Secondborn (Secondborn #1)(93)

Chapter 24


The Hand and the Heart


On the way back toward the ballroom to rejoin Clifton, I pause at the apex of the stone bridge. The koi pond beneath me reflects the stars of billions of other worlds. Bending the arms of the thin, star-shaped device in my hand, I break them off one by one and drop them into the water. Concentric circles ripple outward in the dark pool. Soft music floats to me from the orchestra inside. When all the pieces disappear, I exhale deeply, resting my forehead against the bridge’s cool stone railing.

Footsteps make me straighten. A man stops at the edge of the bridge. I turn toward him. It’s Hawthorne. His face is hidden in shadow, but I’d know him anywhere. He approaches me slowly, deliberately. I take a step back. I don’t have a weapon. I step toward the other side of the bridge, and he moves to block my way.

“You can’t be out here.” My voice quivers, sounding weak. He takes a couple of more steps toward me. “The maginots will shred you.”

“You’re not afraid of those vicious cyborgs,” he murmurs, “but you’re afraid of me?”

“They’ve never hurt me.”

He glances down, looking wounded. “You have to leave. Now. Just go—don’t return to the ballroom.” He takes my left hand in his. From the pocket of his uniform, he pulls out a small aerosol device and sprays the skin over my moniker. The holographic sword fades from view. “Don’t go back to the Base,” he growls. “Stay in the city. Clifton can’t protect you at the Base like he can in Forge.”

“What did you just do to my moniker?”

“I covered it with CR-40. It’s a polymer. It’ll block your signal for a few hours—enough time for you to get away from here.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Gabriel is out of his mind right now. He’s given a kill order for you. Assassins are being dispatched.”

“I’m not against him. He knows that! This isn’t him. He’s not like this, Hawthorne!”

“He’s like this now, Roselle. When I fail to kill you tonight, there will be others. Be vigilant—stay with your Salloway bodyguards at all times.”

“How long have you been working for my brother?” After seeing Hawthorne with Gabriel the day I came back from the Fate of Stars, I didn’t want to believe what I know in my heart to be true.

“Since the day we met. I was sent by him to look for you—to see if you survived the attack.”

“So Gabriel saved me from Agent Crow, or was that you?”

Hawthorne scowls. “It’s always been me, Roselle. Just me. Your family has always been fine with the idea of you dying. It’s your living that concerns them.” He looks over his shoulder, then turns back to me. Seeing that I’m not going to leave without some kind of explanation, he relents. “My brother was Gabriel’s right hand on the Heritage Council. Did you know Flint?”

I shake my head. “After I turned eleven, I was kept away from Gabriel. Over the years, I’d sometimes see members of his council at the Palace, but I was never permitted to speak to them. I was beneath their notice.”

Hawthorne nods, his expression grim. He’s on the other side of the fence now—one of them—but he knows what it’s like to be secondborn. “Flint contacted me on Gabriel’s behalf the day of the attack. You remember when I found you?”

I nod. “You thought I was in shock.”

“They’d given us your last known position. It was Flint I was talking to in my headset when I located you. He hadn’t spoken to me since I’d Transitioned, and all of a sudden, he wanted me to find you to see if you survived.”

“Were they afraid I was dead?”

“They were only worried that you’d been taken by the Gates of Dawn,” he replies. “They were afraid you’d slip out of their control. Once they found out you were alive, I was ordered to make sure you arrived at the Base for your Transition.”

I don’t think I want to know any more. My throat aches, but I have to ask. “So you thought you’d be finished with all of us as soon as you released me into Transition?”

“Yes, but it didn’t go down that way, did it? Gabriel had you placed in my air-barracks. Since the morning I found you in the locker room, I was required to give Flint and Gabriel status updates. I never told them what you and I really talked about—I gave them false reports. When I told you I’ve loved you since I was ten, that was real. Everything we’ve shared together is real.”

I don’t know what to believe. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’ve agonized about telling you everything, but your not knowing made every lie I told them more credible. And you’ve been having nightmares since I met you. What would it do to you to know that my lies were keeping you alive? I would’ve kept on lying to you—lying to them—anything so they’d leave you alone. But Flint was murdered . . . and now I know the truth.”

“What truth?”

“Gabriel is losing his mind. He’s paranoid, especially since he found out about the Rose Garden Society—and before you ask, no, I didn’t tell them. Othala found out and reported it to Gabriel. The danger to you is absolute now. Gabriel has sided with your mother. He wants you dead, Roselle.”