Steel Lily ARC (38 page)

Nothing. Not one scratch.

The birds calling to one another caught my attention, and I scanned the room for the source.

I wasn’t in the Academy; this room was too simple to exist there. The bed was a simple twin with fresh sheets and blankets. Across the room sat a wooden dresser that was painted a country blue, the paint chipping a bit at the corners as though it had been loved and used for many years. Above it hung a mirror that had a window as its frame, the grid-like pattern still intact and meant to look like a window to the outdoors.

That’s when I saw it.

A door with a window to the outside.

Outside
.

I leapt from the bed, marveling at the fact that nothing hurt. My feet seemed to move on their own accord, and being able to look out of a window mesmerized me.

I approached cautiously, afraid to step into the direct sunlight that shone in. Dust motes moved like tiny planets in orbit, dancing with one another on their descent to the ground. After a moment of deliberation, I chanced it and extended my hand into the ray of light.

Warmth blanketed my flesh, but it didn’t burn. No, it felt amazing. I turned my hand over and allowed my palm to embrace the heat as well. Pleased, I stepped into the sunlight and peered out the window.

A small tree stood outside the window majestically, the green buds of leaves beginning to grow on the tips of the branches.

I had to touch it.

I opened the door. The cool wind washed over me, the fresh scents of the outdoors enveloping me. I took a deep breath and smiled as I took my first step onto green grass.

It was soft under my feet and tickled my toes. I ran my hand along a bush nearby and watched the three little birds that sat in the lower branches of the tree. They preened themselves and chirped happily.

Real birds.

Real birds.

I let out a whoop of delight and danced right there, too excited to stand silently in this new revelation. The birds took flight, and I watched them in awe as they disappeared in the glare of the sun.

The sun was real, bright and warm; the tree, the birds, the dust motes.

Earth
wasn’t
ruined.

“Excited to know that our whole lives have been lies, huh? I knew you were a couple crayons short of a whole box.”

I turned to find Jaxon leaning against the doorframe of my room, his arms crossed and his muscles burdening the sleeves of his too tight t-shirt. His dreadlocks fell freely around his ears and his sardonic smile gave me butterflies all over again.

“I’m excited to know that we’re alive, actually.”

He flashed an impish grin as he pushed himself off the frame and sauntered over to me, his hands in his pockets. “Give it a minute to soak in, then dwell in the angst of a lie-ridden fifteen years with me again.”

I laughed and looked around the green yard. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” I gestured back to the building. “Where are we? Not the Academy, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Jaxon said as he came closer to me, exuding happiness that I had never experienced from him. “The Alliance isn’t dead. Riggs got us to the meeting point. They came to our aid when the buggy collapsed.”

“And the burned soldiers?”

“Most of them are dead.”

“Most of them?”

Jaxon shrugged, clearly unperturbed by the thought of more soldiers lurking, waiting in the wings for another attack. “Xander called them back when the Alliance made their appearance. He knew they were outnumbered, I guess.”

I raised my eyebrows. “He wouldn’t let us go like that.” A thought hit me. “Alice’s tracker…”

“Already taken care of. The Alliance got us out of the line of fire and surgically removed it before they got anywhere near this place.”

“And this place is?”

Jaxon’s smile broadened. “Dome Four. Well, right outside of it in the surrounding neighborhoods, actually.”

My mouth dropped. “You’re kidding me!”

“Nope. Seems like you were in the heart of the Alliance the entire time. Go figure.”

“My parents…”

“Your dad is in the men’s wing. Right next door to me, actually.”

As pain constricted my heart from losing Mom, I thought of Riggs. “Jaxon, your dad…”

“Apparently still has a streak of goodness somewhere in that creepy shell of his.”

I stood there in shock for a moment, surprised to hear Jaxon say that. I could tell he was fighting back tears. He stared at the wooden floor, and I understood why. It was easier to stave off tears if you weren’t looking at someone who cared about you.

“So you got the flash drive to work?”

“Yeah. Sari made quick work of it when she woke up.”

“And Legs? Everyone?”

Jaxon’s eyes darkened. “Everyone’s fine. The Alliance took good care of us. As for Legs, they got the arm off. He hasn’t come out of his room since. Refuses to eat most of the time.”

