The Star Dwellers (34 page)

Someone clears their throat behind me. I
strain my head backwards and my eyes lock on him, just like they
did they first time, with the power of rock crushers, and
bulldozers, and lava flows. In this moment, Tristan’s dark blue
eyes are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Perhaps it’s just crazy hormones, or the emotion of the reunion
with my family, or some force greater than any of that, but I feel
a physical pull and I rush to him, slam into his chest, wrap my
arms around his torso—feeling muscle and bone and
strength
—in his body and in mine.

His face is surprised, and I know I’m not
acting like the timid girl who was scared to hold his hand from
before. Because I’m not. I’ve stared down death in the barrel of a
gun in my face. There are only so many moments in one’s life, and
then it’s over. And I’m determined to make the most of every moment
from here on out.

I don’t wait for his chin to dip; rather, I
lift up on my tiptoes and tilt my head back, jamming my lips to
his. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, but I’m not thinking,
not anymore. I’m not worried about whether this will be our first
and last kiss, or one of many. I’m just acting, listening to my
heart.

I must be doing something right, because his
hand moves behind my head, sifts through my hair, pulls me in even
closer, if that’s possible. His lips are soft and tender and urgent
as he moves them over mine. My mind is exploding and my heart is
about to, but I keep kissing him.

Luckily, he has enough presence of mind to
pull away from me, because I don’t know if I can. It’s a good thing
for two reasons: One—I’m completely out of breath and I may have
suffocated myself before I released us from the kiss; and two—my
whole family is watching us, which is embarrassing regardless of
the gravity of the situation. Elsey’s beaming, my mother’s smiling
sheepishly, and my father’s wearing something between a grin and a
grimace. The only ones not watching: Roc and Tawni, who are sitting
side by side on one of the beds, talking quietly and smiling at
each other.

I turn back to Tristan, and, realizing my
arms are still around his back and his around mine, I twist to the
side and grudgingly release him, sliding my hand down his arm until
it intertwines in his fingers. “Tristan, I’d like you to meet my
mom, Anna,” I say.

Mom steps forward and shakes his hand. “I’m
so happy to finally meet you,” Tristan says, and I know I’m beaming
ridiculously, more like Elsey than myself, but I can’t seem to
stop.

“And you, Tristan,” Mom says. “Thank you for
everything you’ve done for my family, and what you’re doing for the
Tri-Realms.”

Her words stir the last remaining bits of
emotion out of me and I put my arm around her, pull her in
close.

Dad says, “I’ve got to go meet with the VPs.
Enjoy yourselves until I get back.”

When the door closes I turn around to find
Roc and Tawni back on the edge of one of the beds, whispering and
laughing. It makes me smile.

Mom and Elsey are side by side on one of the
other beds and Elsey’s telling her some funny story, using her
hands as much as her voice.

At the foot of the third bed, Tristan’s
watching me. The breath rushes from my lungs. I’d forgotten how
handsome he is—seeing him through a video screen just doesn’t do
him justice. His blond waves seem to fall perfectly atop his head,
framing a face so stoic and strong that it’s almost as if he
is
a prince.

I go to him, sit down next to him on the bed.
He takes my hand and I feel my heart rate increase as warm blood
flows to my extremities. As usual, bats flutter ceaselessly in my
stomach.

“I’m so happy,” Tristan says. It seems like
such a funny thing to say considering we’re still in the middle of
a potential war of epic proportions, but when he says it I know I
feel the same way. In fact, I feel like I’ve never been
happier.

“I am, too,” I admit.

He raises an eyebrow in a way that only looks
cute on him. “What happened with Brody?” he asks, and my breath
catches when I think he’s talking about the almost-kiss. “I mean,
why do you think he wanted to hurt you?”

I realize he’s talking about the other K-word
and I let out my breath slowly, trying to hide the fact that I was
holding it. “I don’t know for sure, but I’m pretty sure it was
because we were going to come here, try to convince the moon
dwellers to join the cause. Your father didn’t want that, and since
he was working for him, he acted to stop us.”

