by Lola Dodge
Teddy and Layla hadn’t shown to see us off. They were double-checking to see if anyone else’s parents wanted in and would message Tair if they got a hit.
Devan leaned against the tunnel wall, still groggy and a little wiped. “I should be going with you. I can’t just—”
“You have to cloak everyone.” I’d already told her, but I couldn’t blame Devan for not wanting to stay back. “Without you, no one’s getting out.”
She jammed her hands into her pockets. “I’m trusting you.”
“We all are,” Cipher said. “Message if you need computer help. Knight and I might be busy picking up our new ride, but I’ll do whatever I can if something comes up.”
Knight nodded. “Let us know when and where to meet you and we’ll be ready.”
“With bells on,” Dex added.
I closed my eyes to fix the perfect future in my mind. Cassie jumps into Tair’s arms, squeezing him tight; Devan and her friends huddle in a pile, crying happy tears; Mona dashes for Cipher—
We could save them.
We would save them.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ALTAIR
My parents’ guards met us at the agreed-on coordinates, halfway across the channel to Alpha Citadel. They dropped a ladder down from their yacht, which towered high over ours, blocking the sun. I didn’t hesitate to scale up the rungs. Quanta followed behind me.
I couldn’t shake my nerves, but it felt good to take action. As long as we kept moving, I could stay focused on the goal. Cassie.
Five men in body armor stood on the upper deck. The patches on their sleeves marked them members of my parents’ private security force. I nodded to the nearest one as I helped Quanta over the railing.
We ducked below deck as the captain started turning the boat toward Alpha Citadel. Five more armored guards stood posted in the living room, looking out of place among my mother’s fussy furnishings—formal chairs and abstract-shaped lamps and sculptures. Curtains were drawn over the tinted windows that ringed the room, but the chandelier gave off enough light to manage, tinkling faintly as the boat kicked up to speed.
One of the men offered us folded cloaks. “For you.”
Quanta shook out the fabric, revealing a pixelated pattern, which should confuse any sensors that tried to scan us. In the meantime, we’d look horribly out of place. No one wore cloaks.
But I swung mine on and lifted the hood. As long as my parents had set up the right authorizations, we’d pass security regardless of our outfits.
Minutes on the boat dragged into hours. The urge to pace was strong.
At last, we slowed, crossing into the harbor. In my parents’ large yacht, we couldn’t dock in the same area we’d used this morning. Instead, our captain pulled us into the VIP dock, where we could disembark and leave the Gray Helix workers to handle the rest. Now instead of weaving through the marina, we could cross straight into the security checkpoint.
“Ready?” I asked Quanta.
She tugged her hood deep over her face and stuck her hair inside. “This isn’t going to be fun.”
“Definitely not fun.” But I was as ready as I could be.
The dock workers extended a gangplank onto the deck and we kept our heads down as we crossed over. My parents’ guards enclosed us in a ring, marching us the few feet to the security station cut into in the towering wall.
I tried to keep moving calmly ahead, but if my parents were planning a double-cross, this would be the perfect chance.
One of the guards splintered off to show IDs and permissions to the woman working the station. She glanced our way but didn’t call for us to remove our hoods. After my parents’ senatorial credentials cleared, she waved our group through the tunnel.
My pulse still moved as the guards led us inside the Citadel. I’d never get used to this part. I hoped that I didn’t have to.
Arriving in the afternoon instead of the morning meant fewer bystanders in the plaza, but the few in sight jumped out of our way as we cut past the fountains to the nearest lift. I kept my gaze on the artificial cobblestones, careful not to let my face be seen.
The pod station was mostly empty, with no line of people waiting. As soon as we stepped up to the tracks, one of my parents’ larger private pods coasted up to meet us. It was the pod my parents used for entertaining big groups—with leather seats arranged in an oval and a full bar at one end. I was tempted to pour myself a drink.
As the guards filed in, I led Quanta to a seat at the back. She settled in next to me and gripped my arm tight, her fingers shaking.
