Numbers Ignite (31 page)

The guards gaped at me, and Vance’s expression wasn’t far off. “Uh, you say Bike Boy stole the throne?”

“Yeah. He’s the emperor. My stepfather gave up my rights while I was passed out.”

His face darkened and his hands formed fists. “Gave up your
rights
? You won the throne, Treena. At great cost and sacrifice. We didn’t go through all that so Bike Boy could take over.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Vance had no idea that those innocent people haunted me night after night. I knew the sacrifices that had been made even better than he did. “I’m not happy about it either, if you couldn’t tell. I was lucky to get out at all.” I looked around the jail again. “Speaking of uh, what was supposed to happen, I thought you were the leader of your settlement now. What did you do to end up in a mosquito-infested jail?”

Vance flinched as if I’d thrown a knife into his chest. The guards’ shuffling quieted. One of them cleared his throat. A dark, heavy feeling settled upon me. Something wasn’t right.

“Tell me,” I said.

“Treena,” Vance began carefully. “Remember that deal I made with Rutner?”

“With two conditions,” I said. “Yes.”

“One of the conditions was that I’d turn myself in for my crimes against the clan.” He paused. “They’re going to execute me tomorrow.”

The mountain lurched underfoot, and I swayed, processing his words. The word stabbed at my ears, over and over.
Execute.
A polite, sanitized word for what it really was. All the while I watched Vance’s face. Sad, but definitely serious.

He wasn’t joking.

So far. I’d come so far for him. We were supposed to be together now. The snakebite, the underground settlers, the attack, the explosion—it couldn’t have been for nothing. Vance was the one person who could help me figure it all out.

This was wrong. He’d helped get his clan freed, and now they wanted to murder him? What was wrong with these people?

Horror turned to an icy anger. “They have no right.”

“Actually they do,” he said, his voice flat. “You shouldn’t have come. I don’t know what they’ll do with you when I’m gone. It’s not safe for you here.”

“Shouldn’t have come?” I snapped, taking an angry step forward. “You don’t get to pull out of this. You invited me, and I’m here. Now we deal with it.”

“I didn’t actually think you’d come,” he shot back. “You were supposed to stay there, safe in your palace with your lover boy.”

I recoiled at his words, then the rage took over. After the weeks I’d spent outside clinging to thoughts of Vance as my body wasted away, his words stung. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have come. I even recruited several hundred settlers who lost their homes to NORA. They’ll be here tomorrow.”

Vance cursed. “This isn’t the best time for more settlers to come.”

“You’ll want to get some rest tonight, young lady,” one of the guards said as they left. “Mills will be eager to speak to you tomorrow.” The door closed behind them.

Mills? As in the man who had betrayed us? I gave Vance a questioning look, but he just watched me, his expression unreadable. It was not the expression of a guy who cared for me. We were only a meter apart, but it felt like entire planets lay between us.

“I told those settlers there was a man here,” I said quietly, “someone who would help them find a peaceful and happy life.” A man who hurt deeply and loved even deeper and saw life for what it was. A man I’d fallen for, hard and fast—and I’d done nothing more than open myself up for heartbreak. The pain was too much. I tightly shoved it into a box in my mind and filed it away, raising my chin. “Sounds like that guy doesn’t exist anymore.”

Morning came.

I lay still on my cot, faking sleep. There was no sound from the corner where Vance had spent the night sitting up, and I wondered if he was finally asleep. He’d said my name twice in the night, but I hadn’t responded. All I could think about were four words.

You shouldn’t have come.

Voices at the door jerked me fully awake, and then two guards brought in a tub of soapy water. They unlocked his cell door, set it down, and then backed out as if offering food to a tiger. “Bathe,” the first one ordered.

I snuck a peek at Vance’s face. He still sat there, wide awake, his posture casual and uncaring. He didn’t even acknowledge the guard’s order. They locked his door again, dropped a pile of clothing through the bars, and then left.

“Waste of water,” Vance muttered.

I lay with my face turned away as he washed. Soon he was shivering from the chill, his teeth chattering. Then a sliding sound told me he’d shoved the soapy water tub closer to me. “In case you want to get clean,” he said. “They didn’t let me take a bath for days.”

“Thanks,” I said, my cheeks warming at the thought of using the same water he’d used.

There was the muffled sound of cloth, and then a zipper as he pulled his trousers on. Then he grunted.

I rolled over to see his arm hanging uselessly while he struggled to put on a brown, collared shirt. Tiny black stitches held together a wound in his shoulder, and his entire side was covered in brown-and-yellow bruises. Something inside of me ached. Whatever his attitude toward me, Vance had been through a lot here. If only he would tell me what.

I took a deep breath. These were our last moments together. He obviously didn’t have feelings for me anymore, but sitting here and ignoring him while he needed help was like looking away from the sunlight as I froze to death. I hesitated, then stood and motioned to his shoulder. “You should bandage that first.”

