Page 208 of Silver Elite

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you because it was him. I don’t think he had much control over it. I only saw it happen one other time over the years, and even then, it wasn’t successful. He said inciting required a lot of control, and it wasn’t something he wanted to practice. He didn’t like interfering with people’s free will.” I swallow. “But he interfered at the execution. I guess when your life is in danger, you’ll go to any lengths to save yourself.”

“So. Youdidknow your uncle was Aberrant.”

“Obviously.”

A faint smile touches his lips. “I knew you were lying to me. But for a while there, you even had me convinced.”

His breath suddenly hitches.

I frown. “What is it?”

“Your shield held up against Lieutenant Colonel Valence. Wren. Do you realize how extraordinary that is?”

“Maybe she’s not as good as she claims to be.”

“No, she’s better. I’ve seen her read the mind of someone a thousand yards away. As long as she has them in her eyesight, she draws their energy to her.”

I shiver. It’s a menacing, foreboding thought. For once, I’m grateful I have my own internal alarm system that allows me to feel it when someone tries to penetrate my mind.

Silence drifts between us. We continue to study each other. He reaches over, touches my face. He traces every line and curve as if he’s trying to memorize it with his touch.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” he says.

“Ican’t believe it’syou.”

He pulls me into his lap, and I rest my head against his chest. There’s something so comforting about this. It’s rare that I feel safe. Protected. But I do in this moment. With Cross holding me. Wolf holding me.

Emotion wells up in my throat. There are so many things I want to say, to ask, but he speaks before I can.

“Are you working for the Uprising?”

My head snaps up.

“Shit,” he says, noting my expression. “You are.”

“Yes, but it’s sort of a recent development. I only started after Jim died.”

He’s skeptical again.

“You need to stop that,” I chide.

“Stop what?”

“Doubting what I say now. When I was Daisy, did you ever doubt me?”

“Never.”

“Then don’t start now.” I smother the rush of guilt that tries to surface. I lied to him about the incitement, I know that. But that’s a secret I’ll take to the grave.

“What have you done for them?” Cross asks before biting out an expletive. “The weapons cache. You gave them the grids?”

I offer a rueful nod.

I want to ask him what side he’s on, if he believes in his father’s vision for the Continent. I want to ask him how he can stomach it when he sentences Mods to death. When he sends us to labor camps. I want to know how he feels about people like us, especially since his mother…

I can’t stop my next words from popping out.

“She’s Modified. Your mother. You know that, right?”

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