by Rebecca Rode
He looked startled. The spokesman called the next person, and he turned as if to listen. I smiled to myself. One victory won.
I returned to the roster and looked for my image. It was the one they’d taken from my Rating record. A younger Treena looked at the camera with hope and excitement in her gaze. I remembered that girl, the one who only wanted two things—an invitation to study Ratings at the Academy and the chance to marry Dresden.
I read the summary beneath my name. It didn’t list my age, but it didn’t have to—my birthdate was at the very top. Anyone here who could do simple math knew how old I was. There was nothing listed under “Credentials.”
I returned to President Chiu’s profile. There were several screens full of praise and accolades. I didn’t even understand what most of them meant. Prince Augustus had said Chiu’s visit would cause unrest here with tensions as high as they were regarding the East. If it came down to my word against Chiu’s, who would they believe? A powerful member whose alliance took in a quarter of the globe and a third of the world’s population? Or a seventeen-year-old girl with no experience and a sob story?
“Next, we’ll move on to a list of the proposals being considered this term,” the speaker said.
I sat taller, heart hammering my chest. Almost time to present our plight. If Chiu had come to scare me out of my purpose here, he wouldn’t succeed. His presence here changed nothing.
I pulled out my notes and waited.
I watched the screen, riveted on Treena’s face. She was handling herself well, at least. Chiu wouldn’t make a move here, not with everyone watching. The only thing Chiu could do was discount her testimony and create doubt—which he almost certainly would do. If only I could send her a message.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to take her out later. Prince Augustus had put us in a dome-shaped cage, of all things. Opaque glass or not, it was like the guy wanted her dead. My hands formed into fists.
The proposals had begun. Most called for new or extended international loans or perhaps a lower interest rate on loans they already had. Others wanted fewer or more restrictions on trade and taxes. Some motions even contradicted each other. I could imagine these same issues being debated every time these countries met. None complained about other countries wanting to destroy them and take over the world.
When it came to Treena, the entire room behind me quieted.
She stood. Her face had gone pale, but she looked confident enough. “I bring a terrible injustice before you. A few months ago, the Eastern Continental Alliance attacked a settlement near us. We defeated them but found they had positioned themselves for an attack on NORA itself. We believe they plan to destroy us and take what little land we have.”
“Our dear young ambassador,” the spokesman broke in. “This doesn’t sound like a proposal. This sounds like an accusation, and a strong one at that.”
The screen room, which had been completely silent up until now, exploded in noise as reporters talked excitedly into their feeds, yelling and blinking, eyes flicking all over the place.
“She’s accusing him right to his face!”
“Where’s the popcorn when you need it?”
“Can you get a clearer hook on that audio? Her voice is so quiet.”
Treena’s voice built in volume as her confidence grew. “I’m afraid it’s more than an accusation. Hundreds of people were killed in this battle, settlers and NORA soldiers alike.”
“Now let’s examine this,” the dark-skinned lady said. “If this young lady is determined to present her case, I’d like to know what evidence she’s brought to substantiate such a wild claim.”
“We’ve gathered testimony from dozens of witnesses over the past weeks, and we have images—er, photographs—of the destruction.”
“And your evidence proves without a doubt it was the ECA who initiated this?”
“When you see the photographs, you’ll know. And we also have a recording of a confession made by an ECA official. He reveals much of their plan.”
Chiu seemed almost bored, speaking with an assistant as if discussing their plans for after the meeting. He glanced up at Treena once or twice but didn’t seem overly concerned. The other leaders, however, stared at their screens with varying degrees of interest. Some seemed amused; others irritated. A few even seemed angry.
Treena straightened and turned to the other half of the room. “We’ve come to you for help, and now that our attacker sits in this room, I believe our time is very short. Please don’t disregard the lives of five million people for the sake of convenience, especially when our defeat means a greater threat to nearly everyone here.”
“A suggestion, if I may,” an older woman said, standing. This woman had the greatest number of assistants circling her. The screen read “Prime Minister Eunice Marsh, England.” “This proposal will require resources for which we haven’t planned. I propose we gather a committee to look into the matter. They can study this so-called evidence and make a decision on whether the ECA did indeed overstep its boundaries. Then we may take appropriate action.”
The spokesman nodded vigorously. “Thank you, Prime Minister. Any seconds?”
“I second,” someone called out.
A dozen men and women around the room also raised their hands. Treena still stood, but her arms stayed heavy at her sides. She opened her mouth to speak.
“Done,” the spokesman said. “We’ll now move on to the next proposal.”
I slammed a fist on the table next to me. A committee. I was no politician, but I knew enough to guess that this was the convention’s way of shelving the issue. By the time the committee figured out the truth, it would be too late to do anything about it.
“What a fool,” a slender reporter said behind me. “If they can’t send a decent leader to represent them, they don’t deserve any more of our time, much less resources. They’d be better served jumping into the ocean and leaving their land for people who know how to manage it.”
