“No one expects perfection. What the Council needs to see is improvement. Proof that your species is worth saving.”
I swallowed and looked at the ground. If being handed an ultimatum from space hadn’t changed things on Earth, what would?
Grace lifted my chin, a gentle stream of light passing through her to me. “You are a rare exception to your kind, Lark. Which is why you’re here. I’m confident you can lead your people to a better way.”
I met her eyes for a moment and then shook my head. “I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I’m afraid I don’t share it. Isn’t there any other way to petition the Council? It just doesn’t seem fair.”
She folded her arms. “I am not the one calling the shots here. The Council controls everything. They don’t care what causes a world to deteriorate; all that matters to them is whether or not it can be salvaged. Your group is very fortunate to have this chance. You must prove that Earth’s people are worth saving. Everything depends upon it.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t see how a group of teenagers is going to make a difference.”
Grace smiled. “Sometimes it’s the littlest things which have the greatest impact.” She pointed to my books. “Take those with you and study them daily. You may understand your role better as your training progresses, or you may not understand until after re-integration. For now, trust in the program.”
I put my books in the cross-body satchel, happy to have something from home. After securing the flap I looked up at her again.
“When will you tell the other Recruits what you’ve told me?”
“I won’t. And neither will you.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “How can they give their best if they don’t know what’s at stake?”
She leaned forward. “How can they function at all if they are overcome with fear? We have learned the hard way that keeping things positive will yield much more productive results.”
I ran my finger along the desk, dissatisfied with that answer, but she had a point. I switched gears.
“What about Rusty?”
She tilted her head. “Captain Harris is an exceptional young man who raised himself out of a difficult situation, and excelled despite the odds. I selected him for his knowledge of law, as well as his people skills. I think you will enjoy working with him, and together you will make a fine team.”
“Did you know he was the boy from the video?”
“Not until after he’d already been selected.” Her eyes took on a distant look. “I normally don’t give credence to fate, but I don’t know how else to explain the situation. You felt a connection to him whenever you watched it, didn’t you?” Her eyes flicked to mine.
My mouth opened but no sound came. My silence gave me away.
She nodded. “I have a good feeling about the two of you.”
I gave her a look. “That’s pretty obvious. But if you don’t mind, will you please refrain from saying that we ‘make a nice couple’ in front of thousands of people—or anyone for that matter? Ever again?”
She laughed. “I apologize.”
I rolled my eyes. “I hope so. That was beyond embarrassing.”
Her smile straightened and she held up her hands. “Enough talk. Time for you to get started on training.”
I stood straight and saluted. “Yes, Lieutenant.”
She shook her head and pressed the button for the door. “I hope Cadet North knows what he’s gotten himself into.”
CHAPTER
Fifteen
I walked down the long corridor, which wasn’t half so creepy without Lord Krane’s guards standing watch. As I came to the front office, the sight of Gideon stole my breath away. He stood looking out the windows, his posture tall and straight as he watched students passing outside.
Are you ready?
I smiled and came to stand beside him. “Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”
“You must be thinking of a different alien.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Let’s get going.”
We passed Phyla who watched us wordlessly from her desk. I glanced around, noticing that the others in the office watched us too. Once we stepped outside, I let out a breath.
“What’s with all the staring?”
“It’s not often someone gets a private audience with Lord Krane.” He looked at me sideways. “Might as well get used to it though. Team Captains are often in the spotlight.”
I gave a mirthless laugh. “Lucky me.”
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought we might start with a tour of the Terrace, since we’re already up here.”
I nodded and followed him around the waterfall, but I couldn’t ignore the tension between us. When we reached a secluded spot away from the windows and open terrace, I stopped him. “Gideon, I hope I didn’t offend you by wanting to talk to the lieutenant alone.”
He looked away. “You don’t need to explain. You’re entitled to your privacy.”
“Funny you should say that.” I lifted the flap on my bag and pulled the books out. “When were you in my bedroom?”
He cleared his throat. “I came in through the window while you were watching the Recruitment broadcast with your mom. It was an assignment. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”
My face twisted. “You could have just told me to get them. You didn’t have to break in.”
“Those were my orders.”
“Too bad you didn’t bring my phone and journal, too.”
He titled his head. “I would have if I’d known how much they meant to you.”
I sighed and gave a little shrug, putting the books back in my bag. “Grace can be annoyingly cryptic, but she said I would get more answers during training, so I’m banking on that.”
“You can trust her.” Gideon turned to face me, his sapphire eyes uncertain. “Look, I said I wanted to continue as your Guardian without asking how you felt. Do you want someone else?”
My heart squeezed. He must have thought that’s what I’d wanted to talk to Grace about. I held his gaze, not needing any time to think it over.
“No. I want you.”
He stilled, his eyes smoldering as they held mine. The sound of the waterfall melted away and I caught my breath. Reaching up, I twisted a strand of my hair around my finger for the signal and he closed his eyes.