“Are you all right?” I tilted my head so I could see into her hood. She was breathing too fast and a cold sweat made loose strands of her hair stick to her forehead. I’d been too wrapped up in everything else to notice. Stupid.
“There’s just no way this goes smoothly. Not that we were expecting it to, but we’re cornering Nagi. He’ll lash out. I just can’t tell how yet.”
“Cass?” If he lashed out at her—
“She’s still okay. So are the others.”
I let out a breath. “Doctor Nagi should be distracted enough the next hour or so.” He’d be waiting for us to show until the deadline he’d set for us tonight.
At least, he would until he heard what was going on at the senate. Secret session or not, there was no way someone loyal to him wouldn’t tip him off eventually. We were counting on him to rise to the challenge and make his way over to defend himself. Even if he only sent his forces and stayed locked up somewhere safe, fighting on the senate floor would cause all the distraction we needed.
The guards kept silent as the pod coasted through the Citadel’s gleaming skyscrapers. Quanta gazed out the window but stared into space instead of watching the architecture.
The ride dragged. I tapped my toe against the floorboard.
Finally, we rounded the side of a building and the tallest spire in the city came into view. The senate building.
I hated this place. I’d been dozens of times for mindless cocktail parties and visits to my parents’ offices. It was the beating heart of the cold, plastic Seligo empire.
The pod sped through the senate’s public station without stopping, swinging up and around the building to the station exclusive to senators and their guests. Our guards filed out in orderly rows and then formed a box around us as Quanta and I stepped out.
Tension coiled in my muscles. I checked my weapons. A gun at each hip. Two concealed tactical knives. All easy to access underneath my cloak.
We headed inside, displacing the other people on the platform. Senators were arriving by private pod, hurrying into the building with their retinues. The crowd had bottlenecked at the overloaded security checkpoint, but I didn’t have long to be nervous. My parents’ guards pushed us to the front of the line and flashed their special credentials. The crowd mumbled as we were waved through without a scan.
So far, so good. I hoped the rest of the plan went this smoothly, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
The guards led us into the senate’s labyrinth of hallways. We veered off from the sections with plush carpeting and paintings on the walls, crossing into the blank white hallways where the senate’s staff had their offices. It wasn’t easy staying oriented with no furnishings or decorations as landmarks, but I counted turns until I was positive we were being herded to my parents’ suite.
Quanta found my hand. Her palm was sweating more than mine. I pulled her arm against my side and rubbed her hand with my thumb, trying to reassure her. I hated that she had to come back to this place, but there was nothing we could do except finish our business as quickly as possible.
Our guards were already speed-walking, pushing past the aides and Black Helixes that thronged the corridor. Excited whispers melded into a constant hum. Rumors were in the air. They knew something big was on the way.
They weren’t wrong.
We were halfway through the maze when a commotion started at the end of the hall. A woman shouldered throug
h the crowd. My jaw dropped.
Mei Lin Orpheus stormed toward us, knocking away anyone who stepped in front of her. Her Yellow Helix aides trailed behind her, calling for her to slow down, but she ignored them. I stopped, bracing for her to explode when she met me, but instead, she bulled past on a mission.
“Veronica Astor just took the floor.”
“Crap.” Quanta whirled after my mother, and I was quick to catch up. I wasn’t surprised Senator Astor was making a power grab, but we couldn’t let her take the reins on our plan. One careless word from her could get Cass killed.
With the guards spearheading us down the corridor, we broke into a jog. My mother didn’t miss a step in her stilettos.
A high-ceilinged lobby opened up just before the entrance to the senate chamber. Senators and their aides choked the security station as they streamed toward the doorway. The massive wooden doors hung open, and I couldn’t see the floor from where we stood, but the current speaker’s voice echoed outside. “—time for a change! Time to take action!”
“Move!” My mother elbowed a man out of her way.
