’s
green-shod feet, she was bowing so low, and for a long moment she
remained frozen in place.
    “Welcome home,” was
all the Countess had to say to set the courtiers off in a torrent of
polite clapping. The sound made her cringe, but Aspen made sure she
was smiling brightly when the Countess’ long fingers touched her
forehead, then directed her and Larken to take their places to her
right and left.

    Given a moment of
quiet, even from the right side of the dais, Aspen’s thoughts
returned to the crewmembers who were delivered to the Countess
because they tried to help her. She couldn’t help but wonder where
her friends were, what they were doing, and how she’d get them out
of the mess she’d gotten them into.
    The membership of the
Countess’ court was a mixture of the military, government, and
social elite. It had been too long, and the mad machines had killed
too many of the old wealthy courtiers, or at least that’s the
assumption Aspen made. She didn’t recognize any of the faces out of
the two hundred or more people in the massive space. In the dim
light, she only saw clothes stuffed with unfamiliar humans. United
Core Authority uniforms socialized with revealing dresses and tight
summer suits, while less fashionable suits and dresses adorned with
government seals mixed between awkwardly. These were the people who
had to work harder to find their way to the social elite, the ones
that were elected, or planted, or controlled and generally
disrespected by everyone else. She’d seen it before. Few government
officials had the respect of the ultra-wealthy or the highest ranks
in the military. Either group could have someone in government
replaced, but it wasn’t so easy to supplant the wealthy or the
military.
    The faces were
different, but the dynamic was the same, leading Aspen to wonder if
she would find a friendly maverick amongst them. There was always at
least one person who thought differently, respected life more than
the rest, and would bend the rules for the sake of doing something
different. They were often easy to spot either because they were more
flamboyant or deeply, obviously bored. She had to find them fast,
earn their trust or at least intrigue them enough to get their help.
Her friends were waiting, and she didn’t want to put up with the
Countess’ lifestyle for a minute longer than she had to.
    The revelation that
Larken was alive made everything complicated. If it weren’t for him
she would take the first chance she had to slip away and get the
information she needed from the computer. At the next opportunity,
she’d steal a ship and do whatever she could to get her friends,
but Larken was still deluded to think that he was living a good life
with the Countess, that she saw him as something other than property.
    Every time she looked
into his eyes she wanted to kiss him, and she wanted to slap him. He
seemed dazed to her, like she just needed the right words or the
right image to wake him from his daydream and then they could leave
together. There were layers of security, faithful courtiers that
could get in their way, but if her taste of freedom taught her
anything, it was that luck favoured decisive people who took the
initiative. She’d find her way out, she’d find the right time,
and Aspen hoped she could convince Larken to go with her when it
came.
    Her thoughts were
interrupted as one of the courtiers, an older woman started crossing
the empty space between the dais and her. She was in a simpler dress
that celebrated