Casey Bowman walked toward the tall, iron fence that created the barricades, and the edge of her tiny world. The wide field that stretched between the city boundaries and the fence had been cleared to keep people from rushing the guard towers. That wasn’t an issue anymore—the towers had been unguarded since she was a little girl. When, her mom said, the mortals gave up the struggle, and gave in to the Eternal’s rule.
After years of waiting for the planet surface to be terraformed, and more years of body breaking labor, her grandparents, along with hundreds of other workers, had built a gorgeous city. One they were all meant to live in.
But before the mortals could step through the front gates, the powerful Eternals tossed them out, banished them to what had been the temporary accommodations—on the other side of the wide swath of land ravaged by the terraforming equipment, and the years of building.
The wasteland.
They had fought back, hard enough to warrant guard towers, deadly consequences for attempting to escape, and bribes of enough gold for men to turn on their own. The rebellion had been gradually beaten into submission, through the most effective means possible: slowly starving out the rebels.
Even years after they had finally given in to the Eternals, Casey couldn’t remember a time when there was enough food on the table for more than two or three meals in a row, or when their water ration hadn’t run out before the end of the day.
Casey pushed the unwanted thoughts out of her mind, and the memories they stirred up. With a sigh, she stopped at the fence, leaned against it, and stretched one arm out past the bars. The air felt cooler, softer somehow. Here, she could finally breathe—
“Casey! Where are you?”
Casey leaned her forehead against the iron bar, closing her eyes briefly before she turned around and called out. “I’m here, Alli.”
Her little sister appeared between the ramshackle warehouse buildings, green eyes wide when she spotted Casey. She scurried across the open ground like there were guards still perched above her, out of breath by the time she skidded to a halt. “What are you doing, Casey? You can’t come this close to the barricade, they’ll see you—”
“Who, Alli? There’s no one here anymore.” She gestured to the dilapidated guard towers. “No attempt to improve our lives, no rebellion, not for years. Only apathy.”
Alli sucked in a panicked breath. “Don’t talk like that! The guards’ll take you away, and I’ll never see you again.” She clutched Casey’s arm. “Promise me you won’t say those things ever again.”
“I’m just a kid. No one listens to kids.” Gently, she loosened her sister’s grip, smiled down at her. “I won’t say those things, I promise. At least, not in front of someone who might pay attention.”
“Don’t tease me, Casey. And you can’t test them like that. Just because the guards don’t stand watch anymore doesn’t mean they’re not around. They listen to everyone, whether you believe that or not.”
“I’m always careful, pipsqueak.” The nickname pulled a smile from Alli, just as Casey intended. Looking back out at the open space beyond the bars, she let out a sigh. “I just need to touch the sky once in a while, and I can’t do that surrounded by buildings. Here there’s nothing, nothing but…” Her voice faded as movement caught her attention. Out near the dead trees—a glint from the setting sun, a flash of color, and— “Oh, no.” She moved to the wide spot in the bars, slung her school bag over her shoulder. “Stay here, Alli. Better yet, go home. Now.”
“Casey, what—” She let out a shriek when Casey slipped between the iron bars. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t follow me.”
She ran toward the huddle of color, and still yards out, her fear was confirmed.
A body.
She stopped next to the sprawled figure and knelt, lowering her bag to the ground.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please…”
She leaned forward, checking for a pulse.
After a panicked moment, she found it. Slow, thready, but there. Relief overwhelmed her. From what she could tell by his size, he wasn’t much older than she was, probably seventeen. She carefully pushed back the dark, shoulder length hair curtaining his face—and her breath froze in her throat as she recognized him.
“No—oh, no—”
He was an Eternal.
Her gaze dropped to his throat, and the scenario just got worse.
He wore the green and silver enameled pendant of the royal family—a trinity knot interlaced with a heart—which meant he was an imposter, or the only son of their King. The King who held the lives of every person here.
Forcing down her dread, she followed the steps Dr. Harrison taught her, and started to examine him. Blood streaked his face, from a long cut on his left cheekbone. It wasn’t a serious wound, but it would scar if left alone.
His left forearm had the most damage, judging from the dried blood on the scarf wrapped around it.
