“But maybe we’ve created a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Eron objected. “Set them up to fail.”
Syrine shook her head. “If they were truly evolved, they’d pass the test. Don’t you agree?”
Eron didn’t deny it, but Aelyx contributed to the argument anyway. “I know our tactics are dishonest, but humans would rise to the occasion if they were capable. The Aegis agreed on this months ago. Are you going to be the one to tell them the plan’s changed? That you support the alliance now?”
“No,” Eron said, leaning back against the tile wall. “You’re probably right. It’s only—” A distant knock followed by a child’s voice interrupted Eron, who held two fingers forward in a hasty good-bye before shutting down his sphere and disappearing from view. Syrine gave a heavy sigh and followed.
A familiar pang throbbed beneath Aelyx’s breastbone. By now, he knew it well. Guilt, his constant companion.
If sabotaging the alliance was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong? His instincts told him it had something to do with the red-haired girl sobbing in the next room—Cara, or Elire, as he’d come to think of her. When he returned home, he’d leave her to face the consequences of his actions, alone against all those furious humans. He couldn’t deny that was wrong in every possible way.
Chapter Thirteen
Using her thumbnail, Cara traced the engraving on the heart-shaped sterling pendant Tori had given her last Christmas. “Friendship is one mind in two bodies.”
Right. Until your BFF went out of her mind and after your ex-boyfriend’s body.
If she closed her eyes, she could still hear Tori’s smiling voice. If we’re sharing one brain, it’d better be yours, she’d said. Or we’re screwed like a puta on payday. They’d laughed and spent the day bouncing back and forth between their houses, gorging themselves on paneton and pecan pie, finally crashing in Tori’s room at midnight to play dirty Mad Libs.
How had everything fallen apart so quickly? Had they really let something as trivial as a boy come between them? Cara never thought it would happen. She missed Tori already, and a full day hadn’t even passed.
She tossed the necklace inside her jewelry box and slumped onto the bed, trying to work up the will to leave for school. As much as she wanted to obey the first rule of debate, she just didn’t have the energy. To hell with it. Let ’em see her sweat. Let ’em see her swollen eyelids and reddened nose, her sloppy ponytail and frumpy track pants. Who cared anymore?
Three soft knocks sounded at the door. “Cah-ra?”
“It’s open.”
Aelyx peered inside for a moment, gauging her mood before joining her in sitting at the foot of the bed. His added weight shook the mattress and tipped her sideways until their shoulders touched and he scooted away.
He handed over a blueberry muffin. “Want to stay home today?”
“No.” She brought the muffin to her nose, but the sweet scent turned her stomach. “Yes. But I won’t.”
“We could go in late. Avoid the morning protest.”
“Here.” She passed the muffin back to him. “Let’s just get it over with.” But when she stood, he remained seated, fidgeting with his sweater’s zipper pull.
He glanced up beneath a fringe of dark lashes, his eyes intense with some unspoken message. “Maybe it’s time I left.”
“What do you mean, left? Left left? To another family?” His slow nod confirmed it. “No! Don’t be silly.”
“Cah-ra, your walls don’t block much sound. I heard you last night.”
“Oh.” Under any other circumstances, the idea of someone listening to her cry would have bothered Cara, but for some reason, she didn’t mind Aelyx seeing her at her weakest.
It felt kind of liberating to show how much she ached inside.
“Things will only get worse. I know the scholarship is—”
“I don’t care about the money. I don’t want you to go. Besides, I can’t come visit you if I quit the program, and if I’m not mistaken, you promised me some kick-ass larun. So don’t try backing out on me now.”
He laughed softly but wouldn’t meet her gaze. He probably felt responsible for what’d happened, especially after listening to her cry all night. Maybe she didn’t have the energy to put up a brave front for the rest of Midtown, but she could do it for Aelyx. He didn’t deserve to feel low because of her personal problems.
“Come on, I’ll let you escort me to my very first shunning.” That earned a half smile from him. “I think this means I’m a woman now.”
“And me with no gift for the occasion.”
Another joke. He’d changed in the last couple of months. “Guess I picked the wrong day to dress down. A girl’s gotta get her glam on when the world turns its back on her.”
He shook his head. “I like seeing you like this.”
“With no makeup, bad hair, and clothes I found in my gym bag? Yeah, I’m dead sexy.”
He pushed off the bed, his face breaking into a warm smile. “You have freckles. Right here.” Holding his fingertip an inch from her face, he traced an imaginary line down the bridge of her nose and across the apples of her cheeks. “I can’t see them when you wear cosmetics. And look.” He brushed his thumb over her lashes, lighter than a butterfly’s kiss. “They’re gold at the tips.”
Before she knew what she’d done, Cara closed her eyes and lifted her face, willing him to keep going. She wanted to feel the warmth of his skin so badly she could hardly breathe. “I’m . . .” Not wearing lipstick, either. Touch me there. “Uh . . .” Oh, good God, what was wrong with her? Stepping away, she opened her eyes and plastered on a smile. “I’ll grab my Tiara of Shame and meet you outside.”
A frosty autumn breeze lifted Cara’s ponytail and brushed the sides of her neck. She shivered and plodded ahead on the wooded path. “I need a distraction. Tell me more about the animals on L’eihr. Which one’s your favorite?”
Aelyx pulled up his hood and rubbed his palms together briskly. “That would be Vero.” He smiled silently for a few seconds as if replaying a memory. “He’s our house pet at the Aegis. Similar to a lemur—quick, agile, a good climber—but larger. Like the size of a chimpanzee. He has dexterous hands with opposable digits like a raccoon.” He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I even taught him to write.”
“Shut the front door! He must be really smart.”
“Well, I may have misled you. I taught him to hold a writing utensil and scribble. But he is intelligent.”
“Does he have fur? And how does that work with your controlled climate? Don’t your animals with thick coats get too hot?”
“They adapted hundreds of years ago. Most animals on L’eihr have what you’d call peach fuzz instead of true fur. Vero’s skin is beige, but he can darken it to gray if he needs to camouflage.”
“So let’s see if I’ve got this right,” she said. “Vero’s a cross between a lemur, a raccoon, and a chimp, but he’s hairless? I can’t picture it.”