by Tania Hutley
“Okay.” I pick up the cold glass in front of me and take a sip. Ma makes the best tea. It has just the right amount of sweetness. Just like Ma herself, who’s determined not to let William and me stay angry with each other. And all her cajoling and bullying is working. William and I aren’t friends yet, but maybe one of these days we’ll surprise ourselves.
“The tea is delicious.” Cale taps his band, checking the time. “But I’m afraid we can’t stay long. We asked Keren to meet us here. We’re going to a meeting—” He’s cut off by a knock at the door. “That must be her now.”
When he opens the door, Keren comes in. She looks more drawn and tired every time I see her, but I guess that’s to be expected. She and the other Fist members have been working hard, trying to cope with all the changes. I don’t envy her the job of running the Morelle Corporation, but she’s been handling it as well as can be expected.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night, Ma.” I kiss her cheek and give her a hug. She hugs me back fiercely, as though she’s not going to see me again for months, though I make sure to visit her at least three times a week.
Then Cale, Keren and I head out to the elevators. As we ride down to the ground floor, Keren turns to us with a serious expression. “Did you see the latest news?” She activates her holo and a face appears above her band.
It’s Sentin. He’s not wearing his glasses, and his angular face looks darker than it used to. His hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a suit.
“Times have changed,” he says in his slow, New Triton accent. “We must change too. A vote for me is a vote for a united future.”
A woman’s voice speaks from off-camera. “You were late announcing your candidacy. Why do you think you’ve become so popular in such a short amount of time?”
Sentin appears to ponder the question for a moment. Then he says, “People still remember that I won the Skin Hunter Contest. They know I was instrumental in negotiating the peace treaty with the Deiterran imperator that ended the war and saved thousands of innocent lives. They understand that I can continue to navigate our changing relationship with Deiterra. And they trust me to succeed when it comes to steering the future direction of Triton.”
“You’re campaigning on the promise of a more tightly controlled border, giving only selected entrants the opportunity to move to Deiterra.”
He inclines his head. “The current border controls have been instrumental in stabilizing the economies of both Triton and Deiterra. However, they don’t go far enough. Stricter borders will ensure the long-term prosperity of both Deiterra and Triton. The imperator and I are in mutual agreement on that point.”
“I have one last question,” says the woman. “And it’s an odd one, but I think you’ve seen the persistent rumor that keeps cropping up on the feed. Will you address it once and for all?”
“You’re talking about the gossip regarding my apparent suicide while in Deiterra?” Sentin chuckles. “Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.”
Keren flicks the holo display off, and we step out into the brightness of a New Triton day. “He’s only just announced he’s running, and he’s already leading the polls,” she says.
She must have called a cab, because it’s waiting for us outside Ma’s building. As we approach, its door opens. We pile inside, Cale and I sitting next to each other, with Keren facing us.
As the cab glides smoothly into traffic, I say what I’m sure we’re all thinking. “Sentin will be elected.”
Cale nods. “I think we can count on it.”
“Should we be worried?” asks Keren.
Cale looks at me, his eyebrows raised, waiting for my opinion.
“I’m not sure.” I admit. “Maybe. But Sentin did tell me he wanted what was best for Triton and Deiterra. I believe he really is trying to make the world a better place, at least as he sees it.”
“How can you be certain he was telling the truth?” Cale asks. “After everything he did, and what happened to Felicity, doesn’t it seem like he just wanted as much power as he could get?”
“I guess we’re about to find out. In a few weeks he’ll be president of Triton.”
“I wish you’d run for the job,” mutters Keren. “You’d have a real shot at beating him. Everyone listens to you.”
I give her a weary look. We’ve had this conversation a dozen times, and I’m not going to change my mind. “Maybe it’s a good thing Sentin’s going to be president.” I tell her. “At least he’ll keep us on our toes.”
“It definitely won’t be boring,” Cale agrees with a laugh.
“We could do with the excitement,” I add, just because I love the way his eyes sparkle when he’s amused.
Keren lets out a huff of breath, shaking her head at us. “Will you two stop it? And Milla, are you going to talk to Tori today?”
“Don’t I always?” Tori’s still in Deiterra with Otho, but now we’ve expanded the network, it’s easy enough for us to talk everyday. It’s not like we’re short of things to discuss. They’ve had their problems with the influx of Tritoners pouring over the border, but things are settling down now the flood’s turned into a trickle, and Old Tritoners are showing the Deiterrans how hard they’re used to working. It’s been a crazy few months, but hints of equilibrium are starting to appear.
“Is their water supply still running low?” asks Cale.
Keren frowns. “Can you ship them desalinated water from the coast?”
“We can, and we will.” That’s my answer for most things, and it’s working so far. The Fist doesn’t have a single leader anymore, but Cale and I are on the committee. We both took responsibility for fixing a wide variety of problems, and we’re slowly managing to work everything out.
I lift my hand to my face, scratching my hollow cheek though my scars don’t itch nearly as much as they used to. Most days I forget they’re there at all.
Sometimes I need to remind myself that I’m just Milla. I’m still stronger than most, but otherwise I’m a regular person. Once I felt vulnerable all the time. Now, I can handle anything. Especially when Cale looks at me like he’s doing right now.
The cab gets to the bullet, slows a little to connect with the track, then plunges down to Old Triton. Shadows close over us as we descend, but our cab’s interior lights brighten, making the cramped space seem cosy rather than gloomy.
Old Triton’s still dark, but other things have changed. The streets aren’t crowded anymore, or as dangerous as they used to be. There are no rough sleepers. The shelters barely house the limited numbers they were designed for, because wages are high enough that many workers have moved to apartments instead.
The ex-knights I charged to make Old Triton safer did just that. Once out of their Knight Skins, they remembered they were human. Sure, there were a few exceptions. But mostly, they did even better than I’d hoped.
“You ready for another busy day at work?” Cale asks as the cab pulls up outside the factory. He takes my hand and squeezes it with a smile that warms my heart.
The factory looks very different compared to what it used to be like when I worked on the line, sweating over the super-heated machines. Among other things, I’m running this factory now, and I’m trying to make it the best workplace it can be. Decent pay, higher safety standards, and no more double shifts. And that’s just the start of what I have planned.
I smile back at Cale, then lean in for a kiss.
“Another long day at the factory?” I ask softly. “Believe it or not, I’m looking forward to it.”
And amazingly enough, it’s true.
Dear Wonderful Reader,
Thank you for reading the Skin Hunter trilogy. I hope you enjoyed it. These books have been a labor of love for me, and I’m thrilled to have been able to share them with you.
Now that you’ve finished, please consider leaving a review to share your thoughts on the series with other readers. As a voracious reader, I often find myself choosing what to read based on the reviews. Whether
you have good or bad things to say, others are sure to appreciate your opinions.
If you’d like to read more books set in Triton and Deiterra, please let me know. You can contact me through my website (www.taniahutley.com) or on Facebook. If you visit my website, please join my VIP Club so you get emailed about future releases.
And if you like the way I tell a story, you may enjoy the urban fantasy series I’m co-writing with a friend. If you join the VIP Club, you’ll hear more about that series too.
Thanks again for reading the Skin Hunter series. I appreciate your support, and look forward to sharing more stories with you in the future.
- Tania.
Also by Tania Hutley
Skin Hunter
Skin Rebellion
Skin Dominion
Copyright © 2019 by Tania Hutley
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