Why didn’t he heal himself? The cut on his cheek would have healed almost before it finished happening, and even a nasty wound would not have left him unconscious…
Her thought faded as she saw the reason, and horror replaced the dread. Flecks of black tainted his blood.
“Oh, God,” she whispered. His attacker used an iron weapon on him. They might as well have killed him outright. The iron would have already poisoned his blood. Unless—maybe it wasn’t too late.
She found another wound when she eased open his shirt—a shallow gash across his chest, just over his heart. As gently as she could, she pulled away the shredded cotton of his shirt—and almost jumped out her of skin at the sound of Alli’s voice.
“What are you—” She let out a gasp, killing Casey’s small hope that she wouldn’t recognize him. “Do you know who that is?”
“I know perfectly well who he is. We have to get him out of the open.”
Alli crouched beside her, concern in her clear green eyes.
“Did they use—iron,” she breathed, her fingers hovering over his arm. “Who would do this?”
“Someone with an agenda—which is why we have to get him out of here.”
“Casey.” Alli stared at her. “You don’t think this was set up to blame us—”
“That’s exactly what I think. If you’re not going to help, I want you to go. In case something happens.”
She stuck out her chin. “I won’t leave you.”
“Okay.” Casey hid her smile by studying the landscape. “We can take him to the old terra office—”
“Are you serious? That place is haunted.”
“Then he’ll have company.” Alli snorted. Casey laughed, letting it fade as she looked down at the pale, blood-streaked face. “Now I have to figure out how to get him there without causing more—”
He jerked under her hand and bolted awake. “No—”
“It’s all right,” Casey whispered, her hands gripping his shoulders. If he weren’t so badly injured, she would never have been able to hold him down. “You’re safe. We’re here to help you.” She felt him struggle for a moment, then his muscles relaxed. Pain-etched brown eyes stared up at her, dark and mesmerizing. Casey felt the tug to obey, even through the pain. With an effort, she blocked it. “What is your name?”
She hushed Alli with a gesture when she heard the sharp intake of breath.
“Daniel,” he whispered, his voice so raw she nearly flinched.
“Hi, Daniel. I’m Casey, and this is my sister, Alli.” He looked from one to the other, then closed his eyes, color leaching out of his face. “Stay with me, now.” She fought to keep the panic out of her voice. “I need you to stay with me. We have to get you out of the open, and I’m going to need your help. Can you walk?”
That opened his eyes.
“I don’t…with help, I think.”
“Good. I’m going to call you Daniel, if that’s okay with you. It will be easier than spitting out your title every other sentence.” She almost smiled at the surprise that flared under the pain in his eyes. “Alli, can you get on his left side? And grab my bag.” Casey eased her arm under his right shoulder, and froze when he sucked in his breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Not—you. Just—breathing hurts.” His short explanation had him gasping. “Ready—when you are.”
“Right.” Taking an unsteady breath, Casey looked over at her sister. “Be careful of his arm. I’m going to lift you on three, Daniel. One, two—” She pulled him upright. “Three.”
“You—lied.”
“It kept you from tensing up. You’d best save that energy,” she said when he glared at her. She fought the need to bow, to genuflect, to grovel. Even at a distance, the Eternals radiated power. She could feel Daniel’s, coiled under the pain. “You’re going to need it.” He swallowed, and lowered his head as she lifted his right arm and draped it across her shoulders. He shook against her so hard she expected her teeth to start rattling. “Arm around his waist, Alli. On three we go.”
“For real this time?”
“For real.” She tightened her grip, grabbed his wrist, and prayed that he wouldn’t pass out. “Okay—one, two, three.”
They both groaned under his weight, and he let out a harsh, agonized cry that nearly stopped her heart, but they made it, with Daniel still conscious.
“I—can’t—” He slumped against her, his weight nearly buckling her legs. She locked her knees, surprised by his height, by the lean, wiry muscle under her hands. She always expected them to feel—soft, since they spent their lives in luxury.
“Daniel.” Those dark brown eyes met hers, the shock of power still there, like a live wire. “Can you see the small building, just ahead of us?” He turned his head, then nodded. “You focus on that. We’ll get you there.”