by Dylan Steel
Her eyes narrowed. “That sounds like a goodbye.”
He shrugged. “I’m not giving up just yet, but there’s no guarantees. Never are.”
“How will you know when the Institution’s been evacuated?”
Kai grinned, tapping his ear. “I snagged a Lawless comm once I realized what was happening. I’ve been hearing their progress the whole time.”
She nodded numbly, jerking back in surprise when Kai’s hands landed on her shoulders.
“Everything I’ve done—everything—has been to destroy Eprah. But when I realized you were at the Institution—from that very first day—I also knew I had to protect you.”
Her face screwed up with the sudden, unexpected surge of pain twisting in her heart. “The note—the warning. That was you, wasn’t it?” she whispered.
His fingers dug into her skin, affirmation clearly scrawled across his face. “I tried to keep you out of all this, but you were so stubborn—too much like Mom and Dad, I guess.” He flashed a tight smile that faded quickly. “Rox, Sage, you made it so throppin hard.”
Hot tears spilled from her eyes before she realized they’d formed. “But you—”
“I’ve done awful things. Terrible. I know that. I don’t expect you to understand half of them, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I couldn’t let down my guard for a second to explain—the position I needed to get in, I knew I was always going to be watched, and I knew I’d have to play the part in full. No shortcuts. But you’re my sister. I’ve always looked out for you.”
She licked her lips, unsure how to respond.
Kai’s attention flicked back to the timer on the wall. His forehead creased. “You should go now. I need to concentrate.”
“Ok,” she said dully. She took a step away then hesitated, turning back around quickly. “Kai?”
“Yeah?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Make sure you get out. Ok?”
He shot her another half-smile, then nodded his head toward the end of the tunnel. “After you.”
Sage pressed her lips together and turned, her footsteps echoing in the corridor as she walked away. She cast one last look over her shoulder, but Kai wasn’t watching her leave. His arms were crossed over his chest, his focus squarely on the wall in front of him as he studied the next puzzle. As he reached toward the wall of tech, she turned back around, stepping around the corner to find Weston waiting for her.
Lifting her gaze, she was surprised to see a light sheen covering his eyes too. Swallowing hard, she slipped her arm around his waist, letting him lean on her again.
“Let’s get out of here.”
20. TIES
“We need to get you out of the city.” Sage adjusted her hold on Weston’s arm, gritting her teeth against the weight of it bearing down on her shoulders.
“No. We need to help them evacuate the Institution.”
“There’s no way we can—”
“We’ll catch a ride.” Weston offered her a small smile and tapped his ear reassuringly, letting her know that they weren’t entirely alone. “There should be horses waiting for us in the alley.”
Sage blew a strand of hair from her face as they rounded the corner. Between the buildings, a pair of horses stamped their hooves. Four men stood around them, holding their reins with an air of impatience as they swung their gazes up and down the isolated street.
Recognition slammed into her. She balked, something beneath her skin crawling at an unpleasant memory.
Dutch. And his gents.
The last thing they needed right now was a group of miscreants who would happily kill them on sight. She tugged on Weston’s arm with a sense of urgency, silently coaxing him to turn around. Maybe if they moved fast enough, the men wouldn’t see them. They could find another way out of the city.
“It’s ok.” Weston had the decency to look sorry as he glanced between her and the men. “Kai set it up.”
She clenched her jaw, shaking her head. “Kai doesn’t—”
“They answer to him. We’ll be fine.”
Weston dropped his arm from her shoulders and stepped forward, his footing suddenly more sure than before. Sage followed a half step behind him. She chewed her cheek, ignoring the growing ache inside her mouth.
Dutch noticed them immediately. Keeping his eyes trained on the pair, he raised his voice just enough to be heard halfway down the street. “Two horses, as requested.”
Sage paused again, curling her fingers tighter around Weston’s arm to slow him down. His muscles flexed beneath her grasp, but he refused to stop.
“I have no intention of standing around all day waiting for you to make up your mind, darlin’,” Dutch said, noticing her hesitancy as they neared him and his men. “I was told to bring horses, and I brought horses.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, and he matched her scowl. “Where are the rest of your men?”
“This is just a transaction, darlin’. No need for the whole crew.”
Her gaze skipped over him, searching the far end of the alley before returning to his face. “Unless they’re just waiting for us, right?”
“They’re not here, darlin’. Mr. Abeldra isn’t a man any of us can afford to argue with.” Dutch ran a hand over the horse’s neck, giving it a light pat as he tilted his head toward her. “Don’t give it more thought than it needs.”
“You first, Sage.” Weston nodded toward the closer horse.
She frowned at him. “I—”
The benefactor shot her a look that silenced all argument. “I’m right behind you.”
Sage bit the inside of her lip and nodded. Glaring at Dutch one more time, she hooked her foot in the stirrup and swung her leg over the horse’s thick flank.
It only took a moment for Weston to follow suit. She wondered if Dutch and his gents noticed the flash of pain on Weston’s face as he mounted. Hopefully not.
