by s. Behr
“I spoke with King Lawrence,” Leo added. “The biosphere is nearly complete. Every ocean court has been working nonstop. It will need some people to look after it.”
“I think Raya would love that,” he assured me.
I squeezed Colin in a gentle hug, which he returned with the arm he still had left.
Leo tried to console me that night when memories of Raya screaming for her parents made my dinner go cold. But instead of going to bed, I’d gone to the archives and began my research on biomechanical limbs. And Leo sat beside me until the sun came up.
⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙
“I stopped by to see Barton yesterday,” Lily announced as she emerged from the closet with three pairs of shoes. “He said his ward is nearly empty now. I checked, and the healers say we’re down to double digits.”
It had taken days to sort through the wreckage. Days that I slept through. I was told later that after the tower was attacked, it took teams of people forty-eight hours to make their first pass at clearing the building.
Leo had gone floor by floor, working his way down and scanning each one as the rest of the teams worked to get any remaining survivors out.
It hadn’t been until late in the second day that they came upon King William, still holding a shield around both of his children. It had taken several hours, even with Leo’s entire family working to relocate eighteen feet of debris, to get to them.
Prince Barton had been in a recovery wing at Empire that nearly took on a direct hit. It was one of the hardest corners of the tower to reach after my father and the Ashers had stabilized it, and it was thought that no one could have survived.
Barton had been unconscious at the time, and he didn’t remember anything, but when he woke up, his sister was gone. His father, King William, was being treated for extreme cellular depletion. It took a week for him to get out of a chair.
Lily recounted the story of their rescue after I awoke, but was still confined to bed. “It’s a miracle they found them in time,” she had said. “King William stayed with Barton who went back to the Healing Center here in Chrysler. Aspen, I’d heard through the grapevine, has been to see him every day.”
In the weeks while I slept, Princess Nyssa had been lost at sea during the bombings at Heart’s Cove, and although her brother and father and legions of others from all three ocean realms searched for days, they found no sign of her. When I watched the replay of her funeral, her Pyre had been empty as it floated out to the vast ocean. Despite her father’s insistence, the Maie continue to search every day.
“Did you hear me, Violet?” Lily asked with one hand on her hip, snapping me back into the present. “Three, four, or six-inch?”
“Hmm? I’m sorry. I was just thinking about next week’s projects,” I said. Though it started out as a fib, my mind drifted to all the recovery projects. The King’s Palace upgrades had been completed. Empire Tower was completely evacuated. The entire canopy had been pruned back, thousands of years gone in a snip. When I first saw what was left of Empire tower, I’d cried myself to sleep that night.
“There is twice the number of people working on things than is needed,” Lily encouraged. “Practically the entire union is packed into the city borders. Everything is filled from every farm to campsite. The Maie Court keeps trying to get Portla to go home, but everyone is committed to seeing this through.” With the help of several courts working together, the bridges were all being reattached, the first opening just last week.
I sighed as Lily presented me with yet another dress. “This one is perfect,” she said breathlessly, gazing at the fabric.
I brushed my fingers over the long silky sleeve. “I don’t know why I have to do this.”
Lily hugged me. “You know why.” I looked at her and felt my lip tremble. Then, she shook me hard. “Nope, not tonight. Tonight is for celebration.”
“How can I do that?” I asked.
“Because she would want you to. Because your people need you to.”
“You really should have been Princess,” I said. “Princess Stargazer.” I grinned.
“No one could ever be a better choice than you. You can do this, Vi. Come on, he’ll be here soon. We need to get you ready.”
My best friend pulled me off the bed, and after another half hour of Lily and Hailey arguing, they finally agreed on all the accessories for the simple soft gray shift, with long sleeves and a high neckline covered in delicate lace that continued over the shoulders and floated like spiderwebs all the way down the back of the dress. Lily managed to get me into a pair of barely uncomfortable heels.
“He can levitate you if you trip,” she said, grinning.
“Yes, because falling will be my worry if I trip,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her.
“Hold still, I’m almost done.” Lily finished painting my face.
“Nice job, Lady Lily, you can hardly tell she is so damaged,” Hailey declared.
Lily threw a wadded-up ball of tissue through Hailey. “Don’t listen to her; you look perfect.”
I looked into the mirror, and for the first time in three weeks, I didn’t hate what I saw. It was an improvement.
Before I could stare too long at the scars, Hailey announced, “They’re here!”
Thanks to some borrowed Hg-1 tech, blended with some hard-earned Ark technology, I held Lily’s hand and pressed the new button on my bracelet. In a blink, we appeared in the Ark’s new hover bay.
The Ark had opened a few new doors for me over the last couple of weeks. But I was still learning and being tested, and each door that opened both amazed and terrified me.
The trackers that Lance had launched the day Empire burned and searched the area for a week before going silent. The shield evaporated. Hailey and Sunshine were sifting through all the data searching for clues, but collecting and converting the data of the 175 trackers that were launched was like a stack of pancakes that reached the moon. At least that was the way Hailey explained it. But they never slept, and I knew it wouldn’t be much longer until we had some leads.
