The day after the party, we headed to North Dakota by jet. Still flying in the sky, I glanced at Ophelia. Her nose pressed up against the window. Ophelia's bright gray-blue eyes lit up excitedly. Her ruby hair is a total disarray around her face and down her shoulders. Her natural red lips curved into a smile. Earbuds in her ears as she nods her head to the modern-day music.

Today, she put on a thin white blouse, black women's pants, and black heels. A simple outfit. Yet, she stood out in so many ways.

"Originally, the idea was theorized and talked amongst researchers and scientists. However, with the quick innovation of technology in today's world, we could save our future and possibly give our kind hopes," Lazarus explained while flipping through his tablet without looking up at me.

"The idea of an extracorporeal artificial placenta for our newborns could save our very race." I leaned on the armrest and scratched my jaw. "Humans have attempted this unorthodox method before."

"Yes, but remember their human genetic makeup isn't like ours. According to our researchers, they have found something unique in our blood. This is why we are heading to North Dakota. This trial must go through you for approval. If it works, our future will change."

Lazarus pulled up an image and turned the tablet to me. I looked at the various images and research notes. It looked promising. If this was true, it would make a difference. Our race would be superior to others. With this kind of knowledge and power could incur consequences we might not be prepared for. Lazarus was right. I needed to go to North Dakota.

Ophelia took out one of her earbuds and turned away from the window to look at us.

"This is amazing. I've never been this high in the sky before. If I look out the window, it is almost as if I am flying with the clouds."

"None of your previous owners took you on a plane ride?" I questioned as I handed back the tablet to Lazarus. He turned it off instantly.

"Most of them buried me in a display room. The farthest I could go from the crystal was from their house to the end of the driveway."

I thought about her life and found myself pitying her. Living the immortal life was lonely enough. To be stuck to a crystal with no way to run—that sounds like a sentence that I never want to be tied to.

"I'll take you wherever you want to go after this."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up, and she reached for my arms. I fought back a smile. So, I scratched at my nose and looked away from her. Lazarus grinned at her reaction.

"Of course! Our king would never agree to something and go back on his words. His words are his promise," Lazarus responded for me.

I was curious about how Ophelia got bound to the crystal. I turned my attention back to her.

"How did you get bound to the crystal?"

Lazarus and Silas—who sat across from us waited for an answer.

Ophelia shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her seat. An action that depicted she would not cooperate with us. She physically withdrew herself from the conversation without knowing.

"When the time comes for you to know, I'll let you know," she said nonchalantly.

I raised an eyebrow, and she met it with two raised eyebrows of her own. She always challenges me. I didn't press further because I have my ways of learning about things, even if she didn't tell me. I could use my powers and manipulate her to do my bidding, but that wasn't a possibility when it comes to Ophelia. She's strong and powerful. Any being with any kind of senses would understand it by standing in her presence.

"You mentioned you had a family? You were human once?" Silas asked.

"Yes, I did have a family, and I was human once."

"Is your real name Ophelia?"

She nodded her head. At least, I could use that to look for more information. I wanted to question her some more, but we arrived soon after. We landed on a helipad that was on top of an enormous industrial building. The pilot shut down the engine, and as soon as we jumped down from the jet; we were met with a few researchers. They were wearing white lab coats. In their hands, they held tablets.

"Hello, Paula. This is our king, King Atlas, and his cousin, Silas," Lazarus introduced.

"Good evening, my king. My name is Paula. In order from left to right, I have Mark, Lucy, and Jenny. They are our lead scientists in this research. I understand that time is important. I'll go ahead and lead you to our laboratory - "

"Actually, I would like the staff to direct my friend, Ophelia, to sit in your lounge area." I turned to Ophelia, who raised an eyebrow. She was wheeling her suitcase that had her crystal inside.

"Certainly." Paula gestured with her head for Lucy to take Ophelia to their lounge area.

Ophelia threw me a look that told me this wasn't the end of it before she disappeared with Lucy.

We made our way inside the building. Inside the top floor was only an elevator. There were four security guards on the top floor to manage the entrance. Paula walked up to the elevator and swiped her badge on the scanner. It opened, and we all walked inside. Another security wall popped up in the mainframe of the elevator.

"Please state your name."

"Paula Sullivan."

"Permission granted."

The elevator whirred before setting into motion. Paula turned to us.

"We have a high level of security here. Our staff is required to wear name badges at all times. In order to enter a building, all visitors must be escorted and receive pre-authorized approval. We have security guards at every level of this building and at every entrance. Our elevators are configured to a biometric security system. It is programmed to recognize your voice and facial structure," Mark said from next to Paula.

"We have strong security in our building. This is to protect the research we have done for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, with our research, we also have to wait for technology to catch up. We work with what we have," Paula added to Mark's explanation.

