“Hey, guys? Hate to break up this reunion and all, but we need to get these two to a doctor.” It was Penny’s voice.
Reluctantly, I broke the kiss. Erik wrapped me in his arms, not wanting to break physical contact. I turned towards Penny and nearly fainted. Bryn was lying on the ground, James cradling her head in his lap. Kenly held one of Bryn’s hands in hers, openly weeping. Beside them, Riley was once again human. He was naked and bloody, his chest rising and falling too quickly. The two attackers were bound, gagged, and leaned against the wall by the door. Neither was moving, but I didn’t much care whether they were alive.
“We can’t, Penny,” Erik growled, his chest rumbling from the deep vibrations.
At first, I didn’t understand. Bryn and Riley needed medical attention. What did Erik mean that we couldn’t? Couldn’t what? Help them? Then, I read the thought from Penny’s mind.
“Do it, Penny. Make the call,” I said calmly.
“No,” Erik snapped. “You don’t understand.”
But I did. I knew that once UNITED arrived I would be taken into custody. Sure, I could run. I could be long gone before the medics reached the doors to the club, but my disappearance would have serious repercussions for Penny, Erik, and the others. That wasn’t an option. Too many people had already suffered because of decisions that I’d made.
“Now, Penny,” I reiterated. My best friend hesitated. “Penny,” I snapped harshly, hoping to spur her into action.
Bryn was hurt badly, and Penny was wasting precious moments trying to decide how best to handle the situation. The bullet had lodged near Bryn’s spinal cord, and she was bleeding out quickly. She didn’t have much time.
Literally taking the choice out of her hands, I summoned Penny’s communicator and called Victoria myself.
The Privileged
Besançon, France
The Night Before the Vote
Alarm bells shrieked inside Cressa and Nydia’s bedroom, pulling them both from sleep. Tousle-haired and blurry eyed, the two girls trudged to the common room. There, they were met by the other 2P girls and boys.
Cressa had no idea what was going on.
Spotting Ritchie and Daphne huddled together in one corner, Cressa grabbed Nydia’s arm and hurried over to join them. The roommates had spent that afternoon working on their abilities together, and were thankfully back on friendly terms. Seeing Cressa so distraught after the allegiance ceremony had effected Nydia, and she no longer seemed to harbor resentment over having to lie to their superiors.
“What’s up?” Cressa yelled to be heard over the alarms.
She was jostled from behind, and then heard a boy’s voice in her ear.
“The beginning of the end,” it muttered.
Cressa glanced over her shoulder and found herself nose-to-nose with Kev Leon. The vacant expression was gone from his eyes, replaced by keen awareness and acute determination.
Madame Brink had again separated the boys and girls for their lessons after the allegiance ceremony, so Cressa was still waiting to have her promised talk with Kev.
“Not a clue,” Ritchie said, shooting Cressa an annoyed look. She beamed at Kev. “How are you? Things have been so crazy since you arrived, we’ve barely had a chance to catch up.”
Offering Ritchie a weak smile, Kev mumbled something unintelligible, his bottom lip trembling.
“I don’t know either,” Daphne added. “Leslie Abbot came around to say we’re all supposed to wait here for further instruction. She’s off making sure everyone gets out of his or her rooms. You know, just in case they didn’t hear the racket.”
“It’s starting,” Kev whispered in Cressa’s ear. “Time to make a choice.”
What is starting? What choice? Naturally, she didn’t have a chance to ask him.
Just then, Leslie Abbot and Sir Tate appeared in the common room with a group of cadets that Cressa thought were 3Ps and 4Ps. The alarms ceased abruptly.
“Everyone, sit,” Leslie called from beneath the archway.
Cressa, Daphne, and Ritchie moved to the back of the room, leaning against the wall. Kev trailed behind them, then propped himself beside Cressa. As the other cadets found places to sit on the floor, Leslie and Sir Tate took up positions in the front of the room.
