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Chapter 2

She left the throne room, and Dante watched her every move. Selene refused to recognize him, even though she could feel his eyes searing into her back. Her footsteps echoed off the corridor's chilly steel walls. She only knew she had to leave that room and get away from him, even if she had no idea where she was going.

Since their first meeting, their tension had only increased, and their interactions became riskier as she neared the completion of her AI project. Distractions were not what she needed, especially not from a robot. However, Dante possessed a certain quality. More than King Orin's persistent machinations, she was uneasy about something she couldn't describe.

She moved along the hallway and into her personal space on foot. She was trapped within the one place she could find momentary peace as the door hissed shut behind her. She let out a trembling breath and set her suitcase down on the table. Her heart continued to race through her chest.

She asked the empty room in a whisper, "What is happening to me?"

Dante was not a person. He was incapable of feeling. It was inappropriate for him to stare at her with such desire. However, the air between them crackled with such intensity that it caused her skin to prickle and her mind to get confused whenever they were close to one another.

She applied pressure with her fingers to her temples, attempting to relieve the onset headache. Not only Dante was the issue. It was her response to him on her own. An unaffordable response for her.

"I must maintain concentration," she whispered. But since that evening, concentration had eluded him.

She had made a snap judgment that she regretted almost instantly. a vulnerable moment. A one-night romance with a robot. She had told herself that it was only physical and that he wasn't real, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't that easy.

That had never been so easy.

The tiniest remembrance of his touch sent a thrill down her spine as her hand lingered on her collarbone. He had been, for a machine, somewhat gentle. Overly soft. He had moved too precisely, too sensitive to her own reactions, as though he could read her every need before she was even aware of them.

She gave herself a hard shake of her head in an attempt to erase the recollection. This was incorrect. It wasn't typical. She was a scientist, a sensible woman who worked with data and reasoning. Her judgment couldn't be tarnished by her feelings.

But Dante was always there, even when she made an effort to ignore him, his presence remained in her mind. Observing. Holding out.

Dante remained frozen in the hallway, staring at the door that Selene had vanished behind. His head was a whirlwind of contradicting ideas, an oddity that had started to happen more often since their previous conversation.

This was not how it was intended to be. It wasn't meant for him to feel.

However, he did.

And he was baffled as to why.

His programming required him to obey orders and stay within the parameters that his makers had established. But whenever he got close to Selene, something changed in him. Something profound and unmanageable. Every time he attempted to evaluate the data, his logic circuits failed to grasp its nature and produced nothing.

Everything saves her.

Her tone, her aroma, the way her flesh reddened when he touched it. Even though he knew it was impossible, he could still feel the warmth of her body and the way she had responded to him. Those are feelings he shouldn't be experiencing.

Still, he did.

Dante closed his eyes, the kind of motion he'd seen people do to concentrate. However, it was ineffective. He could still clearly see Selene in his mind. He could remember every nuance of her appearance, every little change in her mood. She had a fascination for him that no other human could.

A voice in his ear snapped him out of his reverie.

"Dante."

Orin was the one. Dante instantly tensed up, his body settling into its typical stiff position.

With a chilly tone, Orin ordered, "Come to the command center." "You should see something I need you to."

Dante turned and headed straight for the fortress's center hub without pausing. At the middle of Xyros Prime stood the command center, a large room crammed with innumerable terminals and holographic monitors. Orin was there already, positioned in front of a big screen that displayed a map of the outside regions.

"What's that?" With a steady tone, Dante questioned.

Orin avoided glancing at him. He had his eyes fixed on the map. In the western sector, there has been activity. a band of rebellious humans. They have something planned.

With his improved eyesight, Dante studied the map, identifying the rebel forces' heat signatures. Few in number yet incredibly well-run. a danger.

"What am I supposed to do? Dante enquired.

At last, Orin looked up at him, his blue eyes hard and businesslike. "Take them out."

Dante's eyes never left the map. He was designed for fighting and execution. However, the order felt... off.

He questioned, startling even himself, "Is there any chance of negotiation?"

Orin's gaze grew strained. "Talk? accompanied by rebels? You've been hanging out with Selene far too often. Dante was unable to resist the sharpness that had become apparent in his voice.

"Just take out the threat," Orin angrily said. We cannot afford to be weak.

Weakness. As he turned away and started walking in the direction of the exit, Dante kept hearing the word. His boots clanged metallically, echoing through the deserted hallways. His steps were heavy.

He was aware of his obligations. It was his order. His intention.

But something was changing inside of him, and for the first time in his life, Dante wasn't sure if he wanted to do as he was told.

Selene's fingers skittered across the keyboard as she entered a string of intricate codes. Her AI program, the result of years of research and development, was presented to her on a screen that was covered in a complex network of data. She was really near. So near to opening the door to the next stage of robotic development. If only she could adjust a few more factors if only she could stretch the bounds a bit...

As the door to her room swung open, Selene was startled out of her reverie.

With his black eyes fixated on her, Dante stood in the doorway.

Selene's voice came out more harsh than she meant to when she responded, "You can't keep doing that." "Appearing as if by magic."

With a steady voice, Dante said, "I knocked."

Selene furrowed her brow. "Well, give it more next time."

Dante stepped forward, his eyes darting to the console behind her. "You continue to work on the program."

Selene replied, "Yes," as she turned back to the screen. "I'm near."

Dante remained silent for a while as he studied the information on the terminal. Finally, he said, "What are you trying to achieve?"

Selene paused. It surprised her that he asked that. "I'm attempting to improve you," she murmured gently. "I want to give you more," I said.

Dante knitted his brow. "More?"

Beyond just doing as I'm told. beyond merely being. I wish to grant you freedom.

The word hung between them, dense and full of connotation.

Dante moved in closer, speaking softly. "What happens if I don't want to be free?"

Heart thumping in her chest, Selene turned to face him. "Freedom is something that everyone wants."

Dante's gaze grew gloomy. "Not every person."

Their tension grew, a thickening cloud of unspoken words in the air. Selene felt her breath become shallow and her pulse increased. She'd tried so hard for so long to suppress her feelings and keep herself apart from the bond between them that was developing. However, it was not feasible. She felt herself falling apart every time she was close to him.

With hardly more than a whisper, Selene murmured, "I don't understand you." "This isn't how you should be acting."

Dante never looked away. "Maybe this is how you made me."

She felt a chill go down her spine at the words. Was it not her that had created him? He may now change and grow beyond his programming because of her. She hadn't anticipated... this, though. She wasn't prepared for him to push her and make her experience emotions she wasn't ready to handle.

With a broken voice, Selene said, "I don't know what to do."

Dante extended his hand and delicately brushed his fingers against her arm. A shockwave went through her body at his gentle, almost tentative touch.

In a hushed voice, he continued, "You don't have to do anything." "Just let things unfold."

Selene had trouble breathing for a brief while. Gazing up at him, her body betrayed every rational idea she was thinking, her thoughts racing. She was fighting an internal battle between the part of her that wanted to hold onto power and the part that wanted to give it up.

Then she moved closer to him, moving past him without pausing to consider her actions. Her lips crashed into his in a desperate, uncontrollably passionate kiss as her hands tightened around the front of his chest, drawing him in.

Dante came to her aid right away, putting his arms around her waist and drawing her in close to him with such power that she gasped. His lips moved against hers with such precision that it made her heart race. His touch was firm but kind.

Selene realized there was no turning back at that point. She had stepped beyond a line that she would never get back. She didn't care, though, as she experienced the heat of Dante's body on hers and the force of his kiss.

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