Speaking of which…
“Thomas.” I look across the table at Congressman Turner. “You’re being demoted.”
He jerks back. “Excuse me?”
“Your presence is no longer expected in Congress.”
“You can’t just—”
“She’s the chief,” Krin cuts in. “She can do whatever she wants.”
“I’m tired of your constant fighting against what needs to be done,” I say. “I kept you around because you seemed like the sharpest mind here, but I’m finding now that I’ve plenty of sharp minds since half the members have been replaced. Oh, and you also tried to have me killed.” I tilt my head. Smile a small smile. “You’re lucky I’m not executing you.”
He stares at me. Mumbles something crude under his breath. Then shoves out his chair and storms out of the room. The tension in the room visibly lifts.
Until I see Isaac scowling at me from across the room. I feel like I have to prove myself to every single Resurgence member to make them realize I’m nothing like Titus. First Ember, then Mcallister, then Rain, now Isaac. It’s exhausting.
Isaac glares at me then arches a brow. “What now, Aurora? Your country is clear minded, but it wasn’t your doing, it was Indy’s. What will the country think when they realize you distributed the White Plague and Indy cleaned up your mess? Whether your intentions were pure or not won’t matter. They’re going to want to revolt. They’re going to want your blood.”
“Isaac!” Ember snaps. “If you don’t like her as chief, go back to Indy.”
“I don’t care that’s she’s chief. You all trust her, and she seems pretty harmless, so whatever. But I’m just curious what her approach is going to be to revolters.” He stares at me again. “So what are you going to do?”
Leave, I don’t say. I’m not really one to run. I don’t want to hide from my people if they choose to revolt. I want to accept their anger and treat them like equals.
But Gideon is my life. My plan was always to free Ky, and then go after him. I’m used to my country hating me. It’s all I’ve dealt with the past two months. I’m done trying to please people. My son might be in trouble, and I refuse to stand back any longer.
But I somehow hold myself together the rest of the afternoon while we hash out what the next steps are. We decide on the next course of action, who’s in charge of carrying out what, and what the ultimate goal is to establishing a just government. Finally, when plans seem to be solidified, I call a break. Tired and spent, no one argues.
I eat dinner alone in my bedroom, but my mind is spinning too much to go to sleep. I know where Gideon is. Ky can get back on her feet without me at this point. Nothing is stopping me from leaving tonight. After sending a maid to the kitchen to fill my backpack with food, I pile a few clothes in a small satchel, then head down to see Mcallister. I can’t leave without knowing he’s alright.
He’s in the private medical wing lying on the hospital bed. He catches a glance of me in the doorway, then looks away, as though ashamed. I don’t understand why he would be ashamed. He saved my life.
Maybe he regrets that decision.
“How’s your arm?” I ask.
“Fine.” He stares at his lap.
“Thank you…for saving me. I would probably be dead if you hadn’t done that.” Wow. How sobering. I literally owe Mcallister my life.
He looks at me now. “It was my duty.” His black eyes full of so many emotions I don’t know which is stronger. Determination. Anger. Fear. Regret. He looks away and heaves out a sigh.
“I’m sorry.” I sink down on the edge of the bed, a move no chief ever does in front of Defenders. “You shouldn’t have to—no one should have to take a bullet for another person.”
His eyes snap to mine. “Seriously? I would have taken that bullet even if I wasn’t a Defender. Even if you weren’t chief. If we were just two normal humans standing in the street, I would have…I would have given my life for you.”
Chills spread across my body at the determination in his voice, and the first word that slips from my lips is, “Why?”
His brows flicker. “Because I respect you. You don’t have an ounce of evil in your body. When you stepped in front of that Defender to save his life from your own brother, I knew you were good. Then you risked your life to save Ky. Even the leader of the Indy Tribe wouldn’t have gone out in the front lines like that to distribute the antitoxin, Aurora. Much less with someone he knew was trying to kill him.”
His use of my first name makes my stomach hollow. “I mean, Chief. Sorry.”
“No. Please, call me Aurora.” I don’t tell him how much I love hearing him say my name.
He stares at me a long moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“James isn’t my real name.”
I draw back. “What?”
“It’s a fake identity. I mean, it’s my middle name, so it’s not technically a lie. But Rain helped me change it when I became a Defender. My real name is Thorne.”
“Thorne…Mcallister?”
He laughs through his nose, and seeing him smile now might be the best thing I’ve seen since before the White Plague struck. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard someone else say my name out loud. And hearing you say it is just so…” He grins so big, leans his head back, closes his eyes, and inhales deeply. “Even Rain never calls me that for fear of blowing my cover.”
“You don’t need a cover anymore, though.”
He lifts his head and looks at me, still smiling. “I know. I guess I didn’t really want to start using my real name until I knew you were really on our side and everything got fixed.” He lifts his good shoulder in a shrug. “Everything’s fixed now.”
My heart sinks at the hope in his voice. “Not everything.”
His smile fades.
I hate ruining the moment between us, but I guess now is good as ever to tell him. “Titus escaped.”
“What?” He jerks upright, the devastation in his eyes magnifying my own horror. “Where could he have gone?”