To her surprise, Dutch didn’t say another word. He slapped the horse’s hindquarters and just watched silently as the pair took off.
Whatever Kai had told them must’ve been very convincing.
She shoved aside those thoughts and forced her attention forward. Now that they had a ride, they had to get to the Institution. Fast.
The horse snorted beneath her, protesting how hard she was pushing her. Sage gripped the reins harder and glanced back at Weston to make sure he was still managing alright on his own steed. He’d fallen a bit behind her but was still in sight.
She turned back around, shaking loose the hair that the wind had plastered to her face. He was obviously in pain, but he’d be ok. After everything she’d done to get him to safety, she had other things to worry about at the moment.
They’d made it out of the blast range of the central government buildings, but they weren’t safe yet.
The Institution was finally visible up ahead. Gritting her teeth, Sage dug her heels harder into the side of the mare, willing her to go faster.
Looking ahead, she could see students being herded outside the gate from the yard. As far as she could tell, only a few were still trickling out the main doors.
The shrill wail of the Institution’s alarm could be heard from the streets. She exhaled in relief. Someone must have set it off to override the bracelets’ settings so the kids could actually leave.
With any luck, the building would be almost completely empty by now, but they still needed to get the kids farther away to really be safe. Kai couldn’t keep delaying the detonations forever. The Institution was going to come down, and the explosion and ensuing debris could still cause a lot of damage. Could still kill anyone too close.
Whether it was due to the broadcast of Mr. Gaztok’s death or the tremors afterward, she didn’t know, but the citizens in nearby buildings had come to the same conclusion: They were in danger, and they needed to get out of harm’s way before it was too late.
The streets rumbled under the weight of thousands of rushing feet—it was more congested than she’d ever seen it. Eve
ryone was fleeing in the same direction away from the heart of the city, as if on instinct.
In the Institution’s yard, a bunch of the older kids and adults carried babies and swept up the toddlers whose little legs couldn’t keep up. She doubted all the remaining adults rushing around the grounds were Lawless. There were too many—though not as many as were part of the Institution’s staff. They’d all had enough notice at this point to get far away on their own. Plenty of time to save their own skin rather than risk their lives for a bunch of kids.
Sage’s jaw tightened as she pulled up closer and looked over the sea of faces. Along with some of her less favorite instructors, the headmaster was nowhere to be seen. Figured.
Working her way along the edge of the gate, she looked for anyone who might need help—younger kids or anyone injured. More than once, she had to pull the reigns up to avoid trampling someone escaping in the midst of the chaos.
Swinging her head from side to side, she noticed a pocket of younger stragglers stuck in the yard, unable to reach the gate and too short and far away to garner any attention or help on their own. Biting the inside of her lip, she urged the horse forward. Despite her reluctance, Sage managed to coax her to move through the students, picking their way against the flow.
If she was lucky, she could fit two or three of the slower kids on the horse with her—maybe make multiple trips to safety if she could manage to fight her way back through the crowd again. A trailer would have been better for carrying a larger group, but it also would have been slower and impossible to navigate through the crowd—and there was no way she would have been able to get to this particular cluster of youngsters.
“I can take a couple,” she shouted as she approached.
Her heart twisted in her chest as a dozen small hands shot up in the air, waving wildly. She grabbed the first two she could, hoisting them in front and behind her. Unable to safely fit any more, she clenched her jaw and turned away.
“Hold on tight!”
She made her way straight back to the gate, ignoring the cries she left behind and the growing pit in the bottom of her stomach.
Tiny fists bunched around her sides as she scanned the streets for an easy opening to make her way through. Her shoulders tensed. All the direct routes away from city buildings were full of scrambling, aggressive bodies. Going the long way would be faster than trudging along with the rest of the stream. Plus, she’d be much less likely to accidentally trample someone.
Decision made, she leaned forward, gathering as much speed as she could. The horse’s hooves clopped loudly around the corner, leaving the agonizing noise of young terror behind as they raced several blocks away.
Sage knew she’d made it far enough when she rejoined the throng and spotted her father among the adults. He’d just handed off a couple infants and was obviously on his way back to the Institution to get more children, but he was too far away to easily reach. She pushed aside her disappointment. It didn’t matter anyway—a second reunion could wait. Like him, her first priority needed to be getting the children to safety.
Ignoring their whimpers, she lowered her two passengers to the ground and wasted no time turning back around, pushing the horse even harder this time.
By the time she reached the yard again, most of the students were outside the fence. Again, she aimed for the back of the pack and scooped up another boy and girl, instructing them not to let go as she dug in her heels.
“He-yahh!”
The route was faster this time. It didn’t take long to reach a safe distance. She dropped her passengers off and scanned the sea of faces again, hoping to catch another glimpse of her father. She knew he wouldn’t stay in one place too long, but selfishly, she hoped he was already safely out of range—just in case.
He was nowhere to be seen, but she’d expected as much. After all, being on horseback allowed her to go much faster than running would’ve—even accounting for the awkwardness of navigating the large animal against the flow of the crowd.