New shields with a longer lifespan were launched covering the entire city and most of the coast, with more in the works to expand the network throughout Amera. And though they were created at the Ark, the ambassadors presented them as a gift from the Hg-1.
As for the Ark itself, when the six of us and the two A.I.s agreed the world was not ready, the Yzers and the team who knew of the Ark, swore their lives in good faith to keep its existence a secret. In return, we would guard the secret of their twins.
In addition, a pact was made that Amera would do what they could to aid the Hg-1 with food and other needed supplies. Leo and Lance came to an understanding as well, though they preferred to keep it between themselves. I could only guess what that meant.
As we made our way out of the Ark, Kai, Lance, Siri, and Leo all stood by our “off the grid” hover. Leo had it repainted with a new technology borrowed from the Ark suit, making it truly invisible. But at the moment, it was its usual shade of pearl.
“Good evening, ladies,” Siri said with a whistle. Leo gave his brother a pat on the back that caused him to cough.
I hugged him. “Hi, Siri. Thank you,” I told him again, kissing his cheek. Siri had managed to keep the terrace from falling apart, while the Neyr citizens who had enough skill to fuse supports into the giant balcony worked furiously to allow the evacuations to continue and eventually relieve Siri. But the moment it had been stable, Clark had taken Siri directly to the sixty-third floor to relieve Rall. Although he denied it, Rall confirmed that Siri had refused to take a break for fourteen hours. “He is as stubborn as you,” Rall had said with a grin.
Leo had confided to me that Siri took on all the floors above him up to seventy-seven, which sped up the evacuations and thanks to him dozens of transporters were able to get the injured to the other healing centers in half the time. He saved countless lives.
Siri looked at me, shaking his head. “You have got to stop, Princess. It’
s going to go to my head.” He chuckled.
“Too late,” Leo replied.
I grinned. “Nope. Every day. That’s a promise.”
“Sharp look, Prince Siri. I approve.” Lily winked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she made her way to the hover and Kai.
I followed Lily, and when Kai saw me, he waved with his good arm, the other still in a sling. I walked over to him, and after a hug, I said, “Get off that leg, you know what the healers said.”
“Yes, because everyone here listens to the healers’ recommendations.” He smirked and winked at Lily. Lily shrugged and studied the stars in the sky.
“I don’t have a limb reattachment healing,” I said.
Lily pouted. “She’s right.”
“Fine. You win, can’t fight both of you, even with two good legs.” Kai found a seat in the hover. I walked away with a grin as Lily slid into the seat next to him. “Tell me about your day,” I heard him say.
Lance walked up to me and pulled me into a big bear hug that was surprisingly gentle. “You are breathtaking.” He smiled.
I laughed. “Liar.”
He laughed a little harder, but then his expression became serious. “How are you doing?”
“Good days and bad,” I answered honestly. “How is Kai really doing?” I watched Lance’s twin laugh with my best friend.
Lance took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just like you, good days and bad.”
“Has he made it back into the towers?”
“No. He says he likes camping on the grounds. Something about the bugs buzzing helps him sleep. This will be his first time back. I think the hover bay being on the same floor helps. But if I know my brother, it’s all for Lily. He can’t seem to say no to her.” He laughed, but I could see it in his eyes; he was picturing the same thing I was. His brother working to save people who had been trapped in a lift. After securing his level of the Hg-1 delegation, Kai had begun working his way up the tower while Lance started in the other direction. But when Kai had reached the thirty-seventh floor, he found a group who had been trying to pry a set of lift doors open before the safety measures of the car failed.
Kai had joined the others, and when no transporters had been able to make it to their level, they had rigged a pulley system to alleviate the strain on the fraying cables. Kai, along with a half dozen others, worked to get all fifteen passengers of the elevator car out. But as they’d pulled the last one to safety, there was a shift in the tower, causing the elevator cables and breaks to finally fail. The pulley system they had been holding onto snapped, and the line had sliced right through Kai’s thigh cutting it off.
As luck would have it, one of the passengers he’d saved was a healer, heading down to the triage for amputees. Thanks to the healer’s quick action, Kai was able to regain the use of his leg with minimal nerve damage.
“I think he enjoys watching me limp.” Lance laughed, but his grin faded, and he said, “He’s healing. We didn’t lose him, and that’s what is important. If he doesn’t want to ride in an elevator, well, that will be a problem when we go home, but for now.” He shrugged.
“He could stay here,” I offered. “We just finished upgrading the second medical vault this morning.”
“Thanks, but we have double duty now,” Lance replied.
“That’s right.” My lips curved, trying my best to hide the edge of sadness. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
He took a deep breath. “No, I think I’m going to sit this one out. This is the one benefit to secret twins. Fifty percent less attendance to official functions. I’ll be happy to not have my toes stepped on by my sister.”
“She is doing well. Hailey and Sunshine both think she’s going to wake up any day now, and if those two can agree, well, it must be true.”
He chuckled, but a faraway look filled his eyes.
“Pen’s a fighter.”
“She is. I’m going to go and hang out with her and Sunshine once you guys take off. Sunshine has a thing for board games. Since we just opened the board game vault, we have hundreds of years’ worth to choose from.”