“I am sure you are all wondering what is so important that we dragged you out of bed,” Leslie began in her monotone. “It was not for nothing, I assure you.” She paused for dramatic effect. “The Dame will address the entire Institute in just a few minutes. Until then, you are all to remain quiet. Take these moments to reflect on what you have learned in your studies. Very soon, you will be called on to implement those skills in real life.”
The moment Leslie finished speaking, the room erupted in chatter. Excited cadets posited theories about what the Dame was about to tell them. Were they being activated early? Why? Was this good news?
“I hear we’re going to deployed by morning,” Daphne said. “Supposedly the Dame has decided to move up the timetable.”
“The timetable for what?” Cressa asked, perplexed.
Daphne gave her a look that made Cressa feel about two inches tall. Ritchie snickered, as though Cressa was the only one who didn’t understand the punch line of a joke. Or maybe she was the punch line?
“The takeover,” Kev whispered ominously.
“The takeover,” Daphne echoed quietly. “Gracia told me that the Dame originally planned to wait until after the grace period before activating us. But with the influx of new sources, it seems she’s changed her mind.”
“Where is Gracia, anyway?” Nydia asked, looking around the room as if the haughty 7P might be hiding beneath a desk.
“The rumor is that she was activated right after her clone procedure. Dina says Gracia has been sent to trade places with Natalia Lyons. Who knows if that’s true, though? She’s a worse gossip than the twins.” Ritchie glanced over to where Shyla Towers was sitting with her knees pressing against her chest, her chin tucked between them. “Though, I guess not anymore. Should I ask her to join us? I feel sort of bad for Shyla.”
“Yeah, we should,” Cressa replied. “I definitely feel bad for her.”
“Good evening, my children.” The Dame’s voice was syrupy sweet when it boomed throughout the common room.
“Too late,” Ritchie mouthed, looking guiltily towards Shyla again.
The Dame’s holographic image popped into being at the front of the room. As she began pacing back and forth, her incorporeal form glided through Leslie and Sir Tate, who scurried to move out of the way.
Wearing a wrap dress the color of ripe cranberries and four-inch heels in the exact same shade, the Dame radiated both power and friendliness. Her blond hair was down, the ends of her sleek bob bouncing with each step she took. When she stopped pacing, the Dame clasped her hands behind her back and grinned at her pupils.
“Tonight, my children, we will witness history in the making. As I speak to you, the Joint Nations delegates are casting their votes on whether to renew the Coexistence Treaty. At midnight, their decision will be released to the public. I possess a great many abilities, one of which allows me the incredible gift of foresight. I alone know the outcome of this momentous vote.”
This cued more murmuring from the crowd. It was the first time the Dame had ever even alluded to her abilities, let alone enumerated one. The gift of foresight, Cressa knew, meant that the Dame could see into the future. The ability was extremely rare, and wasn’t one given to cadets during the phases. In fact, very few of the Privileged would ever have it.
A thought occurred to Cressa in that moment: it was technically impossible for the Dame to know the outcome with absolute certainty. The future was always changing, which was what made foresight more of a parlor trick than a science. Yes, the gifted individual could see what was going to happen if every person in the world continued on his or her current course. But even the smallest deviation could, and would, change the outcome of a situation halfway around the globe. It
was too imprecise a gift to rely upon.
“The heavens have once again smiled upon us,” the Dame continued, grinning even more broadly. She tapped her temple with one scarlet painted nail. “Once the treaty is abolished, the Talented will be cast into exile. But I am not an unforgiving ruler, not at all. I am gracious and generous, and I will give each of the imposters the same opportunity that I have given each of you—the chance to become Privileged. Most will join us. This, too, I have seen.”
There were collective “oohs” and “ahhs” from the cadets. They were enraptured with the Dame’s speech. She was a captivating speaker, and the type of her person that others wanted to follow. It was also why, despite the many atrocities she’d proudly committed, so many cadets still believed the Dame deserved their loyalty.
When Cressa glanced over at her friends, even Daphne and Ritchie, who’d seen more of the Dame’s ugliness than most, were fixated on the woman. Only Kev seemed to share Cressa’s reservations.
He leaned over until his lips brushed her ear.
“She’s full of shit,” he said, sounding angry. Super angry.
