by Melissa West
“Release her,” a voice growls, and everyone in the room freezes. The Ancient drops me hard to the ground, and I scramble up, astonished to see Jackson standing beside him. I didn’t recognize his voice, so hard and authoritative, and now all I can do is watch him study the Ancient as though he’s deciding whether to kill him immediately or torture him slowly. “This area is restricted. As you were informed.”
“Yes, sir,” the Ancient says. “The healers requested assistance with the human behind you. Then this one—”
“I did not ask for an explanation. You were informed. Exit now.”
I peek around Jackson to an empty hall, Lexis now gone, and my eyes flash with fury. “Where did they take her? And what’s wrong with Cybil?” I say to Jackson, ignoring Emmy’s gasp at my tone.
Jackson hesitates, breathing in and out, calming himself with each release. “Let’s go. We’re now late for the assignation.”
He leads me out the door at the end of the hall, down steps that seem to spiral forever, past an elderly Ancient at a large wooden desk, and then out an arched doorway and into the day. He never speaks the entire way, his jaw set so tightly I wonder if it’s locked in place. As soon as we’re a safe distance from the Panacea, I pull away from him. “What was that? What just happened back there?”
“I’m sorry,” he says, as we step onto a pebble stone walkway lined with grass greener and thicker than anything we have back home. “You weren’t supposed to see them like that. I know how it looks. Cybil is bad off. They’ve been working on her for days now with little to no change. The wrap is supposed to pull out impurities from her body. And Lexis…she’s with some of the others who have been…difficult.”
“What do you mean ‘difficult’?”
“She’s resisted treatment, resisted housing. At some point, we have to contain high risks like her to prevent our kind from singling them out. It’s a safety measure.”
I fight the urge to question his “safety measure,” knowing I’m too clueless about what’s happened to give a solid argument. All I know is that Lexis was petrified, and something about Jackson’s excuse doesn’t sound right. Either he doesn’t have the full details or he’s refusing to share them with me. I might have put up with his secrecy before, back when I was too concerned with losing everyone I loved to question him, but now, I have nothing to lose. I have no reason to hold back. So I turn on him, anger causing the veins in my head to pulse. “Enough with the shadowed talk. Tell me what’s going on. Right now. Not later. Now.” A hurt look crosses his face, and I have to glance away to maintain my anger. I hate looking at him like this, talking to him like this. I hate that it feels like we’re on opposite sides. I want him on my side.
Jackson sighs, his face composed—patient—as though he’s dealing with a crazy person and doesn’t want to cause an episode. I guess he’s not too far off. I feel crazy, but I’m telling myself it’s the medication. “I’ll do one better. I’ll show you. But right now we’re late.”
All my anger from before vanishes, replaced by an immediate, more dominant feeling. Fear. I have never met Zeus before, even though he has been the Ancient leader since I was little, but I have seen him on the televised addresses with Earth’s worldwide leaders. He has an eagle-like presence, his eyes always studying, his demeanor eerily calm.
We continue down the pathway in silence, my mind on Jackson and what we’ve become.
I think Jackson hoped I would forgive and forget, but I’m not wired that way. I can’t just forget that he lied to me about his true identity. He could have told me, even if there was a good chance I would have turned him in the second I found out who he really was. Still…
His body tenses and he whips around, rage in his eyes. “You don’t understand, okay? You don’t know what I went through every single day that I couldn’t tell you. You don’t know how badly I wished everything were different. It isn’t like—”
“What? Isn’t like you lied intentionally? Does that even matter?” My own anger takes over. “I put everything on the line for you, gave you my complete trust. Why couldn’t you do the same for me? This isn’t as simple as you lying. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me. And maybe you were right because there’s a pretty good chance I would have shot you the moment you said you were Zeus’s grandson!” The words come out so fast I can hardly register what I said, or that it’s how I truly feel.
