“Contain her until we’re able to get her tracker to Ava. She’ll be happy to know Shai won’t be in her way any longer,” Oren said. His dark eyes avoided Miya’s as he touched two fingers to his tattoo. Both Jake and Nathan suddenly stood at attention.
“Where should I take her, sir?” Jake asked, his eyes on Miya’s. She looked away. Nathan remained at attention with vacant eyes locked on Oren. They were obviously communicating through their Central Command Center. If she didn’t think fast soon, she’d have no way of controlling the situation. They communicated faster by thought than by speaking.
“Just leave me here. Tie me to a chair if you want, just don’t take me back to my room. Please! I’ll die there. The oxygen levels will be critically low in my room.” She coughed a few times for effect and hoped that Oren wouldn’t see through her charade. She glanced again in Jake’s direction, but he gave no indication he knew her thoughts.
Oren nodded at Jake, who responded by yanking Miya down the corridor by her hair and throwing her into her room. His green eyes looked her up and down. A look of concern flashed across his face briefly, then disappeared. He stood there, cold and calculating, his gorgeous face etched in solid steel and ice. He could waver between the two intensities of anger and desire all day if he wanted to, but she wasn’t buying into it. Not this time. And she wouldn’t spend another second regretting her decision to turn him in. He was the one who’d betrayed her in the end.
She crossed her arms. In spite of the pain roaring through every part of her, she attempted to stare him down. As resolute as she tried to appear, her chest spasmed with heartache. Elchai was right. The government soldier standing in front of her might look like Aliah, but he wasn’t him. He was Jacob Hamilton: a Leadership killing machine. The coldness of his emerald eyes turned his features hard, and she had to look away.
“Ava will be here soon. She’ll know what to do with you,” Jake growled, then thumped a few buttons on the door panel. After the door slid shut behind him, Miya ran to the panel. She held her wrist up. The scanner flashed red. She tried several more times with no response. Unshed tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them come. At least she was safer here than in the Sun Room. Here she had a few protein pills, water, and enough regulated oxygen for a few weeks.
She looked around the room for a weapon of some sort. Her throat burned and her stomach ached. She dragged herself into the tiny bathroom and searched for a weapon of defense. Finding nothing, she returned to her room, where her eyes fell on the small table by her bed. She’d used all the injectors, and she’d discarded the empty needles into the wall receptacle. Maybe an injector had caught inside the shaft. She pulled on the silver handle and looked inside the bin. Nothing. The little door in the wall only opened outwards a little way, enough to dump trash or dirty linens and clothing in before it angled downwards into the basement, where it was divided into either trash or dirty linens.
She studied the opening. The door formed a scoop on the inside and blocked most of the opening, but if she could somehow manage to pry it off, the shaft beyond looked just wide enough to fit into. The metal door was wider than it was high and was held on by two hinges along the bottom.
Miya bit her lip. If she could pry the hinges off…
She needed something sturdy. She pulled open the top drawer of the table beside her bed and threw all the contents on the floor. Rifling through a tangle of white shirts and pants revealed nothing she could use to pry metal hinges off even if they were flimsy looking. She pulled open the bottom drawer, the one Raine had used. Empty. Frustrated, Miya kicked the drawer. Something rattled inside. She pulled the drawer completely out of the table and turned it over onto the floor. Something fell out and landed in the pile of clothing.
Her breath caught when she realized it was a small box wrapped in white paper and tied with a shoelace. Her pulse thudded.
She unwrapped the package and pulled the top off the box to reveal two necklaces nestled inside: Raine’s pendant—the shiny key with the deep red stone in the center—and a thick gold chain with a beautiful golden key encrusted with an azure blue stone in the bow. The key that Elchai had put around her neck. Beneath the keys was a small folded square of paper. Miya put the necklaces on and opened the paper.
If you’ve found this, then by now you’ve figured things out.
You know what to do.
