Sean
M was surprisingly understanding when I told her about Kira communicating with Uncle Allister and Lennox.
“She had no way of knowing they weren’t really Populist sympathizers,” she said. “I’ve told the Council all along it was dangerous to keep what those two did secret, but they seemed to think it would undermine people’s trust in Royals if they knew the whole story. Now I can say, ‘I told you so.’”
“Still, if you can keep Kira’s name out of it—”
“I’ll try. If I do have to mention her by name, I’ll make it clear she’s not to be held responsible. Don’t worry, Sean.”
Even so, sitting here in the corner of the living room during the Council meeting an hour later, I can’t help worrying a little.
“I still find it hard to believe an Anti-Royal slipped through our screening process,” Connor is saying. “I assure you, Excellency, we were extremely thorough. The potential threat—”
M cuts him off. “I don’t think the Anti-Royals—Populists—are nearly the threat you’ve believed, especially considering my would-be attacker’s unexplained death. Someone obviously wanted to silence him before he could reveal who really sent him, which implies it was not the Populists, as he originally claimed. I consider it far more likely Gordon Nolan orchestrated that attack, acting on orders from Allister and Lennox. If you remember, I suggested that before, but you insisted that was impossible because of the communication block that was supposedly in place. The one we now know doesn’t work.”
Rigel’s dad, who’s from the Informatics fine, agrees. “I did warn you, once you acquainted me with the precautions you’d used, that a skilled hacker could work around them. Their confederate in Dun Cloch was clearly able to do just that. However, it should be a simple enough matter to put a far more robust dampener in place. Particularly if we can identify that confederate to prevent any further tampering.”
The discussion continues for nearly half an hour, with more than one Council member demanding to know which of the newcomers was compromised.
“You must see, Excellency, how important it is to be certain he or she poses no further threat,” Breann insists. “Your safety—”
“Is not at risk,” M tells her. “The person in question did admit to Populist leanings but never intended me any harm. They showed a great deal of courage in coming forward to prevent Allister and Lennox from deceiving anyone else. I won’t have that person punished when no one has been hurt.”
I keep expecting someone to ask me who it was, but they don’t—probably because M is stating her case so strongly. I’m impressed all over again by how much she’s grown as a leader over the past few months.
Finally, they move on to other topics. When the meeting adjourns, more than an hour later, M turns to me with a triumphant smile. I respond with a little thumbs-up, not wanting to be obvious while the physically-present Council members are still in the room. The real trick will be deflecting Mum’s inevitable questions later on, when it’s just us.
To delay that as long as possible, I follow M outside when everyone else leaves. “Thanks, M. You did exactly what you promised and I—”
“Just a sec,” she interrupts, pulling out her phone—her first-ever cellphone. “Huh. I got a text from Kira, but it doesn’t make sense.” She shows it to me.
I hope you can help me. I went exploring in the unfinished apartment complex and am trapped inside 104-A.
I frown at the text, wondering why she’d have contacted M about something like that instead of me—then remember I turned my phone off for the meeting. Quickly, I pull it out and power it up. Kira did send me a text—but a totally different one.
Going to meet Enid to have chip removed. Text me when the meeting’s over and we’ll go for a walk or something. And please don’t worry! Then I notice it was sent well over an hour ago.
“When did your text from Kira come in?” I ask M.
She glances at her phone again. “Just a few minutes ago. Hm.” Her eyes go unfocused for a long moment, then she looks at me again, even more concerned now. “Weird. Rigel got the exact same text I did.”
My earlier suspicions, which Kira managed to partially allay last night, instantly revive. “Uncle Allister and Lennox must be behind this. It sounds like they’re trying to lure both you and Rigel to wherever they’re holding Kira—which means it’s some kind of trap. You know how they feel about you two. I’ll go instead.”
Already, I’m halfway down the porch steps.
“Wait, Sean! If it really is a trap, it’s not safe for you to go, either. Let me send Cormac with a security detail. They’ll be able to—”
“Are you kidding? If they’re holding Kira hostage and a security team shows up, they’ll probably kill her just like they did that guy who attacked you, so she can’t implicate them.”
M furrows her brow. “How do you know they won’t do the same thing if you go, since it’s obviously Rigel and me they want? How can we even be sure—?”
She breaks off, but I know what she almost said. Because the same idea occurs to me with a sickening jolt—that we have no way of knowing if Kira’s still alive even now. No! I won’t believe that. I can’t. If they’d… If she’d… I’d know. Somehow, I’d know.
“Okay, okay, let’s think,” I say, though every cell in my body chafes at the delay when I want to be rushing to her side. “If we’re right that they’ve captured her to use as bait to lure in you and Rigel, it’s possible they’ll do something drastic if anyone else shows up. But it would be stupid for the two of you to play right into their hands. You’re both too valuable.”
She stares into space again for a long moment and I know she’s communicating telepathically with Rigel, probably telling him everything we’ve talked about and listening to whatever ideas he has. Finally, she gives a little nod.
“How about this? Rigel and I will go to the apartment annex as soon as he gets here. But we’ll go knowing it’s a trap and be completely on our guard, in case there’s an ambush or something. Even if Allister and Lennox and whoever they’re working with know about our electrical ability, they can’t have any idea how strong it is now. We should be able to…incapacitate anyone before they can hurt us—or Kira.”
I see a trace of fear in her expression and wonder if it’s for her own safety or the chance they could inadvertently kill somebody with one of their lightning strikes. Something I’d be totally willing to risk for Kira’s sake…but I’m not M. I’m also not staying behind.
“Fine, but I’m coming with you. No, wait, listen,” I add quickly when she starts to protest. “Uncle Allister always said I was the son he never had. I’m willing to put that to the test, gamble he won’t order me killed.” Or, I fervently hope, have Kira killed. “If he’s in charge, monitoring things, me being there might throw him off long enough for you two to use your electrical thing—though I still think it’s risky for you to go at all.”
“Maybe Cormac—”
“If you tell him, he’ll never let you walk into a trap. It’s his job to put your safety ahead of anyone else’s. I get it. I’d do the same thing if…if…”
“If it was anyone but Kira?” she finishes softly. The sympathy in her eyes scares me. It implies she believes it may already be too late.
Mutely, I nod. “Yeah.” My voice comes out in a whisper. “That’s why I can’t stay behind, not knowing if…”
“I understand. I’d feel the same way if it were Rigel.”
And yet she’s willing to risk him along with herself for Kira’s sake. For my sake. I know I should refuse to let them do this, that I’m being totally unpatriotic to allow it. So much for all my declarations that the good of our people should always come first. Because none of that seems to matter now.
“How long till Rigel gets here?” is all I say.