Stop. I can’t. Not right now.
I stepped forward at the longing in his voice, my body pulled to him by an irresistible force.
“Then don’t fight it,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes. They blazed as if caught on blue fire. My mouth opened in awe and I was about to move closer when a voice made me freeze.
“What do we have here?”
I turned to see Slade and Rusty standing a few feet away. Rusty had his hands in his pockets and looked uncomfortable. Slade’s dark eyes narrowed suspiciously.
I stepped back, forcing a smile on my face. “We were just about to come find you guys.”
Slade’s eyes flicked between us. “Didn’t look like you were in too much of a hurry.”
“We had things to talk about,” Gideon said, straightening as he turned to face Slade. “If you want to know more, you can take it up with Lieutenant Hardcastle.”
Slade smirked. “A little defensive, aren’t we?”
Gideon ignored him.
Slade’s face hardened. “You better watch it, North, or one of these days you’ll find yourself on the prison shuttle.”
Gideon stepped back, not taking the bait as he turned to acknowledge Rusty. “What have you seen of the Academy so far? Did you get a tour of the Terrace yet?”
Rusty shook his head. “I think we’ve seen just about everything except the Terrace. Are you going to join us?” He looked at me.
“Yes,” Gideon answered.
I glanced at him, not sure it was wise for him and Slade to be in the same space when they so obviously disliked each ot
her, but Gideon started walking.
“This is the upper-most level of the Academy you have access to, otherwise known as the Terrace. It’s where the administrative offices are located, and also where the Freedom Fighters train.”
I raised an eyebrow. He played the part of tour guide surprisingly well.
“Will we get to see their training?” Rusty asked as Slade sulked behind us.
“There’s an Observation Deck where you can watch,” Gideon said.
“Cool.” Rusty turned to me. “I wish you could have come on the tour earlier. This place is incredible.”
I smiled. “I can’t wait to explore. I doubt three weeks will be long enough to see everything.”
He nodded, the sunlight catching glints of copper in his hair. “So, are you going to tell me more about what you were talking about before? The video?”
I blushed. “I was hoping you’d forget.”
Gideon walked faster until he was a few yards in front of us. Slade lagged at least as far behind. If Rusty noticed we were suddenly left alone, he made no sign.
“Forget that a beautiful girl said she’d watched a video of me—what was it—a thousand times? Not a chance.” He gave me a sideways smile and my blush deepened.
I looked away. “Okay, I officially sound like a stalker.”
He chuckled as a large group of Recruits and Guardians passed. They smiled and waved at us like we were celebrities. We waved back, but after we were out of hearing range we laughed.
“Looks like you’re going to have your own set of stalkers,” he teased.
“Super weird.” I hesitated and lowered my voice. “I talked to Lieutenant Hardcastle and asked her why she picked us as Captains.”
“What did she say?”
“Basically, that you are brilliant at law and had a way with people.”
He nodded. “Sounds about right.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Not to mention your bashful modesty.”
He snorted. “And there’s that.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “What did she say about you?”
I shrugged. “I like history and recording things, so I guess that makes me special.”
“I didn’t have to spend any time with you to know that.” He gently elbowed my side. “There’s something about you, Lark. I noticed you right away. You stand out in a crowd.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Gideon turned and waited, saving me from having to say anything. His face was unreadable as we approached. “The entrance to the Freedom Fighter training facility—more commonly referred to as the Cavern—is through this door,” he said. “We’ll wait for Slade and then I’ll take you to the Observation Deck.”
“How does one become a Freedom Fighter, anyway?” Rusty asked.
“You train,” Gideon said. “Becoming a Freedom Fighter is an honor on Lior. It’s something most kids dream about here—kind of like how kids dream of being super heroes on Earth. This Academy is highly sought after, and there is an intense selection process to get in.”
“You know about superheroes now?” I teased, tilting my head.
“I read up on them after you talked about Superman.” He gave me a small smile.
“Are we gonna stand here jabbering all day?” Slade asked when he finally caught up.
Gideon ignored him and turned to the massive door made of the same glittering blue stone as the Academy. He scanned his cuff over the reader and the door slid open.
Rusty let out a low whistle. “And I thought the stadium was big.”
My screens adjusted to the dimmer lighting as I passed through the door. “It’s . . . inside the mountain?”
We walked into a cavernous room the size of three football fields. There were areas partitioned off, with plenty of lighting along the domed ceiling. Freedom Fighters were everywhere. When you combined the building outside with this gargantuan area, the Academy was easily bigger than most university campuses back home.
“This way.” Gideon led us down an open hallway.
There were other Recruits from Earth ahead, but when our group passed, Freedom Fighters stopped what they were doing to acknowledge Gideon and Slade. Especially the girls.
“Look who the superstars are now,” I whispered to Rusty.