It was the note she’d written to herself in Kent the night before she’d surrendered to Elchai’s procedure. She silently thanked whoever had left it here for her, and tucked the keys inside her shirt. She kept her hand on them, pressing the cool metal gently against her skin until they warmed.
The only way to get the last key was to complete her mission: kill Ava. She sat on her bed with her hands folded on her lap. Waiting.
CHAPTER 48
Miya
Hours passed and Miya didn’t move from her position. Eventually Ava would come. With Aliah in Ava’s control, the three keys would be her ticket out of here with him after she’d eliminated the one last thing that stood in her way.
Miya breathed deeply in then out, feeling the weight of the keys around her neck. Prickles of impatience began to skitter down her back and neck, but she kept her eyes on the door.
After a while the telltale beeping of the scanner announced someone’s arrival. Her back stiffened. Fingers clenched.
The door whooshed open and a young man stepped in, looking just as dishevelled as when she’d last seen him.
“Kael!” She resisted the urge to throw her arms around his neck.
A grin lit up his handsome face, and he raised his eyebrows. “Am I to assume…you—”
“Yes! Yes, I remember. Everything. I think.” She beamed at him, then frowned as his face fell suddenly.
“It’s okay, Kael. We’re okay. I want to keep the past in the past. Too much has happened, and I’ve got to focus on other things right now.”
He stood in front of her, his hands in the pockets of his baggy white pants. He nodded, his grin returning, a little slower this time.
“I’d like that. To keep the past in the past, I mean. Besides, you and me…” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We aren’t the same people. You especially.”
“Hey!” She kicked out at him halfheartedly. It was good to be able to banter innocently with him after everything they’d been through. Looking at him now, she decided coming here and seeing her like this—as Miya—would’ve been harder on him than he’d likely admit.
“Kael?” She twisted her fingers together. There was still unfinished business. She needed his help, but not until it was clear where he stood with the plan. The fact that she was on a mission to kill his sister wasn’t something she could easily bring up.
“Hmmm?” His green eyes shadowed a little. He must’ve known what she was going to say.
“You know what I have to do, right?”
He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. When he looked at her, she saw his eyes were shining. She hated causing him pain.
“Isn’t there…another way?” His voice broke.
Her heart lurched into her throat. After Ava was gone, he’d be alone in the world. But if Ava was left to live, there wouldn’t be a world to worry about.
She shook her head, suddenly afraid to trust her own voice.
“Then I suppose the quicker you do it, the better.” He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do…within reason.”
She reached up and covered his calloused hand with her own.
For several moments they said nothing. She watched Kael pace in her tiny room until the scanner beeped again. Kael crossed the room to stand beside Miya as they both faced the door. Miya’s palms were sweating and her knees trembled. She was glad to be seated, but gladder that Kael’s presence offered a bastion of support.
Ava entered the room. Alone.
“Kael, I said to watch her, not keep her company.” A silent exchange between
brother and sister occurred while Miya sat, keenly aware of the tension between them.
Ava strode to Miya, her face as hard as the steel walls surrounding them. Miya clasped her hands tighter in her lap and clenched her teeth. If Ava wanted a fight, she was prepared for one.
“You have something I want.” Ava put her hands on her hips, her dark brows furrowing and lending her a more sinister appearance. It was astonishing to think that back in Sector Three, Miya wouldn’t have ever guessed her to be as evil as she really was.
“It seems I’ve had everything you wanted, and all you’ve ever done is take it from me. Well, this time you can’t. You’ll have to kill me first.”
Miya sensed Kael stiffen beside her as Ava’s mouth turned up in a wicked grin. “Miss Miya Thorne, you’re nothing more than an Invalidate, which means you have nothing I want, except for those keys!” Ava took a step toward Miya.
In an instant Miya was on her feet, face to face with Avarice.
“I am not an Invalidate.” She breathed. “I am Shai Eli of the Coalition.”
Ava winced almost imperceptibly, but the mark had been struck. And she aimed to drive it deeper still. It was obvious that, until now, Ava had no idea who Miya really was. The element of surprise was exactly the weapon Shai needed.