Jackson jerks back, his face painted first with hurt then anger. He nods and continues walking, leaving me standing on the path staring after him. I swallow hard, feeling a lump rising in my throat. I don’t want to feel this way. I want to forgive him. I want to lean into him and feel his warmth settle over me like a blanket on a cold day.
But I can’t.
Chapter 2
“This is our ride,” Jackson says as I step up beside him, neither of us looking at the other. He points down to a river in front of us that ripples first blue then purple then crystal clear and back, like a fantasy. A single dark wooden raft with two large white sails awaits us. It’s neither large nor small, able to hold maybe ten people.
Jackson takes my hand to help me aboard, and we both stiffen, electricity moving from his hand to mine. Heat rises up my neck, and for a moment, we’re back in the woods behind my house, walking hand in hand, both of us unwilling to let go.
I release his hand the moment I’m on the boat, but I can still feel his touch long after his hand has left mine. I chance a look at the other Ancient and then to Jackson, who is watching me, his expression soft. He tilts his head, our eyes remaining locked, and though we are a few feet apart, it feels as though we are inches. Mere inches from breathing in the same air. Seeing him like this, it feels impossible that he’s the same boy who lied to me, impossible even that he could be related to Zeus. But he is, he did, and I can’t just forget. I’m not the kind of girl who just forgets.
I break contact and instantly my insides feel colder, sadder.
We drift down the river, the wind carrying us, it never seeming to die down, yet never causing me to feel chilled. I wonder what season we’re in, if Loge even has seasons, and then I realize I’m thinking this nonsense to keep myself from panicking. I’m about to see Zeus, someone who evokes fear in everyone he meets, and I have no clue what to expect. I consider asking Jackson, but I’m afraid to question him in front of the other Ancient and after what I said I’m not sure he even wants to talk to me. Instead, I allow my gaze to take in this new world, studying as much of it as possible as we go.
The river separates the residential side of Triad from the city portion. We pass the rows of houses I saw at the Panacea, all tiny, squat things, each row with a different color roof. The last section we passed had red roofs. The one we’re about to reach has yellow. I imagine it’s a coding system, but of what I can’t guess, because all the houses are exactly the same size, shape, everything—except the roof.
Jackson dips his head, biting back a smile. “Always curious.”
“Not always. I’m— Hey, you’re doing the sensing my thoughts thing. First back on the path, then here.”
He nods. “Still an RES, so yeah. And trust me, with your thoughts today I wish I couldn’t sense them.”
I cringe. The RESs all have a device implanted into their hearing that detects stress levels and computes it into thoughts, allowing the Ancient to read the thoughts of others by reading his or her stress level. I start to reply, when he adds with a smirk, “Maybe try not to think so much.” He fights to rein in his smile, then, losing the battle, bursts out laughing, the sound so pure I almost smile despite myself. “Never mind, that’s impossible for you.”
“Hey!” I jab him in the chest, and then a few things happen at once. The Ancient grabs me by the throat, lifting me into the air with one hand, while Jackson orders him to release me. The Ancient drops me hard against the edge of the boat, and I stumble back, unable to regain my balance, and splash into the river.
I expect to freeze on contact, but it’s warm, lik
e a bath, better than a bath. The boat stops beside me, and Jackson reaches out to help me back aboard. “I’m so sorry. Are you all right? He’s taught to guard me. I’m sorry.”
I push my soaked hair from my face. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
He pulls me back into the boat, and I glance over at the Ancient to see a satisfied smile on his lips. It’s then I realize he did it not because I jabbed Jackson, but to prove a point. To him, and to most here, I’m still human. I’m still an outsider.
“Sure you’re okay?” Jackson asks.
“I’m fine,” I say, tired already of having to maintain my anger at him. I’ve never been one to hold a grudge, something Gretchen and Law—my best friends from back home—have always joked about. They used to say I would make a terrible commander for no other reason than I’d forgive someone way faster than I’d shoot him. Of course, things have changed now.