“Oh,” is all Tristan says, but I know there
are deep thoughts behind the one-syllable word.

“Why do you ask?”

His shoulders slump forward and his
expression darkens. “I think he’s trying to get to me—trying to get
me to give up.”

“He’s a fool for trying,” I say.

Tristan shrugs. “I guess, but if anything
ever happened to you, I don’t know…”

“Promise me you’ll keep fighting no matter
what,” I say.

Tristan looks into my eyes. I recognize the
look because it’s the same one he gave me just before we parted
ways in subchapter 26. The same look I probably gave him right
before I rushed into his arms only a few minutes ago. My lips part
slightly.

He leans in and kisses me, sending
electricity through my lips and shivers down my spine. This time he
doesn’t pull my head in, he simply holds both of my hands, runs his
fingertips along my skin, like he did when we fell asleep together
on a night that now seems so long ago. Now that I know how good
kissing can be, I wonder why I never tried it earlier.
Because I
didn’t know Tristan
, I think.

A thought pops into my mind that almost makes
me laugh.
I guess it’s official: we’re girlfriend/boyfriend.
My mouth breaks into a smile while he’s still kissing me, and he
slides back to look at me. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?”
His face is pale and worried, like he really thinks
he’s
the
problem.

“No…it’s just—you’re doing everything
right.”

I
’m
crazy-over-the-moon-ecstatic right now. I’m hoping all the emotion
of the last hour will help me give the speech of my life in just a
few minutes. I mean, everything is going perfectly. After we kissed
for the second time, we scooted back and sprawled out on the bed,
my back against the wall and her head on my chest. We could see
Adele’s mom, but she pretty much ignored us, focusing her attention
on her other daughter, whom she hasn’t seen in months. And Roc
seemed more than happy to be left alone with Tawni.

I told Adele about how Roc is my
half-brother, and about what my father did. She asked if I was
okay. I told her I am now. It was nice, just chatting with her and
getting to know her. It almost seemed normal, like we were on a
date, and not at some peace summit. But now Ben is back, which
means the date’s over.

“It’s time,” he says when he walks in. “Anna,
can you take them to the platform?”

She nods and motions to us to follow her out
the door. “Where will you be?” she asks.

“I’ll be right behind you. There’s just one
more VP I want to speak to. Elsey can come with me.”

Elsey beams with pride. She’ll always be
daddy’s little girl.

Adele and I hold hands and follow her mom out
the door. I flash Roc a grin when I see him take Tawni’s hand and
pull her along behind us. He gives me a sheepish grin in return,
but behind it I can see how happy he is too. It feels weird that
we’re all so happy. Somehow it seems impossible. It’s like the
crumbling crest of a stone wave during a cave-in, and I’m just
riding it down, hoping not to fall off.

My hands are sweaty with fear and
expectation, but Adele doesn’t seem to mind. She’s filthy from her
trip through the Star Realm, and yet I’ve never seen her more
beautiful. She told me about how she almost fell while climbing the
wall near the lava flow. I’m hoping it will be her last run of bad
luck.

She also told me all about the treachery of
this Brody guy, as well as the stranglehold my father has on the
other star dweller generals. It only makes me hate him more.

Anna shows us the way out from the tunnel and
down the inner Dome stairs, to the platform in the center. The
bustle of activity has calmed significantly. The Resistance members
are spread around the seating area, creating a thin barrier of
protection. The VPs are seated in one quadrant, but in front of
their protectors, in the first few rows. I’m glad they’re not
spread out because it means I won’t have to turn in a circle to
make eye contact with them.

Everyone stops talking when we enter. There’s
a pocket of folding chairs on the platform, at the end furthest
from where the VPs are seated. We follow Anna to them and sit down,
Anna, Adele, and I in the front, with Roc and Tawni behind us.

There’s a guy with brown, curly hair to our
right, next to Adele’s mom. He’s literally her right-hand man, I
chuckle to myself. Adele gives me a funny look, but I wave off her
question and stand up, move toward the guy. “Trevor, right?” I say,
extending my hand.