“And…” She paused, not so much for effect as for bracing herself. “Jachin Aliah Elyon is not your plaything. If he realizes what you’ve done, he’ll hate you forever.” She gripped the edges of her shirt, palms sweaty, at that same moment a warm had was placed on the small of her back. Kael’s simple touch was all the encouragement she needed. She stepped closer, enough to move the loose tendrils of hair around Ava’s face with her breath.
“Aliah doesn’t love you, Ava. He loves me. He always has. He always will.” The room grew still. Kael’s hand left her back, leaving a chill behind. But she couldn’t allow herself to think about him now. Ava blinked and Shai thought she’d won.
“We’ll see about that.” Ava’s tone turned icier. She reached up and touched two fingers to her tattoo. “I don’t care who you say you are.” She whirled around and walked to the door. When she turned back around, her face was hard, her green eyes like two cold river stones in her face.
“Let him choose,” she said flatly. “But I’m afraid you’ll be the one who dies of a broken heart, Shai of the Coalition. He doesn’t remember you. He’s no longer the Aliah you remember. He’s Jacob Hamilton and he’s in love with me.”
CHAPTER 49
Shai
When he stepped into the room, Shai could see that Ava was right. He’s no longer Aliah. The truth struck her hard and fast, knocking the breath from her. Even so, she couldn’t deny that she’d been warned. By Elchai, Remiel and again by Raine. Her eyes wandered over the muscles she’d been tempted to run her hands across earlier. They rippled beneath his thin white shirt with every movement. He could break her in half if he wanted.
His face clouded momentarily as the door whispered shut behind him, and he looked at the three of them. Then his eyes fell on Ava’s. Understanding lit his face. He nodded at her, obviously receiving silent commands through his Central Control. He stood to the left of Shai, between her and Ava. Kael remained standing behind Shai, no longer actively encouraging her, but just knowing he was there helped.
Jake stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes cast on something just beyond her right ear. He was avoiding eye contact.
“Miss Thorne—” Ava raised a hand to cut off Shai’s intended interruption. If Shai was to get through to Aliah, she’d have to do it without him knowing who she really was.
“Miss Thorne, I have explained to Mr. Jacob Hamilton that he is to choose someone genetically fit to produce a biobaby. I have uploaded both of our genetic histories to his Central Command in order to keep it fair. He will choose whomever he wishes based solely on facts.”
“But—”
Ava held up a hand again and Shai gritted her teeth. How was that fair when she didn’t even have a biofeed? The only thing the Leadership would’ve had access to were her dreams Nathan had found and—
The tracker! Jake would have access to everything. Every moment they’d spent together before. Every word they’d spoken, every emotion she’d felt for him before and after his death. Maybe there was a chance to reach Aliah after all. He had to be in there somewhere. She’d seen Jake soften and come alive more than once when they were together.
“Fine,” Shai said. “Fair enough. But before we begin, there’s just one thing I need to say to him.” She took three steps to him before Ava could interject, and grabbed his hands in both of hers. Her fingers trembled. It was the first time she’d touched him knowing who he was. Knowing who she was. His hands felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. She squeezed his hands a little, forcing him to look at her.
“I never got to properly thank you, before.” She looked directly into his deep green eyes, pleading.
Remember. Please remember.
Something flickered across his face. Recognition?
“For what?” His voice was husky. He squeezed her fingers back. Once. Twice.
“For…saving me.”
“Enough!” Ava hollered. Her cheeks blazed. How could she think her ability to secretly communicate with Jake was a fair advantage? Shai should be able to have a moment at least with him.
Jake’s eyes clouded again and he dropped her hands. She’d lost him. He resumed his former vacant stare. “I’ve made my decision.”
Shai’s heart raced. If she won him over, if he remembered, she’d have an ally against Ava. Kael could hardly be expected to help with his sister’s demise. But if Jake didn’t remember, if he chose Ava—
She shuddered and dismissed the thought.