Instead of her father, she noticed her old Bokja student Alira among the younger kids near the front of the herd. An unexpected relief rushed inside her, filling up her lungs, energizing her for another run. Sage grinned despite the gravity of the situation they were in. She’d always been a little partial to the girl—she was a quick study and resilient with a subtle rebellious streak that was sure to get her in trouble someday—whether or not the Lawless took over Eprah.
Just before she turned back around, something snagged her attention out of the corner of her eye. A woman ran up to Alira and stopped, kneeling in front of her, embracing her tightly. Sage’s heart stuttered in her chest at the familiar scene—and the woman.
A woman with a kind, worn expression and dark hair now streaked with layers of gray. Unmistakable.
Her mother.
Isabelle Indarra—or perhaps, more accurately, Isabelle Abeldra. Older now, but absolutely unforgettable, and just as beautiful as she remembered.
A memory of her mother with her hands resting on her swollen stomach flashed into her mind. Before she’d been killed—or, before Sage thought she’d been killed—her mother had been pregnant.
Sage’s breathing quickened. She’d always just assumed the baby had died too, but she’d never really known for sure, had she?
Her eyes flicked back and forth between her mother and Alira. The girl had the same green eyes, same dark hair. Sage had never been looking for the similarities before, but now that she was really seeing her, it was unmistakable.
She slumped in the saddle, her stomach tumbling in denial. Her father’s words replayed in her head. They were cutting the baby out of your mother to save it…
Kai wasn’t the only sibling that had been kept from her. How many more secrets were there?
“Sage!”
Weston’s voice pulled her from her stupor. She turned at the sound of the approaching horse and gave it a moment to catch her.
She was surprised to see her father seated behind Weston. Unable to help herself, she threw one more glance to her side where her mother and sister were standing.
The look was brief, but Ethan caught it. The guilty expression on his face clearly revealed that he realized what she’d just figured out.
“No one knew,” he said quickly. “She was taken before your mother—”
“What about the rest of the kids?” Sage interrupted, her face a blank mask as she turned back toward the Institution. There’d be time to talk once the danger was quelled. The two men followed close behind.
“Most of them should be far enough away, but we’re planning to make one more pass to be sure and then keep them moving toward the gate—just in case there’s something else Charles neglected to mention,” Ethan said tightly. “Sage, I—”
She leaned forward, coaxing the mare faster as she raised her voice. “And Kai?”
“I just spoke with him,” Weston cut in. “He’s in the middle of solving one more code right now, then he’ll—”
They froze as the ground rumbled. Sage locked eyes with Weston, terror scrawled across her face. They were within sight of the Institution now—much too close.
The far-off shudder of the earth beneath them was the only brief warning they got before they watched the sides of the Institution sway. It crumbled in on itself, leaving behind nothing more than a thick cloud of dust. A deafening thunder chased its wake as dust rushed toward them, greedily enveloping everything in its path.
Sage pulled the front of her collar up over her face as she yanked the reins wide and kicked the horse’s sides. She was certain Weston would do the same, but she couldn’t afford to wait and watch to make sure he did.
She’d been near explosions before, but this was easily the biggest building she’d seen come down. It would only be a few moments before she’d be blinded and choked by dust, unable to navigate the streets to safety.
Her chest rose and fell quickly. She squeezed her eyes shut as the dust rolled over her face, desperately hop
ing their stolen beasts had an instinctive sense of self-preservation.
21. AFTERMATH
A cough racked through Sage’s body, doubling her over. She reached out a hand to brace herself against what remained of the wall beside her. Weston glanced at her in concern but didn’t ask if she was ok. She wasn’t. The cough would only last a few more days—a minor inconvenience, all things considered. She’d survive, but she definitely wasn’t ok.
“Ready?”
Sage swallowed, taking his outstretched hand in hers as she straightened. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak without her voice shaking.
Weston threw his shoulder against the door, forcing it open further than the bent hinges should have allowed. Sage followed him, gingerly stepping over the threshold of Kai’s apartment. She sucked in a breath.
“I know it doesn’t look good, but they did check the base and supports,” Weston said reassuringly. “It is stable.”
“I know.” Her eyes flicked to his, and she managed a small smile. “I trust you.”
The building hadn’t been completely spared the effects of the bombings, but this level was mostly intact. Despite the damage, it was obvious that Kai’s apartment was nothing like the run-down one she’d shared with Everett.
Layers of ash and debris hid the once-gleaming wood floors that had buckled from the impact on one side of the structure. Real walls—or what was left of them anyway—stood between the rooms. Real rooms, not just a dirty curtain separating the bedroom from the living room. A real kitchen easily three times the size of the one she’d had, tucked away behind a real dining room. Instead of sparse, space-saving furniture, there was a heavy wood table and cushioned chairs surrounding it. Granted, nothing was where it should be—vases lay broken on the ground, chairs were tipped on their sides, and one of the walls was cracked badly enough that half of it had flaked onto the floor—but the opulence was a stark contrast to how she’d started in Eprah.
“I’ll check the bedrooms,” Weston said gently.
“Thanks,” Sage murmured as he disappeared behind one of the doors.
