Page 16 of Silver Elite

“Telepathy. It means we can talk to each other in our minds. And once we form a link, it doesn’t matter if I’m very far away from you,or if my shield is up. If you want to talk to me, all you ever need to do is tap into that frequency, follow my energy thread, and poke my shield to ask to link. To talk.”

I was still distracted by what he had said before, but I forced myself to push his odd words from my head—I’m afraid for you, little bird—and focus on our lesson. I could tell Uncle Jim was impressed by how easily it all came to me.

By the time we added shielding and image projection to our lesson plan, he had stopped being surprised by what I could do.

—

When we finally pull into the station, I’m a tight bundle of anxiety. I hurry off the train and link with Polly, my usual handler.

“I’m here.”

“Your contacts are waiting outside. She’s a Prime. Black shirt, green cap. Your silent contact is Declan. He’ll be your handler.”

I leave the station and carefully approach the woman in the green cap, trying not to give in to the paranoia that everyone is staring at us.

“Is he dead?” I ask in lieu of greeting.

“Not yet” is the response.

She’s a pale, black-haired woman in her thirties who introduces herself as Faye and leads me to a waiting car in the arrivals lane. The man behind the wheel has dark skin and piercing eyes. He twists around to nod at me when I slide into the back seat.

“You’re my silent contact in the Point? Declan?”

He looks startled. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Open a path so fast.”

I wrinkle my forehead. “It wasn’t that fast.” But I suppose it was. I always forget there are others whose powers aren’t as strong as mine. Or as plentiful.

Declan’s shrewd eyes lock onto me, as if assessing my competence, my worth. It’s unnerving. Then he faces forward and drives us through the exit checkpoint, leaving the train depot behind us.

“Julian Ash met with the Tribunal two hours ago,” Faye tells me. “They found him guilty of treason and concealment.”

I look over in surprise. “Concealment? They know he’s Modified? How?”

“Jayde Valence recently joined the Tribunal.”

I inhale a sharp breath. There’s no further explanation needed. Valence is indisputably the most powerful mind reader on the Continent. She’s also a Prime loyalist and traitor to her people, serving as General Redden’s right-hand woman for more than a decade. She started working for the Company when she was only seventeen and is rumored to be cold-blooded and highly intelligent. But it’s her ability to penetrate almost any shield that concerns me.

My uncle has the strongest shield of anyone I know. If she was able to read his thoughts, that’s extraordinary. And petrifying, because…what does she know aboutme? How much of me was inside Jim’s head? Is this why he’s not linking with me? Is he worried Jayde Valence will return and somehow uncover my identity?

I swallow the fear and try to focus on Faye’s voice.

“…he faces the firing squad tomorrow morning.”

“What?”

“His execution is scheduled for nine o’clock.”

“We can’t let that happen.” I take a calming breath. “The network is going to organize a rescue mission, right?”

“No,” Declan says from the front seat. Emphatically.

“What do you mean, no? He’s one of your most essential operatives!”

Declan’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “No. He’s not.”

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