I hesitated before asking my next question, unsure how to word it. “Do you hate him?”

Jaxon looked at me, surprised. “Hate him? For what? Being a pawn of Xander’s? I was too; taken in by him, fooled to believe he was looking out for me. I can’t hate Legs for something that I was guilty of. I don’t have time for hate in my heart anymore, Avery.”

His sage-like insight surprised me. I wasn’t sure I’d be as reasonable if the tables were turned. “And your brother? The soldier?”

Jaxon sighed. “I don’t know if he’s alive or dead, but either way, he’s not on our side. Xander has him under his thumb like the rest of the ruined Alliance army.”

“I never thought someone could be so evil, especially Xander. He had us all fooled. How could he get so malevolent?”

“Sari thinks it’s all on the flash drive,” Jaxon said sadly. “There are a couple files she hasn’t hacked into, but she said it looks like Riggs gave us a lot of information on Xander and the Resistance. Riggs is still under sedation. Doctors said it’s better to let him heal without waking him up. That arm did a number on him,” Jaxon sighed. “The flash drive is a good start to what our next steps should be. Sari will probably have all the files opened by the end of the week. She’s scary when she’s determined.”

I laughed. “That’s true,” I said, then paused. It sounded like they’d had time to get things going, which made me wonder how long we’d been here. “How long has it been since we arrived?”

“Three days.”

So I’d been asleep for three days. I patted my body down. “Where are all our injuries?”

Jaxon’s face was a mixture of emotions. “It seems that Dome Four isn’t frugal because they’re poor, they’re frugal because they save up for times of need. They have all the technology, all the medicine they could ever need—for the dome and for us. Our injuries were supposedly easy to fix. The Alliance is strong, but they’re also smart. They understand that the Earth isn’t something you can abuse. They’re trying to make it inhabitable again.”

I pointed skyward, where real clouds dotted the sky. “Looks like they’re doing a good job.”

“Yeah, but it’s a far cry from ready. We’ll still have to go underground some days because of the carbon levels or the UV rays being too dangerous. And with the resistance doing everything they can to abuse resources…”

“It makes my job more important,” I finished.

He nodded. “That’s why Xander wanted to figure out how to duplicate your gift. Endless resources, bottled up in the human body. He could abuse the earth without ramification if he could keep using humans.”

I shuddered at the thought of being used like cattle, then discarded when my usefulness had ended. “What’s his end goal, do you think?”

“According to the videos that Dad has? One world regime, with him at the head. He’s power hungry, and keeping people resigned to the domes keeps him in power. When people know there’s hope for a future, they’re dangerous. Keep them oppressed, keep them thinking that all they have is all there is, and he can control them. He’s corrupted Dome Seven. We don’t know how far his reach is yet.”

The thought scared me. Could a single person manipulate us as an entire body? “And the Alliance wants to stop it, right?”

Jaxon nodded.

Resolve rose inside me at the thought of my mother dying for the Alliance to continue. “We need to fight with them.”

Jaxon’s smiled broadened. “I was wondering when you’d say that. You’re kind of the poster child for our merry little band of rebels now. Your mother was one of the leaders in the Alliance, and they want you to fill her spot.”

“They?”

“The Alliance leaders. I’ve only met one, and her name is Alexandra, but everyone calls her Lexie.” Jaxon explained. “But from what I hear, you tried to buck her off the bed when you first came to in the compound.”

I blushed. Of course I’d try to take out someone that was leading the Alliance.

Jaxon put a hand on my waist. He brushed the dreads out of his face with the other, his blue eyes shining in the sunlight. “She thought it was great, by the way. Said you already remind her of your mother.”

Tears flooded my vision as my mind recalled the last moments of my mother’s life. Her peaceful smile even in death gave me hope, but I still felt empty knowing I’d never get to have a relationship with her. Guilt rested in the pit of my stomach, and I leaned against Jaxon. I wrapped my arms around myself to prevent me from breaking from the inside out, the way it felt I might.

“She shouldn’t have died. I should have been able to fend those soldiers off on my own. Her body…she wasn’t used to using her abilities. Riggs had been forcing me to use mine, to get stronger, and I still couldn’t do it well. I killed her because I couldn’t keep the soldiers away by myself.”