I stood and turned around. “I’d stop talking now if I were you.”
He glanced up in surprise but recovered quickly. “That sounds like a challenge, stranger. You with that little girl there? The one who thinks she actually has a chance of talking the world’s greatest powers into helping save a tiny city? I thought you people wore big glowing numbers.”
“Your mouth is still flapping. Happy to fix that for you.”
A collective oooh filled the room. The other reporters stepped back, clearing more space for us and fumbling with their bags. The man almost looked gleeful at my offer. He stepped forward.
“I don’t know how you solve problems in your backward civilization, number boy, but we use words here. Brains. Since you obviously won’t be much of an opponent in our little game of wit, I’ll offer you a chance to leave right now.”
The old me would have punched the guy in the eye, or at least the stomach. He deserved that and more. But the reporters in front of us, many with cameras out and ready, were the worst possible audience. If I did anything, it would reflect on Treena and our country. My wrists might as well have been cuffed.
“The only fools here are those who laugh instead of taking action,” I began with gritted teeth. “That’s an intelligent leader out there, and she’s pleading on behalf of five million innocent people—human beings President Chiu wants dead. If you find that amusing, I’m not the one with the problem.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t matter what he thinks,” a woman said, “or what anyone else thinks. You’re in over your head. There’s far more going on than you realize.”
I glanced back at the monitor. Treena was adjusting her seat now and eyeing the screen in front of her like many of the others. At that moment, she glanced up and saw the camera fixed on her. She managed a wry smile, then looked down again.
That girl deserved so much more than fate had given her. She needed a better boyfriend, a better bodyguard, and far more support than she had. But for now I would be all those th
ings and anything else she needed. And if these idiots wanted to get in her way, they were welcome to try.
Although a little more combat training wouldn’t hurt. Maybe we could start practicing in the mornings again.
I unclenched my fists and straightened.
“That’s right, boy,” the slender man said. “Your country was powerful once, but not anymore. We’ve moved on. It’s time you did too.”
Every camera in the room went up again. It took every ounce of self-control I had to turn and walk out.
I’d just begun setting up some more of Grandma’s tin cans in the field out back when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around.
“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” Biyu asked, eyeing the row of cans. Her hair was a little messy and her eyes looked slightly red, as if she’d been crying, but she covered it well.
I decided not to ask and pointed to the rifle. “Just doing a little shooting. Want me to teach you?”
“No,” she said, as if it were the most ridiculous question ever.
“Why not? Every girl should know how to defend herself.”
She picked up one of the cans and examined it. “There are only three reasons to use a weapon like that, and I can’t justify any of them.”
She and my dad would get along great. I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess. You’re a vegetarian too.”
“Have been for thirteen months, and yes, I do believe in self-defense to a point. There are ways of protecting yourself that don’t mean taking a life. I’m all for that.”
“So getting meat and protection. What’s your third reason?”
“There’s something that happens to people when they wield the power to kill so easily. I’ve seen it. They become monsters. You know, the whole kill or be killed thing.”
I snickered. Monsters? This girl was almost as crazy as my parents. “So you’d rather die than kill an animal for its meat.”
She set the can down, a little too hard. It hit the wood with a sharp clang. “Yes.”
“Honestly? I mean, I have to disagree with that. Not wanting to starve doesn’t make you a monster.”
“I respect your opinion, but it doesn’t change mine. I think all life is valuable just because it exists, animals and people alike. Who am I to say my life is more important than someone else’s?”
I slept fitfully that night, dreaming of standing before Nations for Peace in my night clothes. They stood me in the center of the circle and laughed, calling me a liar. Even President Chiu smiled. He turned to his assistant and said, “She has lost. Initiate the plan now.” The assistant nodded and ran off. I raised my hand to stop him but was frozen in place.
I woke to a hand stroking my face.
With a gasp, I slapped it away and scrambled out of bed, my heart racing. I turned to the figure in the darkness and threw my fists up, ready.
Vance chuckled. “I’m glad I didn’t kiss you awake. You would’ve punched me in the eye.”
My shoulders sagged with relief, and I let myself fall back onto the mattress. It absorbed the impact, curling itself around my body again. I’d never get used to these strange beds. “You would have deserved it.”
He sat down next to me, his weight only slightly denting the soft mattress. “I swear I won’t scare you awake ever again.”
I grinned and pulled his arm around me so we were lying down next to each other. He slid his arm against my waist. I tucked my head against his chest and breathed in deeply. He’d just showered, although whatever soap he’d used smelled unfamiliar and overly strong. His arm tightened around me, and I felt his rough chin brush against my forehead.
It was easy to imagine us waking up like this every day. In a world with no war looming, with us together and our people happy and at peace with one another. It didn’t really matter whether it was in his settlement or NORA or even across the world. It shouldn’t be too much to ask.
But there was plenty of work to be done before then. As much as I wanted to enjoy this moment forever, nobody else could accomplish my mission.