“Sounds like fun.” I laughed, knowing how much he secretly enjoyed it.
“Yeah.” He sighed, glancing back at his brother. His eyes refocused on me, and a grin spread across his face. “Try to have fun, even if I’m not there.”
“It will be difficult, but I will do my best.”
“You always do,” he replied, and I felt my cheeks warm.
“Well, goodnight, Major Yzer.” I waved, shooting him a crooked smile, then took a few steps toward Leo when Lance’s voice stopped me.
“Wait, Princess,” Lance said as I stopped and turned to him. He waved his hand. “It’s not important. We can talk about it after you pass your armory test.”
“I will even if it takes me all month.” My eyes narrowed as he stood with an expression that told me he had something more to say. “Are you all right?”
“Of course. You better go. The Princeling is looking kind of lonely.”
I shook my head with a sideways glance. “Goodnight, Lance.”
“Bring me back some cake?” he called out.
“Sure.” I eyed him suspiciously. “What flavor?”
He smirked. “All of them.”
“Of course.”
We arrived at the Chrysler a little early. Lily escorted Siri and Kai up the grand staircase to the ballroom to make sure it was ready.
Leo took me by the hand and walked me to my family lift. We had decided not to tell anyone quite yet about our connection—not our parents, not Siri, Lily, or even Hailey. It was nice in a way to have something that was ours, that no one could touch, judge, or try to fix. We were still figuring out how it all worked, but I didn’t mind spending the extra hours alone with him trying.
“Before we go up…” Leo started, his eyes shining in an uncharacteristic shade of nervousness.
“What is it?” I asked curiously.
“I just wanted a chance to give you this.” From his jacket pocket, he produced a small box. “An early birthday gift.” He grinned.
“What?” I smiled. “My birthday isn’t for two more days.”
“That is where the early part comes in. I wanted it to be a surprise, and I wasn’t sure Hailey or Lily could make it much longer.”
“But I haven’t given you yours yet. I was waiting to share my birthday with you.” I frowned.
He shook his head, his eyes full of emotion. “Violet, you already gave me the best gift I could have asked for.”
My head tilted in confusion because I knew I had slept through his birthday, and his gift was sitting on my desk in my quarters at the Ark. I studied his face, his face shined when he said, “You woke up.”
My eyes welled as I fought back tears that threatened to ruin Lily’s work and opened the box. Inside was a delicate platinum necklace with a rough, natural cut jewel that was a pale blue fading into a gentle shade of violet. In a way, it looked like a heart, and if I turned it just right, it almost looked like the beach at Heart’s Cove.
“I’ve seen this before,” I said.
“You have. We found it in the wreckage at the cove and Colin made it into a necklace for me. He told me how he found this sapphire near a lava vent off the submerged ancient coast of Hawaii.”
I lifted the necklace out of the box. “I remember.”
“Yes,” he said, helping me put it on. “You thought about it more often than you probably realized.”
I turned, blushing, still not quite used to knowing that there was someone who knew me. The real me and he didn’t run for the Wild Steel Mountains. Unless it was to visit me at the Ark.
The necklace settled perfectly over my heart.
“That’s why they were fighting over my jewelry,” I mused, thinking of Lily and Hailey an hour ago. “It’s a survivor,” I said thoughtfully. And for a moment he looked worried, until I reassured him, “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
�
��You’re welcome.” Leo brightened. He leaned his forehead to mine, and I could feel the warmth of his skin. He gathered me into his arms, and I buried my face into his neck. Breathing him in, I realized, I had loved him my whole life, and I never knew. The revelation was still so new to me that some days, I stared at him for hours to make sure he wasn’t still a figment of my imagination. I opened my eyes and saw him smiling at me. Embarrassed, I turned away.
He spoke to the com, “King’s residence. Authorization Prince Leo.” He kissed my fingers.
“Access denied.” The com’s announcement caused Leo’s eyes to widen in surprise. “What?”
I chuckled. “Sorry, my dad thinks we’re getting a little too serious for his liking.”
“King Henry really likes my suggestions. He’s planning to add more protocols next week!” Hailey clapped as she materialized between us. Leo took two steps backward and straightened his jacket.
“This was also one of my recommendations,” she said to Leo.
I shook my head, eyes sparkling. “He did not agree with this. Home. Authorization Princess Violet.”
“Not yet, but I think he will.” Hailey eyed Leo as he took another step back. “I really hope he gets to learn about the Ark one day. I do hate lying to him all the time, and I don’t particularly like the Hg-1 getting credit for all my hard work.”
I shook my head and turned to face the new sensors installed in all the banks that used more biometric security measures, just one of many upgrades to the security Hailey had eagerly suggested. And in the reflection of the glass, I could see that Lily had done a good job covering most of the scarring.
When I had first woken up, everyone who came to see me showered me with hugs. Lily and Leo had acted as if everything was normal. But as more and more people stopped by, I noticed that many couldn’t quite meet my gaze. Others had studied the walls or the backs of their hands.
Eventually, I realized that my hair was not pulled back as I had originally thought, but that most of it had fallen out. It took hours to convince Lily to give me a mirror, and when she did, I immediately wished she hadn’t.