He gave an exaggerated frown. “It’s like no one cares about us anymore.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as we continued to follow Gideon. The partitions we passed held classrooms where Fighters were busily involved in different activities. One group looked like they were studying chemistry, but apart from that I had no idea what was going on. We climbed a stone staircase that led to a wide cliff cut into the stone. Once we reached the top, we stood and looked down at the classes.
“Where’s Slade?” Gideon asked.
I turned and saw that he was still at the bottom of the staircase, talking to a pretty girl in Freedom Fighter uniform. Gideon’s face darkened before he turned his attention back to Rusty and me.
“This is the Observation Deck,” he said. “From here you can overlook the whole Cavern and the classes being taught to the Freedom Fighters.”
As I scanned over the vast space, one class immediately caught my attention. The Fighters in that group were practicing the martial arts-like moves I’d seen Gideon use on Earth.
“What’s that class?” I asked.
“Combat,” Gideon said, following my gaze.
Rusty grunted. “Wouldn’t want to get into a fight with any of those guys.”
“I would,” I said.
When they both stared at me I realized how that sounded. “What I meant was, I really wish I could learn how to fight like that. It’s incredible.”
Rusty raised his eyebrows. Gideon studied my face a moment before turning away.
“What other classes are there?” Rusty asked.
“As you can see, the range is extensive,” Gideon said. “Most of the classes wouldn’t make sense to you unless you were from our world. For example, Light Harnessing,” he pointed to a far area of the Cavern where bright lights burst like fireworks, “only applies if you glow like we do here. Fighters have to learn to control it if they ever want to do off-world missions.”
“Cool,” Rusty said.
“And Transport.” Gideon pointed to another distant area where giant tubes reached up to the roof. “Those tubes are simulated wormholes. It’s specific training that would be unsafe for people of your world—Lark could tell you that.”
Rusty turned to me, his eyes wide. “You’ve been in a wormhole?”
I shrugged. “I don’t remember much. I blacked out in the first few seconds.”
“But you lived to tell the tale. That’s some serious bragging rights.” He bumped my shoulder.
“Did you have any questions?” Gideon cut in.
“Yeah, how much time do we have? I could stand here all day watching this stuff,” Rusty said.
“Me too,” I agreed, scanning the Cavern in fascination. I would have given almost anything to get a closer look at each class. “What about pilot training? Do you guys get to fly the airships?”
“The Flight Deck is up top,” Gideon gestured to the roof.
“The top of the mountain?” I looked up, wishing I could sprout a pair of wings to fly up there that instant.
He nodded. “Recruits aren’t authorized, otherwise I’d take you.”
“What about Team Captains?” I pressed.
He shook his head, giving me a sympathetic half-smile.
“Okay.” My shoulders slumped. I would to talk to Grace. Maybe I could convince her to give me clearance.
A group of Recruits approached with their Guardians. One girl with dark hair and an olive complexion stepped forward. “You’re the Team Captains, aren’t you?” She had a strong Spanish accent.
Rusty gave his signature friendly smile and reached out his hand. “Rusty Harris, and this is Lark Taylor. We’re from the U.S. How about you?”
“Isabel Flores, from Costa Rica.” She was staring at him like a star-struck tween.
“What do you guys think so far?” Rusty asked, addressing the group.
All the Recruits started talking at once. Rusty fielded questions as one of the Guardians approached me. She had wavy blonde hair that reached to the waist of her turquoise uniform.
“You’re so lucky,” she whispered, darting a glance at Gideon as he stood a few yards off. “What’s it like getting to spend so much time with Cadet North?”
“Oh, um . . . he’s great. Do you know him?” I didn’t like the way she was still staring at him.
She blinked her large, crystal blue eyes and giggled. “I wish! He’s the top of our class—practically untouchable. I’ve tried being friends with his sister to get to know him better, but she specializes in Tech and we never cross paths. Would you introduce me?”
My inner jealous monster snarled, but I managed a smile. “Of course. What’s your name?”
She clasped her hands together and gave a tiny squeal. “Skye Elliot. I’m Isabel’s Guardian.”
I nodded. “And what’s your area of expertise?”
“I’m a pilot.”
My eyes widened. “Really? For the airships? I’d love a chance to see the Flight Deck.”
“Sorry.” She lifted a shoulder. “Recruits aren’t allowed up there.”
“That’s too bad.” I inspected my nails. “Because if I were allowed up there, that would mean Gideon would be spending more time on the Flight Deck too.” My eyes flicked to hers and she grinned.
“I’ll talk to my superior and see what I can do. I’m sure he could make an exception for a Team Captain.”
I grabbed her arm and made a tiny squeal that mirrored the one she’d given.
“What are you two so giddy about?”
I turned to see Slade facing us, his eyes trained on Skye. When she didn’t answer right away, I spoke up.
“We were just chatting.”
Skye bobbed her head. “Captain Taylor was about to introduce me to Cadet North.” She gave me a meaningful look.
“Introduce me first,” Slade pointed at himself, flashing a charming smile that stood out against his tan skin.
Silence of Stars Page 13