“You’re getting up, aren’t you.” Vance moaned as he felt my body stiffen.
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat up. “You wanted to train this morning, right? Prince Augustus will be here soon.”
He grumbled something unintelligible but left so I could dress. Three minutes later we stood facing each other in the front room. Vance had pushed the heavy, ornate furniture to the walls to clear a space for us. The designers of this room would be horrified if they knew about this.
“What specifically did you want to practice?” Vance asked, his gaze warm. “Grab techniques, choke holds, weapons?” He grinned mischievously. “Wrestling?”
I punched him in the shoulder. “I want to know how to sneak up and take someone out before they realize I’m there.”
Vance’s eyebrows lifted. “You planning on attacking someone?”
I forced a bright smile. “Well, if I decide to, I want to do it from behind. That’s probably the wisest course, don’t you think?”
“I would recommend that, yes.” He paused thoughtfully. “Well, then, we’ll start with choke holds. You can incapacitate someone in seconds if you do it right.”
Vance tried demonstrating on me, positioning his arms to close off my air supply without rendering me unconscious, but I couldn’t quite see what he was doing. After a few unsuccessful tries, he grumbled that we needed a third person and disappeared. He came back a moment later with a bleary-eyed NORA guard.
We practiced for nearly an hour before I insisted the poor guard take a break. His face had gone pale, and I could tell my last attempt at knocking him out had nearly been successful. Dresden’s stubbornness about choosing my guards was irritating, but at least we hadn’t had any issues yet. Except for Finley’s hatred of Vance, of course. I still needed to talk to her about that.
After the guard left, Vance wrapped his arms around me from behind, intertwining his fingers in front of my stomach. “I still think you should be sleeping downstairs in the main part of the building. I actually think we should find somewhere else in this city, somewhere that prince can’t find us.”
I leaned back against his chest, feeling that familiar knot in my stomach that said another argument was coming. “I trust him, Vance. I really think Prince Augustus cares about our safety.”
“He might, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe. It would be ridiculously easy for Chiu to find this place, and when he does, there may as well be a huge lighted sign pointing to your quarters.”
“If Chiu attacked me here, it would just prove me right. Everyone would know I told the truth.”
“But you’d also be dead.”
I shrugged. “Not necessarily. That’s why we’re practicing, right?”
His body stiffened against mine. “We’re not talking about a common thief, Treena. You can bet he’s got trained assassins, and a lot of them. Enough to overpower all of us—NORA and British soldiers alike. You need to think about everyone.”
I tore myself out of his arms and turned to face him. “You don’t think I’ve considered that? Why do you think I stayed up here? If something did happen, less people would be hurt.”
“We came to protect you.” His voice grew soft. “I came to protect you.”
“And it means a lot to me, I swear. But I need to be free to do my job. Konnor, my mom, Dresden, the council—they all felt like they needed to control every little thing I did, Vance. I don’t need that from you. Not here. Please. Just trust me.”
His shoulders slumped a little, and a mixture of emotions played out on his face. Finally he opened his arms, and I went to him. It felt so right.
“You know,” he finally said as we embraced, “you’ve changed a lot since I first met you.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “In good ways, I hope.”
“In all the best ways. You carry yourself like a woman who knows who she is. I love the way you speak to people and see everyone as an equal. I love how optimistic
and determined and focused you are.” He kissed my forehead. “And I really love this.” A kiss along my temple, then down my jaw. A pleasant shiver shot down my spine.
Then our lips found each other with a fierce longing, and his mouth moved against mine, hot and full of need.
His hands tightened against my back. I slid my fingers up the back of his head to pull him even closer. And then it was just him—no war, no convention, no politics. Just this man and his unfailing faith. He was my support, my rock. As long as Vance was here, we couldn’t fail. It just wasn’t possible.
A man cleared his throat behind us.
As we pulled apart, Vance’s eyes slid open, and he stared hungrily at my lips. I turned to find Prince Augustus standing in the entryway. Any amusement I’d expected to see at finding me in Vance’s embrace was notably absent. The man’s face was like a stone.
“Your guards were reluctant to fetch you,” he said. “Now I see why. Are you ready for your tour of the city, or would you like more time to prepare?”
“I may need another minute,” I said with a grin and kissed Vance lightly on the cheek. “We were just practicing combat.”
“A dangerous form of combat,” he said. “I hope you don’t intend to fight your enemies like that here. Although it would certainly make for an interesting week.”
I turned to Vance. “I’m going to change into some clean clothes. I’ll meet you in the transport.”
“I’ll be waiting right here,” he said, eyeing our royal visitor.
Prince Augustus scowled, but I had a feeling it wasn’t because I needed time to change. Another day watching them exchange glares? It didn’t sound all that fun. If only I’d talked to Vance about being more polite when we’d had the chance.
“See you in two minutes,” I said as I ran back to my room.