by Brenda Poppy
The men began to make their way out of the room, but Cross didn’t budge, his gaze fixed on the window. Burn began to panic. Did he know she was there? Was he waiting until everyone was out of the room to grab her or push her through the thin window and into the night? Enough time had passed that Kaz had no doubt started to worry. She had to get out of there – and soon – but Cross was barring her only way out.
The rest of the crowd filtered out of the office, save for one other figure, who closed the door and turned to face Cross.
“Well, I think that went well,” said an old male voice, the same one that had introduced him during the meeting.
Cross didn’t reply. Instead, he remained motionless, standing as still as one of the statues in the house’s eerie stone garden. Unperturbed by his silence, the old man made his way over, taking a seat on the other side of the desk.
“You know, if this goes according to plan, they may finally consider adding you to the ranks. You could be one of us. You could rule this city.”
That got Cross’ attention. And Burn’s. As he turned to face his superior, her mind raced. Cross wasn’t just waging war for pleasure; he was vying for power. He wanted to climb the ladder to its very top, until he stood amongst the most powerful figures in the city.
The idea of Cross wielding that much authority was truly terrifying. With limitless control, he could decimate Kasis. He had to be stopped. Burn’s mission seemed more crucial than ever.
“Thank you, sir. It would be an honor to serve alongside you and the rest of the board,” Cross said humbly. Burn had never heard him act subservient to anyone, so the change in tone was unnerving.
“Come, come. There’s no need to be so formal. I know you’ve been angling for this for years. You have an impeccable record. But this could be the feather in your cap. It’s truly an impressive plan.”
“Thank you,” Cross said again, taking a seat in the chair behind the desk. “But it would never have come together without your support and encouragement.”
“Think nothing of it,” the old man said regally, as if he had just bestowed the highest honor upon Cross. “You know, this could be an amazing opportunity for you. Look around. With a position on the board, your family could have all of this and more. Imagine how happy they would be to live in a place like this.”
That caught Burn off guard. She’d never pictured Cross as having a family. He’d always seemed too detached, too void of sympathy to ever find comfort in the presence of others. She tried to imagine a wife who waited up for him at night and children who greeted him at the door, but the images felt wrong somehow, like a lie.
The older man rose, placing his hands on the desk in front of him. “But I must warn you,” he continued gravely. “If you fail them, they will have your head for this. The board doesn’t take disappointment lightly. You have one chance to prove yourself, and if anything goes wrong, they’ll replace you in an instant.”
“I understand,” Cross said gravely.
The old man turned to go, and Burn risked a glimpse beyond the curtains at Cross. He remained seated in the large office chair, his attention turned downward. An instant later, she heard the top drawer of the desk slide open. Burn’s heart stopped in her chest. He hadn’t used a key. Meaning she hadn’t closed it properly. She’d been in such a rush that she’d just shoved it shut, hoping it would relatch itself. It hadn’t.
Cross was no idiot. An utter bastard, yes, but not an incompetent officer. He would know that an open drawer was suspicious. He would know that someone had opened it. The chair creaked as Cross turned, surveying the room. Looking for her. It was only a matter of time before he spotted her, what with Burn having chosen a highly unoriginal hiding spot. She silently cursed her lack of imagination.
He stood slowly, facing the window. This was it, Burn thought, resigning herself to the inevitable. This was the end. She readied herself to pounce.
But the preparation proved unnecessary, as the old man spoke once more. “Are you coming?” he asked, paused in the open doorway.
“Of course,” said Cross, like that had always been his plan. He made his way to the door. “You know, one of the ladies here has promised me a dance. I think it’s time to collect.” With that, he closed the door behind him and the two began their walk back to the ballroom.
Burn listened for a few seconds as they traveled further down the hallway, then turned the corner. Once she was sure they were gone, she dashed from her hiding spot and out the door, closing it softly behind her.
Cross suspected her. She was certain of it. And now he was on his way to the ballroom to find her. Unless, of course, he had meant some other lady whom he had intimidated into promising him a dance, but she highly doubted that. No, he was coming for her – except she wouldn’t be there.
Burn was out of clever ideas – if any of her ideas that night could actually be construed as clever, which she also doubted. She had been lucky so far, but her luck was rapidly running out. Her heart pounded as she raced down the halls, following the sounds of music and laughter back to the party. Once she neared it, she slowed to a walk, then stopped, trying to get her breathing back under control.
The sudden appearance of a hand on her arm came as quite the shock. Burn reacted abruptly, jumping back and shrieking in an utterly unladylike manner. She flailed, putting her hands up to protect herself, but instead of the violence she was expecting, she met with an uncontrollable bout of laughter. Kaz was laughing at her.
Chapter 15
“You scared me,” Burn said defensively, dropping her hands. Her heartbeat had ticked back up again, and she took slow, controlled breaths to try to lessen its speed.
“The look…on your face…” Kaz said between peals of laughter. “Priceless.” The laughter subsided and he wiped at his eyes. He looked over at Burn, his gaze still filled with mirth, but she glared back stony-faced.
