Page 44 of The Program

‘Any news on…her?’I dared to ask despite knowing someone might be listening. This entire conversation could get us all into a lot of trouble.

Father was the one who answered this time. ‘Not yet. Most of the talk is how shocked they are she hasn’t already followed them here. After her display at the facility they’re preparing for the worst. They’re experimenting with magnetic fields to contain her and gases that will penetrate her shields. They’re pulling out all the stops and taking no chances.’

Pride swelled inside my chest at the fear she struck in these bastards hearts. She had always been strong and resilient, and I’d always viewed her as this almost untouchable, forbidden,magnificentcreature. Now, however, she was truly growing into her own. The Program fucked up by giving her those abilities, andby the starswas she using them to counter their attacks.

She was phenomenal.

‘Still daydreaming about running off into the sunset with her, kid?’ Father teased, pushing my shoulder lightly to accentuate the playfulness.

I scoffed in denial but I knew I wasn’t fooling anyone. I’d been in love with her for so long now I could hardly even remember a time beforehand. The past was no longer as sore a subject as it had been since she’d come alone. Yet, my feelings didn’t change the fact that she would never forgive me for my actions. No matter how much I replayed the past in my head with an alternate ending – always a happy one where we live happily ever after in peace – I couldn’t change the past.

What was done was done and I really should have moved on by now.

If only the thought of touching anyone other than her didn’t fill me with revulsion and self-loathing…

‘Nice try, son, but I think you’ll need to convince yourself you aren’t obsessed with the girl before you can convince anyone else,’ he said, and though his words were teasing the message was anything but. He was right, but I didn’t think I would ever be able to convince myself she wasn’t the best thing that had ever happened to me.

Even if I’d lost her, even if she would never need me in her life ever again, I would never regret my love for her, what I’d done for her. She was the driving force of my very existence, and if that meant I spent my life ensuring she had one from a distance, then so be it.

I met my mother’s eyes from across the table and almost flinched at the understanding shining within them. She could always tell what I was thinking, almost as if she were reading my mind. In reality, she just knew me better than anyone else and could see right through any one of my façades.

The silent alarm flashed to let us know that we were due to report for our next shift soon. Father left to put on his shoes and Mother rose from her seat to come around to where I was sitting. She stroked her fingers over my cranial spikes, flattening them against my head. The maternal gesture was soothing, comforting and familiar.

‘Don’t give up hope, my boy. This one’s worth fighting for, and she’ll need that now more than ever.’

Tears stung at my eyes as I fought them back. A part of me didn’t want to believe her for fear of getting my heart broken even more than it already was. The larger part of me, however, latched on to that hope she was offering and tugged it close, refusing to let it go. The sides warred with each other long after we all left and went our separate ways.

I was still stationed at the academy while Mother had been reassigned to the docking bay during the influx of new guards, and Father had managed to secure a spot guarding the new shipment. Seniority went a long way to ensure his position was stable and we relied heavily on the information he was able to glean from working there.

So far, he had counted almost thirty small children, all of them between the ages of one and three. He said there was one that was more rambunctious than the others that he was the most concerned about. A little boy, one of the youngest but also one of the smartest kept trying to run away to find his mama and someone calledAnnie.The little tyke had even managed to get as far as the exit and took a few steps onto the station proper before he’d been caught and returned to his room.

What was most concerning, however, was that this was days ago and he hadn’t been seen since. After almost a week of constant mischief, he’d gonesilent and disappeared. Whatever the reason behind his sudden absence, it was sure to be anything but good.

I pushed the thoughts of the little boy – and the rest of those poor kids – out of my head to focus on today’s task. Since there was no sign of Artemis making an appearance any time soon then we were going to have to enact Plan B. We were running out of time before our secret meetings were noted and the targets on our backs were activated.

Nova Academy encased me in all its shiny, metallic glory. Designed with sharp lines, cubed shapes and perfect corners, it would have been an imposing structure if it weren’t for the rest of Nova Station mirroring its architecture. Technology ran through every inch of the station, even going so far as to warm the floors and walls. Some of it was even accidental, the electricity heating the metal from within.

I preferred my home world. Its rough terrain that gave way to stunning views, the vibrancy of the various life forms that called Tornulis home. It wasn’t the planet the Tornu race had originated from, but it was the planet we’d claimed as our own centuries ago. The perfect place to give us sanctuary, there were many aspects of Tornulis that challenged us to be better, stronger,hardier.The shifting landscapes, the deadly plants, the native predators, even the weather.

It was a much more stimulating environment than metal, metal, and more metal.

Shaking off the homesickness that threatened to overwhelm me, I stepped through the front doors of the academy and made my way towards the study rooms again. I had succeeded in snagging the job of guarding the room that Dorian had booked this evening, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep doing so.

Many of the other guards enjoyed guarding the study rooms if they weren’t assigned the classrooms for the sole reason of learning. Nova Academy was an elite institution that most were denied entrance to, and this was a rare opportunity to learn from the professorsandthe cadets that they wouldn’t have had before.

I was getting quite the series of complaints from my peers that I was hogging those opportunities for myself.

Navigating the halls of the academy was a bleak affair. I used to imagine them filled with the sounds of youthful men laughing and having fun, their spirits bright and eager for the future. The corridors, their faces, their hopes and dreams, now it was all cold, empty, and shallow.

Chillingly so.

Most of the cadets had already returned to their dorms after the evening meal by this point, only a few stragglers heading in the same direction as me. I knew we were going to have to wait for the prince and his shadow to detach from their other team members before we could begin, so I prepared myself for a long stretch of standing outside the door.

Those were the most frustrating times for me. I would never admit out loud, but I hated not being able to interact with them unless it was behind closed doors. My silence and indifference, though necessary to keep up appearances, was also a barrier between me and them. They didn’t get to know the real me, and the urge to get to know these people that had become close to Artemis (at varying degrees) was increasingly persistent and itched under my skin when I could not achieve it.

Dorian, Urman, Cadmus and Henrik were the first to arrive, settling in around the table and looking busy. Markus and Xander were quick to follow, positioning themselves at both heads of the table. Neither made a sound and the mood was sombre. This was our first meeting since Reece’s trial and the additional loss of Adara, and it was clear they all felt that loss like a physical blow.

Finally, the last pair arrived and took their spots around the table. I closed the door, locking it behind me, and assumed my position against the back wall in clear view of the window. I felt their eyes on me as they waited for me to get settled, but only one pair remained when they started up the conversation.

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