“Ava…” Jake turned his attention to the pretty, dark-haired girl on his left. She beamed at him, and Shai’s heart sank. Confusion and pain coated the insides of her mouth, leaving it dry and chalky. Her knees wobbled.
Kael suddenly appeared beside her. His fingers twined around hers. She sagged against him, breathing deeply.
“Now that’s out of the way. I’ve come here for one thing, Shai.” Ava strode across the room and ripped the two chains from Shai’s neck. The room came alive at that moment. Her skin burned from Ava’s roughness, Shai leaped at Ava, and Kael sank to his knees. Only Jake stood where he was. Unmoving. Staring into the distance.
Ava grabbed Shai’s hair, in the exact spot Jake had earlier. Shai cried out, but elicited no response from either man. This was her fight. Her mission to complete. She landed a hard punch to Ava’s jaw, which momentarily stunned the young woman. Shai rushed her with enough force to knock her to the ground. Ava landed on her back with Shai astride her. She punched with both fists while Ava crossed her arms over her face in defense. The necklaces had been knocked from Ava’s hand and lay on the floor a few feet away.
Ava used her legs to knock Shai slightly off center, enough that she lost her balance for a second. Ava twisted and rolled out from beneath Shai. A solid kick to the back of her head spun Shai. Lights danced in her eyes. She sucked in air, struggling to remain conscious.
Shai! The shout hit her like an explosion. She looked up. Jake stood above her. He hadn’t spoken, but the effect was the same. A shared thought. Shared emotions. Tears squeezed from her eyes as she saw the keys dangling from his hand. His eyes contained an expression of concern and—
Ava’s foot connected hard and fast with the side of Shai’s face. An explosion of pain ripped across her left eye, through her cheekbone and into her jaw. Blood filled her mouth, a bitter metallic soup that made her gag and spit. In the moment before she blacked out, through the dizzying fog of agony, she heard Jake’s voice inside her.
I remember.
CHAPTER 50
Shai
Voices. Ragged. Mixed with the soft and sweet ardent whispers of affection from her past.
“Shai.”
She opened her eyes and found herself in utt
er darkness. She winced at a stab of pain in her cheek, which she probed with careful fingers. Swollen twice its size with a gash. The ground beneath her felt hard. The damp chill soaked into her thin clothing. She shivered. Every bone ached. The taste in her mouth was coppery and burnt. She sat up and spat.
“Shai!” The whisper sounded more urgent. She turned toward it and made out a dim shape in the shadows. It had the form of a man. She got to her knees and peered into the darkness.
“Are you okay?” Kael’s shaky voice was laced with concern.
She shook her head, not caring that he wouldn’t likely be able to discern that movement. She felt around her neck for the necklaces, but already knew she wouldn’t find them. Jake had them. Or Aliah. Whoever he’d been when he’d picked them up before Ava knocked her out.
She staggered to her feet and made her way to where Kael was still waiting. Why wouldn’t he just come to her? Her answer was found in the thick steel bars that stood between them. She leaned her forehead against their coolness and closed her eyes.
Kael touched her hair. “Jake did this.”
“No,” she whispered. She lifted her head and curled her hands around the bars. Kael stood not more than three inches away from her, separated only by the prison bars.
Kael nodded, his features hidden in shadows. “He brought you here. Ava was going to leave you in your room, but he insisted.”
“No,” she said again, louder this time. She didn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it. “I saw him. I saw Aliah in him.”
Kael wrapped one of his hands around hers. “He’s not Aliah, Shai. You have to let him go now.” His words came out soft, but the pain they inflicted cut her deep.
“I won’t! It’s him! He remembers! I don’t have a biofeed, Kael!” At the sound of his sigh, Shai continued. She had to convince him of what she knew. “When Ava uploaded our genetic history, she couldn’t have accessed anything on me other than what the tracker recorded because I don’t have a biofeed.”
“I don’t—”
“Please, Kael! Listen!” Her throat burned from swallowing so much blood. She coughed.
“Okay.” Kael gently squeezed her hand around the bars. “I’m listening.”