Secondborn (Secondborn #1)(83)

“Who do you suspect?” I whisper. My throat feels tight. I have my own ideas, but I want to hear his.

“It’s a long list, but the ones at the top are Gabriel, Admiral Dresden, Grisholm Wenn-Bowie, Fabian Bowie, and Othala St. Sismode.”

“Admiral Dresden does nothing without my mother’s approval.”

“I know. The order to send you to the front line had to come from Othala. Whether or not it originated with her is the only question. She’d have to know about it either way.”

“So my mother wants me dead for sure.”

“Does that surprise you?” He sets the laser on the bedside table. “Your death would serve two purposes: protecting Gabriel and making you a martyr in the fight against the Gates of Dawn.”

The sting of betrayal burns. “You must be so disappointed,” I mutter, a hitch in my voice.

Reykin moves closer. “I’m not disappointed.” He touches my hair, stroking it. “Othala might be having trouble getting to you, but like you said, your arms dealer is a very powerful man. He has more connections within the ranks of secondborn Sword soldiers than even your mother, because she doesn’t bother to pay for information. She expects loyalty. He’s more practical and has the resources to back it up. Your arms dealer is an excellent ally, but he’s also a very serious enemy should you cross him in the future.”

“You mean that if I decide to change things for secondborns, he would resist those changes?”

“That’s precisely what I mean, Roselle.”

“Answer a question for me, Reykin. What’s the difference between the Gates of Dawn and the Rose Garden Society? It’s my understanding that you both want me to be The Sword.”

“Ah, there’s a world of difference there. The Gates of Dawn want change. We want the destruction of the Fates. We want to live, work, and love as we see fit. Have you ever asked yourself why you have to be a soldier? Would you have chosen it for yourself or would you have become something else if given the freedom to do so? And why are you made to support firstborns? It’s not your destiny, it’s their greed.”

“But you’re firstborn.”

“I am, but I was raised not to let that go to my head,” he replies.

“So you see me as someone who can one day bring about the destruction of the Fates?”

“Yes, with you as a leader, we’d have a chance to topple the Fates Republic and form a new system of government.”

“And the Rose Garden Society?” I ask.

“They want things to remain the same—a Fate-based system with a formidable ruler—only I suspect they have aspirations for power that go beyond what they lead others to believe.”

“What other aspirations?”

His stare is piercing. “On the surface, they speak of maintaining a dominant military hold over the Fates. They see Gabriel as weak—and he is. You’d make a more competent commander.”

He bows his head over my hand and continues to work on my palm, filling in the scar with regenerative cells. “What do you want most, Reykin?” I whisper.

A vengeful glint enters his eyes. “That’s very simple, Roselle. I want the complete and utter decimation of Census.”

Finally, something upon which we can both agree.

He finishes his work on my palm, and then checks his timepiece. “If you insist on leaving Stars tonight, we’ll have to go now.” I wipe my face with the compress and wearily set it aside. Reykin rises from the bed and helps me to stand. “You have to meet a ship at the docks in Brixon.”

“Will I be recognized?”

“You don’t exactly look like yourself, Roselle.” I haven’t seen myself in a mirror yet and don’t intend to look now. He goes to the closet and comes out with two flat caps. He hands me the black one, and he puts on the charcoal gray one. He holds up a radiant golden star made from metal and only a couple of millimeters thick. “This is a device loaded with a malware program I created. It will infiltrate their technology and allow us to gain access.” He slips the star into a small compartment in the brim of my hat. “You need to upload the program into one of the secured networks. We only know of three locations. One is in the Stone Forest Base of Census, guarded by hundreds of agents, and they’ve been extremely vigilant since you helped blow them up.”

I shake my head and pay for it with stabbing pain. “I don’t think I can get back into Census. We’re not on friendly terms. Where are the other two access points?”

“One is at Fabian Bowie’s Palace in Purity.”

I cringe. “And the other?”

“The Sword Palace.”

Why I thought I could do this is beyond me.

Reykin reads my mind. “One thing at a time. You get access to one of these places, and we figure out our next step together.”

“How? You’ll be here, and I’ll be in Swords.”

“You let me worry about that.” I put the cap on and stuff my hair into it, pulling the brim down low over my face. “You look like a proper Star from Brixon,” Reykin says.

The hat reminds me of Flannigan. “It’s a serious hat.”

Clearly, he approves. He hands me a pair of gloves. Slipping the left one on, I notice that it has lead inside. “So that you don’t ping on any of the drones that might be looking for you,” Reykin offers.