“To Nashville.”
“Nashville.” I can almost see the wheels turning in his head. The realization that this could mean war between our helpless little country and the giant bully that is Nashville, unless we agree to reset Titus as chief.
What Mcallister doesn’t know is that Gideon is in Nashville. And that that’s who Titus is off to get.
But not if I get to him first.
“What are we going to do?” Mcallister—Thorne’s voice draws me from my thoughts. “If they want Titus to stay chief, they will attack us.”
I nod.
“We can’t defend ourselves, Aurora.”
I look at my hands. Nod again.
“The Indy Tribe’s not going to help.”
He’s repeating everything I’ve already thought through, processing everything I’ve processed.
“Titus has to be stopped.”
I look at him, almost invite him along, but then stop myself. He’s more loyal to the Resurgence than me. He’ll want to involve people I would rather not involve. And besides, he needs to rest and heal. So I tell him the same thing Titus and Krin told me.
“He’s already with the council. They’re waiting for us. If we cross over, they’ll arrest us and we will be useless. We have to take time and settle things down here, then come up with a plan of defense.”
I smile, hope he buys the lie. He just stares at me, deadpan. My heart beats faster, and I’m almost afraid he can see through my lie when he nods. “Okay.”
Trying to hide my relief, I stand. “Sleep in here tonight if you want. I’ll meet with the others and we’ll come up with some sort of plan.”
I leave before he can protest. Outside, the moon casts silver hues across Frankfort. I hope the medics aren’t exhausting themselves healing the citizens of Ky. I hope the Indy Tribe is doing okay, distributing the antitoxin across the country. I hope the citizens are processin
g everything that just happened in the best way possible. I hope Titus wasn’t telling the truth about already being part of the council of Nashville.
I hope a lot of things.
On my way to my bedroom to pack for the trip, I pass the living room where I hear the TV screen on. I pause at the doorway and find Walker, Ember, Rain, and Isaac all sitting around the TV. I glance at the screen. The Indy helicopters are still slowly flying over the city, the mist spraying from the belly of the copters onto Ky.
“I thought I ordered you all to go to bed and get rest.” They all turn to face me, and Walker opens his mouth to protest, but I crack a grin. “But I guess there’s no such thing as sleep when the country is in the process of being flipped on its head.”
They laugh and mumble their greetings. Walker motions for me to sit beside him, and I decide I can use a few more minutes with the people I love before I walk out of their lives tonight. I can’t help but notice how Rain watches Ember, like it’s the first time he’s laid eyes on her. Like he’s afraid if he takes his eyes off her for a moment she’ll disappear.
It’s adorable. It’s a side of Rain I’ve never seen.
The screen flashes and shows the Community Garden, and I catch a glimpse of Ember’s hand clutching Rain’s as she scoots closer to the edge of her seat.
“We need to be there with them,” Ember says. “I want to be with my people while they’re receiving the cure. This is the moment they need me most. I want to leave first thing in the morning to help in any way I can.”
“Ember,” Walker says. “I don’t know if it’s safe.”
“I don’t care. I already died once. I’m not afraid to die again. These are my people, and I don’t want to hide in this building while they’re going through their most life-changing moment. These are the people I grew up with. People Dad worked with. People I gave my life for.” She looks at Walker. “No offense, Walker. But you can’t really stop me.”
“I might not be able to. But if you respect Aurora as your chief, you will listen to her.”
Seriously? He’s laying this on me? I have no trouble ruling a country, but ruling my own sister…it just doesn’t seem right. It’s too close to the way Titus ruled me his whole life.
Ember looks at me for an answer; though, I know she totally wouldn’t listen if I said no. Not that I would want her to.
I shrug. “Do what you want to do.”
Her grin is devious when she looks back at Walker. “Sorry, Uncle Jonah. The chief has spoken.”
“I’m liking you more every day, vixen,” Rain says to me.
I roll my eyes.
“I’m glad you two are finally getting along,” Ember says, then she chuckles. “I was afraid Rain was going to kill you in my absence.”
Rain’s smile sours. “You know me too well.”
Ember’s eyes cloud with confusion, then fill with horror and she glares at Rain. “You didn’t—”
“I tried.”
“After I gave my life for her, you tried to kill her?”
“You’re really throwing that ‘gave my life for the country and chief’ thing around a little too flippantly for my taste.”
“That’s because I did die for my chief and country. And you were going to totally disrespect that!”
His lifts his hands in mock defense. “Well, she’s still alive, clearly. You can thank Mcallister for that.”
She rolls her eyes. “At least one of you has sense.”
“Hey!”
I snort at their banter. The light shining in Rain’s eyes warms my core. The joy emanating from his big smile is contagious. I look over and catch Isaac frowning at me. He’s been quiet this whole time. I assumed it was because he was watching the news, but apparently it’s because my mere presence is a burden he simply can’t bear.
Ember seems to sense his discomfort as she stands. “Please don’t kill Aurora while we’re gone.”
“No problem,” Isaac says as he, too, stands. “No need to piss off half the Resurgence.” He looks at me. “The fact that you haven’t arrested me is to your credit.”