Still…it doesn’t help that I have more questions than my brain can hold. It would be so much easier if I could just shut off my anger, for at least a little while, so I could learn more about this place.
“You seem nervous.”
“I am nervous. Can you blame me? I’m going to see the leader of Loge. It’s a little daunting, though I’m sure you’re used to him. After all, he’s your grandfather.”
Jackson looks away for several seconds, appearing to contemplate his words. “I know I should have told you. Danger or not, I should have said something. But I’m nothing like him, Ari.” He takes a step toward me, his expression so full of emotion it takes my breath away. “Surely you know that. Surely you realize.”
My eyes drop, unable to handle the overflow of feelings moving through me. “I don’t know how I would have handled it, but still, I wish you would have told me. And about what I said before…I didn’t mean…I shouldn’t have…It’s just a lot for me right now.”
“It’s okay.” He rakes a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath as he steps back. “I know.”
I clear my throat and stare out across the water.
“Can we…start over?” Jackson asks. “You need me here and I need you. I understand that you don’t trust me right now. And clearly I didn’t trust you enough either. So, let’s start over.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “Why do you need me?”
“Most of my friends have no idea exactly what happened back on Earth, and some may not even care. I can’t talk to them”—he glances up, his blond strands shadowing his eyes—“like I can talk to you. Or like I could talk to you. I don’t want to lose that. We can try to be…friends.”
The word twists in my mind uncomfortably. Friends. With Jackson. I think back to our first kiss, his fingertips on my face—my lips. I close my eyes to try to push the thought away and when I reopen them he’s looking at me. “Okay,” I say finally. “We’ll be friends.”
Before he can respond, we’re interrupted by our arrival at the massive bridge. The Ancient anchors the boat and offers me a hand to exit, but Jackson pushes him away. “You’re lucky I allowed you to ride the rest of the way with us instead of swim.” I jump down onto a wooden walkway that curves up to the bridge and wait for Jackson to join me. His gaze drops to my clothes. “What are we going to do with you? You’re soaked.”
I glance down at my sopping wet shirt and laugh. “This should make a good impression.”
“You can change. Come on.” He points at one of the stores lining the street, all of them connected except the roofs. The wood of each building is stained a different color, this one the deep purplish blue of a blueberry, while others are red or orange or pink. He pulls me through the blue store’s open doorway and into what looks like a clothing shop, but the clothes are…different. Sparkling rope drapes from wall to wall, all with different pieces hanging by color. A tiny Ancient with white blond hair stands as we edge further into the shop. She smiles at Jackson, but doesn’t come over. Instead, she takes in my appearance and walks to a table in the front, grabs two garments, and hands them to me. “You can change in there.” She nods toward a beaded curtain to my right that won’t come close to hiding me from view.
“Thanks. But I don’t have any way of paying you.” I glance back to Jackson and then the girl, suddenly nervous. Do they even use currency here? Back home, they just scanned my keycard and then charged the bill to my parents. Though most never even scanned my card. With Dad as the Commander to the Engineers, they all knew who I was, so it wasn’t necessary. Here, I have no idea how we buy things or what I would buy even if I did have some form of currency.
The girl smiles kindly. “You’re covered.”
Jackson shrugs. “Consider us even. You know, for the ice cream.” His mouth twitches into an almost smile and for a second I want to smile back, and then I remember the rest of that afternoon. We had finished Operative training early and decided to go get ice cream in the Market District. We sat on a bench, and he talked to me forever about Loge—never once mentioning his true identity.
I look away. “Okay. I’ll just…” I motion to the curtain and step behind it, wishing I could ask them both to turn around. I draw a breath and slip off my soaked clothes, sliding on the dry garments as quickly as I can. The shirt flows to my thighs, hanging off one shoulder and nothing more than a tank on the other. It’s deep green and brown, with gold thread sewn in swirls here and there so the shirt looks almost exotic. Coupled with the skintight black pants she paired with it, I feel underdressed to be visiting Zeus, though I have a feeling my outfit is the least of my concerns.