Quanta and I slipped in behind her, staying centered behind the guards as we rode her anger—and authority—through the queue. She swatted away the man who tried to scan her.
“Wait. You can’t just—” His voice cut off as the crowd surged behind us, pushing us all through the doors.
“We can’t let her finish the speech.” Quanta grabbed my arm and I grabbed her back so the flow of people wouldn’t carry her away.
“She won’t have the chance.” My mother pushed back her shoulders. When she strode forward, she radiated so much presence that a space opened in front of her. For the smallest window of time, I was glad we were fighting on the same side. I wouldn’t want to be the one standing in her way.
We followed my mother’s wake into the chamber. Senator Astor stood at the central dais, but only half the tiered seats were filled. Mercenaries and private security forces packed the senate floor.
Senators and their aides kept pushing in through all four doors, but couldn’t get past the throng, and the chaotic hum of conversation echoed up to the faux night sky on the domed ceiling.
No one could give Senator Astor their full attention. We weren’t lost yet.
My mother stomped to the podium. Somehow, everyone squeezed to the side at the sight of her, making room for our group to pass through.
Senator Astor stood flanked by two hulking bodyguards, but between the fighters who’d escorted us from the boat and my mother’s own retinue, we had closer to thirty fighters—not even counting the others my parents had hired to bring to the floor.
The buzz of conversation died off as my mother stepped up to the podium. Veronica Astor looked like Layla’s clone with emerald eyes and coiled blonde hair, but she had a hardness that her daughter lacked, standing rod-straight and humorless.
Her lips pressed tight together as her attempt to lead the coup backfired. Realizing she was outmatched, she stepped aside, deferring to my mother. “Senator Orpheus will address the floor.”
Mother gave her a cool nod before stepping to the forefront. My shoulders tensed as a palpable hush fell over the chamber. “Before I begin, I’d like those on the floor to clear a path. Let’s have all the senators in their seats.”
The crowd shifted, pressing Quanta and I up against the dais. I moved to brace my arms around her, trying to shield her from the crush of bodies. “Hanging in there?”
“Too many people…” She balled her hands in my shirt and closed her eyes.
“You’ll be okay. Your focus has improved.”
“True.” She nodded, cracking a smile. “Gimme a sec. I’m trying to see what happens.”
I kept a wary eye on the crowd while Quanta worked her magic.
With lanes freed, the senators climbed the stairs to their seats. They fell into their plush armchairs on the tiered rows, and their retainers gathered around them, watching holographic screen projections of my mother on the dais. Some sections had glowing screens but no occupants—senators calling in for the vote—but most seats filled. We had enough senators for a majority vote against Doctor Nagi.
If that didn’t work, then we’d set ourselves up to launch the Citadel into chaos, with so many of its power players in the crossfire. As the crowd settled down, my father finally strode onto the dais, stepping behind my mother’s shoulder. Another large group of fighters had followed him, packing into the room.
Quanta let out a breath. “Here we go.” A wave of nervous tension rolled down my body.
No turning back now.
“I’d like to thank you all for attending on such short notice this afternoon.” My mother’s voice echoed over the chamber’s speakers and the hundreds of projected screens at the senators’ stations. “We find ourselves in strange and changing times. Our traditions have served the Citadel through the centuries, but the challenges of our age often require new solutions. We must cast off the cloak of the old and ring in the new if we wish to thrive.” Her gaze flicked to me.
She was following the plan straight away? I’d been prepared to pull her away from the podium if it came to that. I gave Quanta a last squeeze before easing through the fighters that blocked the steps to the dais. They let me pass.
I forced my breaths to even out as I lowered my hood and joined my parents. Whispers sounded as I came into view. So did alarms.
Hundreds of tiny alerts chirped from each of the senators’ screens, where my face popped up above a WANTED banner. Gasps echoed.
Adrenaline shot through me. I had to make a perfect case.
My mother gave a plastic smile. “My son, Altair, has been the victim of a targeted slander campaign. He acted in the best interests of the Citadel and all of us gathered here. I’ve asked him to appear today in order to clear the name of the Orpheus family and make way for our shared future. Altair?”