"There is an antivirus program we run three times a day to recognize any unknown entries. If there are any, we are alerted right away. We update this program regularly to keep up with the ever changing cyberspace," Mark said next.

The elevator doors opened, and Paula stepped out first. We were at the basement level. There were no windows. They painted the walls white.

"This is our laboratory. We perform all our experimental study, testing, and analysis here," Paula said.

Glass walls split the laboratory up into sections. They plastered warning signs and caution labels on each door. There were some staff working in each section.

Paula led us to the section at the end of the room. The windows were tinted. She scanned her hand on the biometric scanner on the door. It slid open, and we walked inside.

Immediately, in front of us, I saw something that I had never seen before. A clear glass with a fetus inside. We all walked up to the glass, and I stared in awe. This is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Our kind has the capabilities to breed in the safest way possible.

"Amazing," Silas whispered next to me. He was also in awe of what he was seeing. Who wouldn't be?

"It is a work in progress, but it is the farthest we have ever gone into our research. The fetus inside has been alive and strong for fifteen weeks now. The physical liquid environment is similar to what would be in a human placenta," Paula explained with a smile. "We added sounds and voices that would familiarize the fetus to its mother once it reaches its full stage."

We reviewed the gathered information for another hour before I called a stop to the information. Lazarus, Silas, and I returned to the top floor. This research will change the world. All beings would kill to learn the secrets. They could either use this to their advantage or turn this into something we can't control. It could bring a new species for all we know. It was dangerous, but effective information that shouldn't be given out lightly.

Before we realize the full potential of what we have discovered, no one should know of this secret.

I met Ophelia in the cafeteria. She was munching on a plate of fruits when she saw us coming. I'm glad she didn't disappear back into her crystal.

"Are we ready?" she asked when she neared her.

I nodded my head before intertwining my hand through hers. She didn't make a fuss or act surprised. Ophelia held my hand as if she had done it a million times.

I didn't come here just for the research. I brought Ophelia here to show her around. Silas and Lazarus took another vehicle back to a nearby residence. There was another person I wanted to meet, but he wouldn't be here until tomorrow. So, we had to stay another night. It wasn't a bad thing, as I wanted to take Ophelia somewhere. Ophelia and I borrowed a vehicle from the research facility.

I drove in the front seat while she sat in the passenger seat. When we departed the facility, she turned to face me.

"So, I heard a little bit about what's going on during the jet ride here. I pretended not to hear, but my hearing is pretty sharp for a witch."

I smirked and glanced at her for a second before returning my gaze back to the road. I told her about what we had discovered. It amazed me at how easily the truth slipped out of me. A part of me wondered if she put a spell on me. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she did as I recalled our situation back at home.

"That is something extremely rare and almost impossible to do. I'm surprised your kind has reached such a high success rate."

I nodded my head. We turned down another road. The landscape of North Dakota here was flat but grassy plains.

There was a place in North Dakota that I discovered during my travels in my early years. I enjoyed the scenery and there wasn't much activity around the area. It was pretty private and open.

When we made it to the area, there was a small cliff. Under the cliff was a clear blue-green lake. I parked the car just ways from the cliff. Ophelia jumped out of the car and ran to the edge of the cliff. She threw her arms wide open and closed her eyes. It was still very dark outside. She could barely see anything, but the lights from the vehicle helped her see what was ahead of her.

"I wish I could've brought you here during the day, but as you might have already discovered, I don't like the sun very much."

She turned around to smile at me, and I couldn't help but smirk back while I walked up to her.

"It doesn't matter. It feels good to be out of the crystal and to breathe fresh air. When you are asleep for the longest time, you begin to appreciate the little things when you are finally awake." Ophelia's eyes shone with a certain kind of sadness. One that I don't know if I liked very much.

"Well, now that you have me as your owner, I can assure you that you'll see plenty of things in the future." I hoped to make her happy, but her smile dropped for a second before she plastered on a fake smile.

"Of course!"

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my arms. Turning her around, we looked up at the moon. What was it that caused her to change her mood so quickly?

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Something's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong at all." She turned in my arms to wrap her arms around my neck. Ophelia's fingers threaded through my hair, and she kissed me.

It was the first time she initiated intimate contact, and my heart...fuck...my heart didn't sit still. I felt my blood roar and everything around me disappeared.

I yanked her into my arms, and I kissed her back just as desperately. A second later, I had her on the grassy ground floor and my body on top of hers. Minutes later, I worshiped her body beneath the moon. We didn't go all the way. I wanted to take my time with her, and although loving her beneath the moon seemed tempting; I felt the time wasn't right.

After we finished our sightseeing, we drove back to the residence to spend the next few hours until the next evening.