I step out of the curtain, self-conscious. I wish Gretchen were here. Even on a different planet, she would know exactly how to dress. I remember her face just before Jackson brought me to Loge. She was kneeled in front of the Operatives, who were planning to kill her for aiding me in the release of the infected humans at the execution base. Lawrence was begging them to let her go. Cybil, my Operative trainer on Earth, was infected, like me, and she and I had devised a plan to attack on opposing sides, but then the injection Mom had given me to ward off the neurotoxin was wearing off. Everything went blurry. I could barely see. And then Jackson was in front of me, and when I woke, I was here, in Triad, everyone I loved a million stars away…
I feel a lump forming in my throat and swallow hard to release the pressure. “Is this okay?” I ask Jackson, gesturing to my clothes. His eyes slowly scan down my body, caressing each curve, before returning to my face. He shakes his head, says something I can’t make out, then pushes out of the store, his arm outstretched for me to follow.
We walk down the main street of Triad in silence. It’s an unusual city, though I suppose I haven’t experienced many to know the difference. I had never traveled outside Sydia, the capital of America and my home, so maybe all cities look like this, though I doubt it. More shops decorate the streets—places to buy normal things like flowers, clothes, drinks, but also ivory, honey, and things I’ve never heard of before like arnica and gotu kola.
We reach the end of the street, and stop at Zeus’s building. Etched into the front of the dark gray building is a single gold word—Castello. There are no guards at the entrance. No keycards. No security system. Back home, every building had a security system, but this, no doubt the most important building in all of Triad, is left unprotected. Somehow knowing this makes me more nervous, as though no one would be stupid enough to break into Zeus’s building.
Inside, the building is all business—a set of what looks like elevators to the right, a swirling staircase to the left, and seated between the two is a male Ancient so huge he makes the guards from the Panacea look like children.
“Who is that?” I whisper to Jackson.
“One of Zeus’s minions. Isn’t that right, Ed?” Jackson asks, causing the guy to laugh in a way that says he could snap us in two if he wanted.
“You’ve got balls, J.C., I’ll give you that. Is he expecting you?”
“J.C.?” I whisper. Oh, Jackson Castello, his true name as Zeus Castello’s grandson.
Jackson smiles at the guard. “Isn’t he always?”
He leads us to the swirling staircase, which is as dark and uninviting as the building itself. I clasp my hands together in front of me to keep them steady. I have no idea what will come from the assignation, but something tells me it isn’t going to be all sunshine and flowers and hugs.
“Relax,” Jackson whispers.
“I’m trying.” And really I am, but being here, in Zeus’s domain, has me on edge. At home I had a support system, people who had my back. It’s easy to be brave when you know what you’re getting into and whom you’re getting into it with. Here, I know nothing and no one, which makes me wish I at least had a weapon on me.
Finally, after several long hallways and turns, we stop in front of a door with a guard stationed beside it. The guard, a tall male with long dark hair tied back, doesn’t look at me, not even a quick glance.
“He’s expecting us,” Jackson says, his tone returning to the commanding one he used at the Panacea. The door opens inward into a grand room filled with thirty or so Ancients on the right and left. There is no sound inside the room, no talking, no shuffling of hands or feet. They watch us enter, some with looks of curiosity, others hatred.
My eyes travel to the front of the room where a long, ornate table seats two women and three men. One I recognize at once to be Zeus, and standing behind him with a devilish grin on her face is Mackenzie, the Ancient who was pretending to be Jackson’s girlfriend back in Sydia. She and I were enemies from the beginning, but her animosity toward me elevated when Jackson and I grew close. He said she worked for his family. I guess that means she works for Zeus. Lovely. I’m sure that’s going to work in my favor.
“Please, valued guests,” Zeus says, “welcome Ari Alexander, our newest resident.” His head twitches, then he blurts out, “Resident: a person who maintains domicile at a given place.”