“Oh, come on, Auburn,” he pleaded. “That was funny. You looked like you’d seen a ghost!” Burn didn’t respond, so he continued, “You know, I’ve been looking for you for at least a quarter of an hour. The least you could do is give me a smile,” he teased.
Despite the fact that part of her brain was still obsessing about Cross and what he might know, another part was glad to be back with Kaz. The corners of her lips rose in a small smile.
“Sorry I took so long,” she said, willing sincerity into her tone. “That drink hit me harder than I expected. I needed a few minutes to get my bearings, away from all the people.”
In reality, the buzz from the spirit had already subsided, leaving only a slight tiredness in its wake – although that also could have been because of the adrenaline leaving her system. She made a mental note to avoid combining the two in the future.
Kaz looked at her as if considering her response, weighing her truthfulness.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said, his tone sweet. “I know what that’s like. The drinks and the people and the music – it’s a lot. Do you want to take a walk?” Kaz indicated a side door that she hadn’t noticed, which led to an outdoor balcony that wrapped around the back of the house.
She nodded in agreement, silently noting that it was an ingenious way to avoid Cross while also taking her further away from the scene of the crime. She followed Kaz to the door, which he held open for her before following her into the night.
The air outside was brisk, but not unpleasantly so. After Burn’s exertion, the breeze felt refreshing on her skin. She walked to the railing and closed her eyes, inhaling the sharp, cool air. Kaz joined her, looking out at the city around them.
The patio was a large one, stretching the length of the ballroom and connecting to the statue garden on the house’s far side. A few other couples had also felt the call of the outdoors and were currently enjoying the night, although each kept their distance from the next, as if adhering to an unspoken understanding.
The two stood there for a moment, lost in thought. Burn went over everything she had heard, trying
to make sense of it. The Peace Force was planning a massacre. They had the guns. They had the officers. They had a catalyst, whatever that meant. Were they referring to ManniK? That’s what they had been testing on people – mainly mutants like her. But how would that spark a war?
She had so much information – more than enough to report back to the Lunaria on – but she still felt like she was missing a critical piece of the puzzle. Like who were they targeting? And how were they going to justify a war on their own people?
Burn must have been deep in thought, because Kaz had to repeat his statement twice before she heard him. “I didn’t know you wore glasses,” he said, his voice light but inquisitive.
“Oh,” Burn let out before she knew what she was doing. She took off the glasses, staring down at them in her hands. “I don’t, usually. But my head started to hurt – probably because of the drink – and I thought they might help. They didn’t.”
“Right…” Kaz said, apparently unconvinced by her halfhearted lie.
“Thank you for bringing me tonight,” Burn blurted, attempting to change the subject. She began strolling down the length of the balcony and, to her relief, Kaz followed.
She was honestly glad she had come. The information she had gained was invaluable. And, although she wouldn’t admit it to herself, she had been having a nice time with Kaz. There was something easy about being with him. He felt comfortable and safe, and some of her anxiety melted as they wandered on.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Kaz responded, suitably distracted from the subject of her glasses. “You’re the one doing me the favor. I never would have come on my own. This,” he motioned to the party, “this is something you have to share with someone.”
Burn was struck by the similarity of his words to her own thoughts earlier that day. Luxury was nothing unless you could share it with someone. She glanced up at him and smiled. He met her gaze and held it for a beat before she looked away, blushing.
They continued walking, leaving the confines of the balcony and entering into the statue garden beyond it. The light streaming outside from the party hit the statues at odd angles, casting unnatural and elongated shadows throughout the space. Compared to the life and vibrancy inside, the garden seemed cold and dead, like a moment frozen in time and sentenced to an eternity of stillness.
Neither spoke at first, both preferring to absorb the eerie scene. They passed a statue of two lovers caught forever in each other’s embrace, staring longingly at one another in a passion that would never be satisfied. Crossing further into the garden, Kaz situated himself on a stone bench at the base of yet another statue. This one depicted a man holding an old-fashioned bow and pointing it up at the stars as if he wanted to pierce one and pull it down from the sky.
Burn joined him on the bench. Her veins were still buzzing from the night’s excitement and all that she’d learned. Her goal now should be to find a way to gracefully retreat, without raising suspicion, and update the Lunaria on everything she’d discovered.
So why wasn’t she leaving? Burn told herself it would look strange if they left so early – and she almost believed it. But, like a drug addict, she just wanted a little bit more – more time with Kaz and more time being this person, this version of herself who smiled and laughed and made someone smile and laugh in return.
“Kaz, I…” she started then stopped, hating herself for what she was about to say. Kaz, I have to go. Kaz, I’m a spy who could be apprehended at any moment. Kaz, I can’t do this – no matter how much I might want to.
Instead, she merely said, “Kaz, I’m having a really nice time.” The words felt hollow, a placeholder that should have held real emotions but instead contained mere pleasantries. Kaz simply nodded.
“It’s times like this that I miss them,” he started, and Burn knew immediately that he meant his mother and sister. He stared off into the distance and continued, “It seems so unfair, somehow, that I get to experience all of this and they can’t.”
Burn nodded in understanding but didn’t know what to say. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, not sure if anything would soothe his loss.