He snickered. “Doesn’t matter now.”

“Here, let me help you with that shirt.”

“I’m fine.” But he stepped closer to the bars.

I reached through and helped ease his arm into the sleeve. There was a sharp intake of breath, but he let me help. When my fingers met his skin, he closed his eyes. I couldn’t speak as I slid the shirt over his shoulder and fumbled with the top button.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

My breath shuddered. Without permission, my hands abandoned the button and slid into his open shirt, brushing against his bare chest. My brain was screaming now, shouting at me to stop this before someone got hurt. But I knew it was far, far too late for that.

“I didn’t know I was so close to losing you,” I murmured. “If I had come a day later—”

“Don’t think about that.” He reached around my waist, bringing me right up against the bars. Our foreheads drew together, and I could see deep into his eyes. Dark brown, the same color as his shirt. “This is all I have left. I’m glad I could spend it with you.”

The bars were just wide enough to accommodate us. At least the fates had given us that much. I tilted my head back and leaned in close. His breath caught. I leaned in further, questioning, and gently brushed my lips on his. When he didn’t respond, I began to pull away.

He grabbed my head and pulled me in for a deep, desperate kiss. His mouth moved with mine, his lips so familiar, so well fitted to mine. And then we couldn’t get close enough. I clung to him desperately, and he held me against him like I was life itself. His fingers tangled in my hair. I felt every inch of his body against mine—his chest, his legs. The bars seemed to melt away.

Our last few moments together were spent like that, wishing we were in the same cell but also relieved that we weren’t. He’d be gone soon, but I had to stay. I didn’t need my heart torn into smaller pieces than it already was.

The jail door opened too soon. Guards streamed in, far more than was necessary. Probably a dozen.

I drew in a shuddering breath as they unlocked his door. “No. It can’t be time already.”

They entered his cell and grabbed his sore shoulder, tearing him out of my arms. Vance caught my hand as he was pulled away. They yanked it back and locked his hands in front of him.

All the while, he didn’t take his eyes off me. His expression, so raw and vulnerable, stabbed me in the gut. “Will you do me one last favor?” he asked.

I choked back a sob. “Anything.”

“If they bring you out to watch, look away. I don’t want you to see it.”

I clenched my jaw. “I’ve seen plenty of death.” My wide-eyed self with a freshly opened uniform and high hopes was very different from who I was now, with my wild hair and phantoms chasing me into sleep. “But if it makes you feel better, I won’t.”

Dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen to someone.

Vance’s own words as they had echoed in a dark stairwell weeks ago. I had mourned the death of my friend. It was also the first time Vance had kissed me.

I wondered if he were remembering that moment too. “I’m sorry to cause you pain.”

The guards pushed him out toward the exit, but I moved to the other side of my cell. “Wait.”

Vance paused, and for once the guards allowed it. I hesitantly lifted a hand toward his face. He leaned in to my touch.

I smoothed his hair, then rested my hand against his cheek. “Don’t let them see you as anything but Vance Hawking,” I whispered.

He swallowed hard, his voice wavering. “I won’t.”

“It’s time,” the guard said and tore him out of my arms once again.

It was two agonizing minutes later when someone else entered. His Asian features were immediately apparent, but his head and face were strangely absent of any hair, not even eyebrows, which made his narrow black eyes all the more menacing. His gaze settled on me as he gently closed the door behind him. I fought the urge to shiver despite the muggy heat.

“The rightful heir to NORA,” he said. “What a treasure you are.”

“Are you here to escort me to the—” I couldn’t say it. “The event?”

“No,” he said. “I heard what a sweet display your good-bye was. I am sure that’s exactly how Vance wants you to remember him. Although I must say, I am curious as to the origins of your relationship.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I see. Well, I hope you’ll be more cooperative with my next line of questioning, as it’s far more important. Resistance will only cause you pain. Forgive my presence here, but Mills is rather busy at the moment. I see you still wear the numbers of NORA.”

I fingered my implant. “Not for long. Now that I’m here, I’ll get them taken out as soon as I can.”

“On the contrary. It announces to the world who you are, making you more useful to us.”

I felt a stab of panic. “I’m not doing anything for you. I want to go to the execution, right now.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, we have information we need immediately. What is a criminal boy when you have an entire nation to engineer?”

“Who are you?” I asked. “Tell me where you’re from.”

“Your boyfriend had similar questions, but he soon learned to keep them to himself. I am Ju-Long. Mills and I work together, but I will not tell you from whence I come.” His hands closed around the bars, and I found myself backing away. “Now tell me about the settlers who are on their way. Who are they, and where have they been hiding all this time?”

“Why don’t you ask them when they get here?”

“We lack time, and I’m asking you.”

“I told you, I’m not doing this right now.” My voice broke, but I hardened it. “Let me go to the execution, and I’ll do anything you want. Just let me go.”