I honestly didn’t even think about arresting him. Strange. I guess I can see where he’s coming from, and it would seem wrong to punish someone for their misunderstanding.
“There are plenty of rooms upstairs for you all to bunk in,” I say. “Pick whichever fits your fancy.”
“A formal invitation to stay in the chief’s mansion.” Isaac’s brows shoot up. “Okay. I’m liking you a little more now.”
Rain snorts. “Only cuz you’re getting treated like a king.”
They turn to leave.
“Stay safe when you leave tomorrow,” I say. “Okay? Take a fleet of Defenders with you. I can’t handle losing any of you.”
Rain and Ember pause and look back.
“You stay safe, too, sis,” Ember says. “I feel like we have some serious sister time to catch up on.”
I laugh and watch the three of them walk out of the room, leaving me and Walker sitting by the fire watching the news. The helicopters have moved past the Garden. They’re about halfway across the country already. Just a few more hours, and Ky will be completely cleansed.
“How will you handle them?” Walker’s quiet voice breaks the silence. He looks at me, his green eyes shining in the firelight like burning emeralds. “How will you handle revolters and rioters? We can only hope the majority will be understanding and that our course of action will be carried out before people can get too upset. But there’s a good chance groups will act out. They’re going to be pissed that Titus essentially took their freedom of mind and the majority of their lives. They’re going to be suspicious of you as his sister, and the Resurgence will only back up that suspicion. Maybe not Isaac, but there are still others in our group who are not fully convinced. And after you spread the White Plague yourself…”
“I know. That didn’t exactly help my case, did it?”
“Nope. Indy’s picking up our slack, and I don’t even think they’re fully convinced of your goodness.”
They’ll most likely not meddle at all. They sent the helicopters to prevent this new strain from spreading. But the fact that the leader didn’t even contact me tells me he plans on having the helicopters return straight back to Indy. He’s leaving us alone to clean up our own mess.
Which is a huge relief.
“If all this makes you uncomfortable,” Walker says. “You could just put Ember in charge.”
I look at him, not sure if I should be offended by his remark. “Is that what you want me to do?” All my insecurities come rushing back. All Titus's words about how I can’t lead, how the problems of this country are going to crush me.
“No, not at all,” Walker says. “I personally think you’re a better candidate. You’ve been trained for this. You want to do this. Ember doesn’t. But the public and the Resurgence want her. And…” His voice trails off and he looks away.
“And what?” I ask.
He looks at me, clearly regretting saying that one word. “Never mind.”
“You have to tell me now, Uncle.”
He narrows his eyes. “That’s the first time you’ve ever called me uncle. Are you only doing it to weasel information out of me?”
“Is it working?”
He laughs and rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know if what I’m going to tell you will help or hinder things. But…I’ll only tell you, and you can decide if you choose to tell anyone else.”
Oh. Maybe I don’t want to know. Information that’s only mine to give can be too big a burden, when I’ve already got too much on my plate.
“You sure you want to know?”
“Go for it.”
He turns to fully face me. “Ember…was born before you.”
I nod. I knew this. I read about it in Mother’s journal. Ember arrived first. So it takes me a moment to understand why Walker’s telling me this.
And then it clicks
.
“She’s the rightful heir,” I say.
He nods. Wow. She’s the one who’s supposed to be chief. Not me. I know I could tell her this and she would blow it off because she doesn’t want to lead a country. But I’m not sure I can blow it off. I’m not sure I can be dishonest with my own country.
I chew my lip and stare at the fire. The embers. The ashes. I wasn’t planning on placing anyone as leader after I left. I assumed Walker would take up the reins until my possible return. But if it’s Ember’s rightful place, she deserves to take the throne. It would only be right. And it would be the only thing that could appease the public. If I returned, I could always be here to work as her mentor. That’s what everyone wanted from the beginning, isn’t it?
But does Ember want it?
I can’t stick around, knowing Gideon is in trouble. And people would start rioting and fighting, even in my absence. Some defending my place as chief. Others demanding my assassination the moment I returned. If I returned. But if I left Ember in charge, there wouldn’t be riots. War wouldn’t break out among our own people. Only peace would ensue.
And isn’t this the cause Ember died for? Isn’t this the cause the Resurgence and I have been hoping for? Ember couldn’t be angry with me leaving her in charge if it meant only good for her people.
I stand to leave. Still can’t tell Walker I’m leaving to find Gideon. He’ll try to stop me. Even if I hand the reins over to Ember, he’ll still want me around to help her.
“I’ll think about your words,” I say, as if I didn’t already make up my mind just now. But I need to get going before Titus gets any farther. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Get some rest.” He stands and wipes his hands on his pants. “I understand if you want to remain chief. You’ve been trained for it. But if you decide to remain in leadership, think of how you’re going to handle the public.”
I nod. “Good night, Uncle Jonah.”
He grins at the familiarity. “Goodnight, niece.”
I turn around, walk out of the room, and try not to think about how it took me sixteen years to finally find people who actually care about me…and how I might never see any of them again after tonight.
white dawn (Black Tiger Series Book 3) Page 31