Rebel (Legend, #4)(80)

No one appears.

I hold my breath. He shouldn’t appear. If all goes well, he should stay put. Maybe he’ll send out a broadcast to us, just as we did to him. My hands are sweating, and I press them idly against the wall. We should receive an insect drone from Eden later, telling us that they’re in. Telling us what he’s doing.

The silence continues. Over the city, my repeated message continues to play. I start to let myself believe that Eden has made his way in.

But I’m not ready for what happens next. Because just as the thought occurs to me—I hear a loud pop come from the opposite side of the street. My head jerks to where June and her team should be waiting.

It’s all I have time to do before an explosion engulfs their building.





EDEN



The first thing they do is blindfold us. I stay quiet, trying to remember every stair and turn we take. My shoes clank against metal floor, then clip against wood. All I hear beside me is the flutter of Pressa’s breath, soft and rapid. She doesn’t say anything.

I have no idea how long we walk, but finally we come to an abrupt halt. I stay still, listening intently as our guards murmur to each other in low voices. Their words are too hard to make out.

Then rough hands are undoing my blindfold, and I squint in the sudden, artificial light.

This isn’t where I’d been held the first time. Instead of the estatelike property where Hann had first taken me, we’re now standing on a balcony overlooking what seems like a series of walled compounds. I realize that this is right near the border of Ross City, where the biodome ends. When I look out beyond it, I can see the expanse of frozen tundra that still makes up the vast majority of Antarctica’s terrain.

“You’re back. Just as I thought.”

His calm, smooth voice is like a knife scraping against my skin. I whirl around and find myself face-to-face with Hann.

He looks paler than when I last saw him. His skin appears almost entirely drained of color, nearly milky white, and new circles of exhaustion seem to drag underneath his eyes. But his gaze is as sharp and cold as ever, and his smile is the same: confident, secretive, and intimidating.

Pressa stiffens. I reach out instinctively to touch her hand, and she startles at my gesture.

At my hesitation, Hann takes a step closer to us and tucks his hands behind his back. “You took longer than I would have guessed, though,” he continues. “You have a high tolerance for watching chaos unfold. I should have known that, given your past.”

Remember why you’re here. The words clank through me, and I force myself to swallow and open my mouth. When I speak, my voice comes out hoarse. “Where are we?” I ask. “And what are you doing out here?”

He shrugs, glancing out at the frozen wasteland. “The chaos in the city won’t last forever. But while it does, this is the best place for us to be. Now is that something you’re transmitting to the military, or are you genuinely here for a reason that matters to me?”

I hold my hands up. Already, my heartbeat has jolted up to a feverish rhythm. “No one else knows I’m here. Or, at least, they don’t know where I’ve gone.”

Hann doesn’t look like he believes me. He nods at two of the guards behind him, and they head over to pat us down. I hold my arms up. Pressa does the same.

“I know you left the city with your brother,” he says as we’re inspected. “What did you spend the last few days talking with him about?”

“We didn’t talk so much as fight.” I hope the bitterness in my voice is convincing enough. Beside me, Pressa snaps at the woman searching her—the woman shoves her roughly against the glass wall. I take a step toward them. “Hey, how about telling your folks to cool it?”

Hann’s smile turns amused. “What’s this? You’ve brought your friend with you? Maybe you’re serious after all, if you’re willing to risk her life.” He tilts his head at me. “What are you doing back here, Eden?”

The two guards finally step away from us. Pressa straightens her shirt, still mumbling under her breath, and comes to join me again. If she’s putting on an act of bewildered innocence, she’s doing a good job of it.

“I came to find you without my brother knowing. Right now, he’s probably sending out search parties for me.” I take a deep breath. “When I last saw you, you told me that you wanted my help on your plans for restructuring the way Ross City’s system works. I’m back here because I’m wondering if you still need me.”

At that, Hann narrows his eyes. “Why the change of heart?”

I hesitate. We may be here because we’re trying to fool Hann, but suddenly I feel like I’m here of my own free will. Hann studies me with the same concern and interest he had on the first night of the drone races. And even now, knowing what kind of person he is, I feel the urge to impress him.

“I did what you said,” I end up muttering, forcing myself to go on with my lie. “I had an audience with my brother and the AIS. They’re studying the chaos happening in the city right now.”

“And what did they say?”

“Their solution to fixing it all is to just—sacrifice the people in the Undercity.” I pause here and look at the floor. “I told Daniel he couldn’t let that happen. I thought that he would understand, of all people.”