“That’s what my mother named me when the
doctor slapped my pale butt,” he says. He grips my hand tightly.
“Are you for real?” he asks.

The question stumps me, but I answer any way.
“I’m not a specter, if that’s what you mean.”

He laughs and releases my hand. “I just mean,
are you really going to help us?”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.
Is it that hard to believe?”

“Kind of,” Trevor says. “I might have given
Adele a hard time because of you. I didn’t really trust you or her
when we first met. Did she tell you about that?”

“No, but she told me you saved her life. And
for that I must thank you.” My hand is out again, and Trevor takes
it.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I did.”

When I turn and sit down next to Adele, she’s
smiling, having watched the entire thing with interest. “He gave
you a hard time?” I whisper.

“I hated him,” she says with a shrug. “But
now I don’t.”

I don’t have time to respond because Vice
President Morgan is standing in the center, preparing to address
the audience. “I know you have all been forced to thrust aside your
plethora of other responsibilities to make time for this peace
summit, but I can assure you, it is well worth your time. We have a
grave responsibility to the people of the Moon and Star Realms,
which, as you all know, are sometimes referred to as the Lower
Realms.

“I know many of you are angry at what the
Star Realm has done to your subchapter, wreaking havoc on your
infrastructure and even causing the death of many of your citizens,
and for that they should be sorry. However, there is a reason for
all of that. I know many of you don’t want to listen, want to say
‘There’s no excuse for their behavior!’ but there is!” Morgan’s
voice has risen, echoing throughout the entire Dome. She’s a
mesmerizing figure even though we can only see the back of head.
She’s going to be a hard act to follow.

“But it’s not me that should tell you. It’s
Tristan, the son of the President, the one person who should be
against the rebellion. Please give him a warm welcome.”

Morgan swivels and sits down next to Trevor,
leaving the round platform looking large and empty. I should be
nervous, but I’m not. Adele gives my hand a final squeeze before I
stand, and I take strength from it. If for no one else in the
entire world, I’ll do this for her, right now.

The applause is heavy from the upper rows,
where the Resistance soldiers are seated, but more scattered from
the VPs. It neither encourages nor bothers me though.

Then I’m in the center of the platform,
although I can’t remember my feet carrying me there. I scan the
audience, making eye contact with as many people as possible before
I begin. I’ve planned it out in my head: All
do the right
thing
and
unite the people
and
rebellion, ra ra
ra!
but that’s not what comes out when I begin speaking.

“My father raped and murdered my best
friend’s mother,” I say. A few gasps and loads of murmurs fall over
the crowd. Ignore them and continue. “I just found that out. He
told me and my friend himself. That’s the kind of man who’s leading
the Tri-Realms. He also gave the star dwellers the money to buy the
bombs that destroyed your cities. Oh, and he’s holding the star
dweller generals’ families under a knife so they’ll do what he
wants. That’s the kind of man you’re protecting by not supporting
this rebellion. That’s all I have to say.”

Although my brain is telling me it’s too soon
to end my big speech-to-end-all-speeches, my heart moves me across
the stand, where I sit down next to Adele, who immediately takes my
hand. I look at my feet for a few seconds, and then twist to glance
at Roc. I hope he’ll forgive me for what I’ve done.

He’s smiling.

Of all the expressions I imagined his face
might have, a smile was not one of them. He reaches over and slaps
my shoulder. “Well done,” he says.

Adele kisses me on the cheek, leaving a spot
of warmth that lingers well after her lips leave my skin.

Morgan seems so surprised at the brevity of
my remarks that she’s unsure of what to do. The audience is
restless, whispering to each other and coughing and shuffling their
feet.
Oops,
I think. Perhaps I should have stuck with the
planned speech.

But Morgan has experience with unexpected
situations and she’s quickly back on her feet, raising and lowering
her hands to quiet the crowd. “We have much to discuss, questions
to ask and answer, and details to work out, but first, I’d like to
take an initial vote to see where we stand.”

I look around for Ben, but he and Elsey are
still not back, which is strange because all the VPs are now in
attendance.