I faced forward and couldn’t quite reconcile the reality. Hundreds of people stared. Senators. Helixes. An army of fighters.
I caught Quanta’s gaze.
She shifted foot to foot on the floor, peering up at me through her hood. Surrounded by guards, standing on the ground where she’d lived her worst memories, Quanta still managed a smile for me.
I couldn’t be any less brave. I gripped the sides of the podium to keep myself anchored. “Thank you for receiving me here today. I hope I can clear the air regarding my supposed misdeeds. I admit that I’ve made mistakes, but not the ones Doctor Nagi would have you believe.” I scanned the crowd, making eye contact, and hoping everyone heard my intent rather than the lies. “Doctor Nagi has overstepped his authority and abused his power for too long. He holds our lives in his hands, and speaking against him is as good as a death sentence. I’d like to see that changed.”
Some people nodded. Others whispered. Most peered at me, waiting to see where my speech was headed. The low hum of the alarm still buzzed through the chamber. Doctor Nagi’s fighters would be headed here to collect me. I had to flip as many senators to our side as possible before the fighting broke out.
“I have the immortality formula. Under the supervision of my parents—” I inclined my head to both of them, who returned plastic smiles. They were sickeningly in their element. “I plan to take over production and distribution of mods and serums required to ensure the survival of the Seligo.”
Shouts exploded. I stepped back.
The fuse was lit. I was lying through my teeth—I still had no plans of staying on in Seligo servitude—but that detail didn’t matter.
As long as they believed it was possible. Is it?
Quanta stared into space and a hint of blue glowed from the sleeves of her cloak. Her nose wrinkled in concentration. I focused on her as bickering and yelling echoed through the chamber, and her stillness shook me more than the noise. I needed her to see a future where we won, but from the look on her face, our fight was only beginning.
Chapter Thirty-Five
QUANTA
I kept a tiny bit of attention on Tair. I wished I had more to spare because he sounded like he was doing amazing at the speech thing, but the whirling futures needed all my brain cells on deck. Between the crazy stakes and the chaos of timeghosts kicked up by everyone in the room… Yikes.
A blue glow I couldn’t stop spilled out from my hands as I tried my best to focus. Luckily, everyone was too busy to care what I was doing, so I leaned deeper into my power, heaving with every mental muscle I had. What happens next?
No matter how I focused, I couldn’t get a clear picture. The near future was chaos. Gunshots, screams, Black Helixes storming the floor, senators bickering, and a haze of bloody hand-to-hand fighting. The images overlapped and flickered past so fast my head split.
Even though I was looking ahead, timeghosts from my past oozed into the mix. White rooms and lab tables. Tubes brushing my skin. Needles and scalpels and Doctor Nagi’s cold, smug smile. I was too close to the source of all of them—just floors above my worst nightmare.
A wave of nausea rolled over me. It was way too late in the game to get thrown off.
I still was thrown off. But I couldn’t be. I had to be my best right now.
“Order! Order!” Tair’s dad shouted, drawing me back to reality. He was a head taller than Tair with darker skin and broader shoulders. I never would’ve guessed they were related, but genetic tinkering could do that to a family. He smacked the podium until most of the chatter quieted. “I call for a vote. We must remove Doctor Tenma Nagi from his position as senate chair and all other positions of authority in the Citadel.” He shouted above the raised voices, the mic system projecting his voice over theirs. “Senators Orpheus, Astor, and I will oversee the Citadel’s administration until an appropriate replacement can be elected chair. Vote now or remain under his thrall forever.”
Well. Under his thrall forever was a little over the top, but if it worked, who was I to complain?
The alert about Tair disappeared from the hundreds of screens, replaced by graphics to show the vote tally. My heart pounded as I waited for the results, but I couldn’t pull them out of the future and they were taking agonizingly long in the present. We didn’t have forever here.