“Yes, yes, I am sure that you all find this news as uplifting as I did,” the Dame said indulgently. Her expression grew serious, effectively putting a halt to the mutterings around Cressa. “Unfortunately, not all of those with abilities will choose to join our esteemed ranks. A small contingent of the unworthy will even oppose our plan.”
This provoked boos and hisses from Cressa’s classmates.
“I find this sad, as well. Even sadder still, those unworthy individuals will have to be dealt with before we can stage our uprising. That is why I have decided to activate all of you tonight. By sunrise, each and every one of you will be Privileged.”
“Told you!” declared a girl sitting in front of Cressa, giving the boy beside her a little punch on the arm.
She wasn’t the only cadet excited by the prospect of activation. It seemed she was among the majority, in fact. Of those around Cressa, only Kev Leon wasn’t gushing about how great the Dame was or how lucky he felt to be among the Privileged. Daphne, Ritchie, and even Nydia all wore smiles. Her friends may not have agreed with the Dame’s methods and practices, but they weren’t shying away from the chance to be part of her master plan.
“Now, please look to your elders, the 8Ps and instructors among you, for directions on how to proceed,” the Dame concluded. “I look forward to meeting each of you, my worthy children, during your individual allegiance ceremonies. Until then, I wish you all well.”
The Dame’s visage winked out of existence, and bedlam erupted in the common room. People began firing questions at Leslie and Sir Tate, all wanting to know what happened next.
Cressa found herself oddly uncurious. Honestly, she didn’t want to find out how to proceed. She wanted to know how to use her abilities—hell, she wanted to get all of her abilities—before embarking on some mission. The Institute was supposed to train cadets on how to use their gifts before sending them out into the world.
Thus far, Cressa had yet to turn more than her finger invisible during lessons. She wasn’t ready to—to what? Cressa didn’t even know what it meant to be activated. She felt so foolish.
Yes, she’d always known that the Dame planned to unite the world’s governments under her rule. And yes, Cressa knew that not all of those governments would capitulate easily. But how the Dame intended to conquer the globe was still a mystery, let alone what role Cressa was supposed to play in that crusade.
“If you want to leave, it’s now or never,” Kev muttered in her ear.
Cressa whipped her head around to face him.
He was so close, their lips nearly brushed. Had she not been so scared of what lie ahead, Cressa would have blushed and likely turned into a pile of slobbering fangirl; she’d basically kissed Kev Leon—freaking Kev Leon. But even after Kev took her hands in his, she couldn’t get excited about his closeness. There were too many thoughts running through her mind.
“What makes you think I want to leave?” Cressa asked shakily. “I want to become Privileged. That is what we all want, isn’t it?”
Kev studied Cressa from beneath long lashes.
“Not all of us. Not you, for instance,” Kev replied seriously. “And not me either. I didn’t sign up for this. I never wanted to be a member of some stupid cult.”
“Becoming Privileged is the only way out,” Cressa whispered. “You must realize that. You’ve seen the frog pond, where they keep all of the dismissed cadets, and you saw what happened to Shyla and Hartley and the Jacobs. No one leaves the Institute. Not until they become Privileged.”
She knew it was a gamble, telling Kev all of this when she still wasn’t sure if she could trust him. But Cressa was terrified. And if Kev wasn’t a spy planted by the Dame, then he needed to understand the option to leave wasn’t on the table.
“There is another way,” Kev said. “If you’re willing to try.”
Cautiously, Cressa began to hope. Did Kev truly know another way out of the Institute? Had he come across a secret exit in all of his wanderings?
“Why haven’t you tried before now?” Cressa asked suspiciously. “If you hate it here so much, why haven’t you escaped?”
“I’ve been trying to get myself thrown out of this place, but we’re out of time for that.”
“Why are you even here?” Cressa finally asked the question she’d been wanting to. “Why did you come here, if you never believed in any of this?”
Kev gave her a heartbreakingly sad smile. “I didn’t choose this. I went to read lines for a new director in town, but the audition was really just a sham—a setup so these nutters could kidnap me.”