Jaxon lifted my chin and wiped away the tear that escaped. “Hey, this isn’t your fault,” he said gently. “She died protecting you. Protecting you was her life’s goal, and she accomplished that. You’re safe.”

He wrapped me in his arms as tears streamed down my face. Jaxon had broken down my walls, and I was unable to put them back in place now. Wetness tickled the top of my ear, and I pulled away to glance up at him again.

He was crying as well.

Sadness permeated our moment. I bit the inside of my lip as I thought of how lonely Jaxon must feel. “You know you have a second chance with Riggs now.”

“You’re right,” he said in agreement, “I just need time to adjust to it. I know he’s a good man.”

“You got that from him,” I said fervently.

His eyes widened, his expression shocked. “You think I’m a good man? Even after all the stuff I threw at you?”

“Well, you were kind of a tool, I’ll admit,” I said as we both laughed. “The thing is, I saw glimpses of good in you. You couldn’t hide your true colors all the time.”

He smiled. “Kind of like Riggs.”

I put my hand on his chest and felt his steady heartbeat thrum in time with mine. “It’s okay to be like your dad.”

Jaxon picked me up and carried me back to my bedroom. We both sat against the foot of the bed and held each other, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. I knew we would never speak of it again, but in that moment, I knew that no one would ever know me the way that Jaxon did.

The sunlight waned and gave way to twilight, illuminating the clouds outside the window in brilliant crimson and purple. It looked like a soft patchwork quilt in the sky. Another pang of sorrow hit me as I realized that Mom would never see the beauty of a sunset as a free woman, which brought on a fresh wave of tears.

“Mom’s gone, and I don’t even have her teapot anymore. I have nothing to remember her by.”

“You mean that old lump of steel you toted around in your messenger bag?”

Jaxon’s voice was surprisingly unconcerned.

I pulled away from him. “That old lump of steel? That was the only thing of my mother’s that I owned!”

“It deserved to be more than just a lump of steel.” He used his free hand to fish into the side pocket of his cargo pants. He placed his hand on mine, and I felt the familiar weight of the teapot in my palm. His lips curved into a smile. The reflection of the clouds outside shimmered in his eyes, and I was sure that I could see into the depths of his soul. “It deserved to be as beautiful and strong as you and your mother.”

When he pulled his hand away, I saw that the brushed steel had been shaped into a lily.

“Thank you,” I managed to choke out.

“Hey now, none of that,” Jaxon said gruffly, as he too fought to keep his emotions in check. “I stole from you. You’re not supposed to get choked up over that.”

I laughed. “It’s beautiful.”

We sat in easy silence as the sun continued to set, just the two of us. Finally, I cleared my throat as I ran my fingers over the petals of the lily in my hand. “I don’t know if I’m ready to talk to everyone yet.”

“That’s okay. The Alliance is strong; it won’t crumble if you need a little while to collect yourself.”

I nodded absentmindedly, and Jaxon lifted his head to look at me. “Do you mind if I stay with you? You know, until you’re ready?”

“That would be nice.”

Jaxon’s face took on a sheepish grin, and he gestured his head toward the door. “I have to admit that you’ve got a couple people outside the door dying to see you.”

My eyes glanced over to the door, where Sari and Alice peered around the corner. “How long have you two been standing there?”

Alice walked in, her usual conspiratorial manner firmly in place. “Long enough to know that Jaxon is a closet romantic.”

“Which is something I suspected, anyway,” added Sari. She put her arm around Alice. It looked like they were becoming partners in crime. “He’s always had a teddy bear collection in his laboratory. Wait. I wasn’t supposed to tell her that, was I, Jax?”

“Shut up before I tell her about your boy band CD collection.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“A big lie,” Sari said with a laugh. “Disregard him, he’s a serial liar.”

Their smiles were encouraging as they sat down beside us, Alice’s eyes sneaking to the window where fireflies illuminated the twilight.

She curled up against my open side. “My room didn’t have a window,” she said quietly. “Would you mind if we had a sleepover tonight, for old times’ sake?”

I laughed. “When have I ever turned down a sleepover?”