Finally she said, “We can’t stop living because they can’t. Live, I mean. I think I’m still coming to terms with that. All I can do is live a life that would make them proud. That’s all any of us can do.”
Burn considered the Lunaria and her mission. She had always thought that it would have made her father proud, her fighting for equality and justice. But how did you really know, in the end, what someone would have wanted?
“Do you think they would be proud of you?” she suddenly asked him, spurred by the thought of her father.
“I don’t know,” he said, pondering the question. “I was so young. Sometimes I feel like I hardly even remember them. Maybe I just do the things I want, then tell myself in retrospect that it’s what they would have wanted to make myself feel better about it.”
Tentatively, Burn reached out her hand and placed it on top of his. He sat there for a beat, then removed his hand. Burn’s cheeks flared in embarrassment, and she thought she’d misread the signals entirely, but Kaz quickly put his hand on top of hers, intertwining their fingers. She gave him a sheepish smile.
“Burn? Can I tell you something?” He looked at the ground, as if not daring to make eye contact with her.
“Sure. I mean, of course.”
“I…” he trailed off, then looked up, meeting her gaze. “I really like you. I know I haven’t known you that long, but there it is.”
Caught off guard, Burn said the first thing that popped into her head. “That’s a very dangerous thing to say.” Kaz looked confused, not comprehending in the slightest. Burn sighed and pulled her hand away, preparing herself.
“There’s no future for us. I’m…” she paused, searching for the right word, “a pariah, at least in the eyes of the Peace Force. If you plan to have a future with them, I can’t be in it.”
She stood up and walked a few paces, as if trying to leave her words – and the whole situation – behind her. But Kaz wouldn’t let that happen. He followed her, gently putting his hand on her arm to urge her to turn around. She reluctantly did, but she resisted the urge to meet his eyes.
“I don’t care.” He sounded sincere. But his life was not in danger. His world was intact – and would remain that way as long as she stayed out of it. Burn shook her head.
“I mean it. Screw them. Screw Cross. You matter to me. They…well, it’s just a job, isn’t it?”
But it wasn’t just a job. They both knew that. It was a way of life, a set path for your future. People didn’t just quit the Peace Force. It wasn’t done. You served until you died. It was the way of things.
“I can’t give you what you want.” Burn tried to put all of herself into the statement, from the blackmail and the Lunaria to her utter inability to lead a “normal” life.
“And how do you know what I want? You don’t.” Kaz was getting worked up now, throwing his hands into the air and pacing through the garden. Burn watched him ruefully, her mind set.
“I want you!” he continued, turning around to face her. Then, without warning, he strode up to her, took her head in his hands, and kissed her deeply. His fingers tangled into her hair as she melted into his body.
After a long moment, they broke apart, both breathing deeply. Kaz kept hold of her head and she didn’t pull away, enjoying the feel of his body against hers. She knew she should be going. She knew she should break away and leave all of this behind. But for some reason her body would no longer obey her commands.
It felt good to be held by someone, to be clutched in an embrace that made the world around her melt away. She just wanted one more moment. Then another. Maybe this could work, her brain piped in. Maybe they could really be together.
But the world was not that kind.
A frosty voice emerged from beside them, piercing the tranquil night. “What a pretty picture,” Cross drawled, striding leisurely over to them
and placing himself between them and the party – between Burn and any chance of escape.
Chapter 16
Kaz turned around swiftly, greeting his superior with a nod, but Burn took her time, wiping her face of every emotion before moving to look at him.
Cross glared at her, his expression screaming contempt. “I wondered where you had run off to,” he continued, speaking directly to her.
Kaz answered anyway, not seeming to notice his intense interest in her. “We needed some air. And it was such a lovely night. We couldn’t resist.” His voice was gentle, but there was a hint of something else behind it. Was it defensiveness? Or possessiveness?
“Of course,” Cross said, his tone light and artificial. “It’s so romantic out here, isn’t it? I do hate to cut your tête-à-tête short, but Ms. Alendra did promise me a dance. And I couldn’t let the night end without having the pleasure of her company.”
Kaz glanced at Burn, his hand tightening around hers in a silent question. She steeled herself, then gave him a reassuring nod before removing her hand from his.
“I’d be delighted, General,” she responded, meeting his gaze. “Although I do have to warn you, I’m not a very good dancer.”
“Oh, don’t worry on that account. I’m a very strong leader.” The fiery way he said that made Burn certain he was no longer talking about dancing. The statement made her shiver.
Still, she approached him, taking his outstretched arm and allowing him to lead her back into the ballroom. The room and its inhabitants had only become louder since she’d left, and the onslaught of noises hit her like a wall of sound. To her sensitive ears, the din was deafening, and she had to mentally calibrate her senses to adjust to it.
Cross, who was paying close attention to her, regarded her curiously, but she just smiled in return, an innocent look plastered on her face.
“Have you been enjoying your evening?” she asked, her voice light and airy.
“Oh, yes. Very much. It’s been…educational.” Somehow he made that word sound like a threat. He looked to Burn, hoping for a reaction, but she kept her face blank except for a small smile. Her mind, however, was far less composed, with fear and anger and curiosity warring for top billing.