Cressa stared wide-eyed for a long moment. Was this a trick? Could Kev possibly be telling the truth?
“I’m not the only one, either,” Kev quickly continued when he saw her doubt. “They have been targeting celebrities and public figures for a while. The Dame needs influential people on her side. Which is probably why, despite all of my shenanigans, I’m still here. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’m about to up my game.”
No one was paying attention to Cressa and Kev, not even Ritchie or Daphne. They were all too busy discussing becoming Privileged.
“What other celebrities? You’re the only one I’ve seen,” Cressa challenged. It wasn’t the most pressing issue, but Cressa was still unsure if Kev’s was lying. She figured the longer she kept him talking, the more likely it was that he’d screw up and expose himself as a spy.
“Seriously?” The stunned expression on Kev’s face was genuine. “Come on, don’t you recognize Lessie?”
Kev’s eyes darted to the front of room, to where Leslie Abbot was deep in conversation with Sir Tate. Cressa followed his gaze.
“Lessie Abbot?” he pressed. “Leslie, she calls herself now. She was the little girl, Little Racine, in Dark as Night, Bad as Sin. She won a Golden Achievement for best actress. Any of this ringing a bell?” Kev was becoming more insistent with each word that left his mouth.
The vid, Dark as Night, Bad as Sin, had come out when Cressa was very small. She’d seen it once; her father had it in their home collection. Cressa tried to recall the plot and the character called Little Racine. She couldn’t. All Cressa remembered was Kev—he’d played the lead character as a child, in flashbacks.
“You’re lying,” Cressa said uncertainly.
“Lessie starred in several other flicks before disappearing from the vid scene. Her parents cited exhaustion, claiming she needed time away from the limelight. Clearly, that was a bunch of cow pies. I’d bet my last paycheck that she was brought here when she left the business. Same with your girl Nydia.”
“Wait, what?” Cressa asked, forgetting all about Leslie. “I know for a fact my roommate isn’t some kidnapped celebrity.”
“Maybe you know her better as Dani Daring?”
Cold clammy fingers crawled up Cressa’s spine. She’d loved Dani Daring as a child.
It was an hour-long show that came on every Saturday morning. Dani Daring was just a regular little girl, until her aunt gave her ring that made her brave. As soon as she’d slip the rose gold band around her finger, Dani would go on adventures and save the world by the end of each episode. The show had ended years ago, but Cressa remembered all of Dani’s escapades as though she’d watched them recently.
Cressa’s gaze found Nydia. Her roommate wore a blank expression that contrasted sharply with those seated around her. Looking closely, Cressa saw a slight physical resemblance between the high-spirited little girl she remembered and the quiet teenager before her.
“You’re not just messing with me?” she asked Kev quietly.
“No, of course not,” he insisted. “I promise, this is all true.”
“How many others?” Cressa wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“I don’t know the total numbers, but I’ve seen at least ten so far. Not all of them are vid stars, though. I’ve spotted a couple singers, and that swimmer that was all the rage at the last Global Games. Oh, and a princess.”
A princess? Cressa wondered. She eyed Kev, feeling certain he was lying. There weren’t even that many royal families left in the world. And surely a princess’s absence would have been noticed.
“Her name is like Kya or Kalie or something,” Kev rushed on, seeing her disbelief. “She’s from an island nation, I think. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. My point is, the Dame is building an army of influential people with abilities, all of whom she plans to control through mind manipulation. Not just us, from the public eye. You’re part of it, too. Becoming Privileged is no gift. It just means you’re connected, either by birth or business. And once we ‘ascend to greatness,’” Kev rolled his eyes as he used air quotes, “we’ll just be a group of brainless drones with a crazy lady at the controls.”
“I’m no one special,” Cressa responded.
Kev’s eyebrows winged upwards. “Really? No one special? Cressa Karmine, the only child of billionaire businessman Nyles Karmine, isn’t special? You’re the heir to one of the greatest political dynasties since the Kennedys. And you’re clearly a latent, same as me—with a little training, you’d be more powerful than any of these jokers.”