Invaded (35 page)

“Please,” David whispered, blood rising to his mouth and coating his teeth. “Don’t
tell…” Bubbles of air rose from inside his chest, stealing his last breath
and, with it, his final words.

But Aelyx understood.

“I’ll tell Syrine you died protecting me. And that’s the truth.”

David nodded his gratitude while tears welled in his eyes. For the next minute, Aelyx
held his friend’s hand as the life flowed out of him, the terror in his brown gaze
fading by slow
degrees until his light extinguished completely.

Aelyx gritted his teeth against the pain. His fists clenched in rage. If he had to
die himself to make it happen, Jaxen would account for his crimes.

Suddenly, the heavy door flew open and Troy Sweeney stormed inside, weapon drawn,
scanning the carnage. “Are there more?” he asked Aelyx while darting glances up and
down the
hall.

“No. This is it.”

Cara ran in behind her brother and stopped short, gaping at all the blood. “Oh my
God.”

While Troy yelled at his sister for not staying in the stairwell like he’d ordered,
Syrine drifted into view. Her eyes bulged when she found David, and she swayed on
her feet. After
clutching the wall for support, her face took on an eerie calm, even as she paled
several shades. She didn’t cry out in anguish or ask what had happened. Instead, she
sank to her knees at
David’s side and took the boy’s free hand in both of hers.

For a long minute, nobody spoke. When Syrine’s strangled whisper finally broke the
silence, her tormented voice tore a gash in Aelyx’s heart.

“I didn’t tell him,” she said. “He told me so many times, and I never said it back.
Now he’ll never know.”

While Syrine wept over her
l’ihan
’s body, Cara dropped to the floor beside Aelyx and gently took his battered face
between her hands. Her blue eyes flooded with tears as she
locked their gazes.

I’m sorry
, she told him.
I’m sorry about David, and for everything I said before. I love you, and I want to
go home—to the colony.
She must have sensed his
disbelief, because she opened her mind to him and shared her conversation with Syrine.
That was why they had come here, because Cara couldn’t wait to tell him the news.
That might have
been you
, Cara said with a nod at David.
You might have died thinking we don’t belong together. I couldn’t live with myself
if—

She broke into a sob, and the connection between them closed.

A conflicting surge of grief and euphoria crashed so violently over him that Aelyx
stopped hearing anything. All he could do was wrap his arms around Cara and crush
their bodies together while
reminding himself to breathe. He rested his head against her shoulder, and they clung
to each other until the wail of police sirens forced them apart.

W
hen Cara was a sophomore, she’d won her first state debate championship by arguing
against the paradox of traveling back in time to murder
Hitler before his rise to power. Hers was an unpopular opinion, but she’d insisted
that killing a man before he committed a crime—or even worse, during the innocence
of his
childhood—would be just as immoral as genocide, albeit on a smaller scale.

She didn’t feel that way anymore.

Faced with the knowledge that Jaxen aimed to destroy the alliance, she would end him
in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. His death would save billions—a no-brainer,
even for someone
like Cara who opposed capital punishment. Plus, the bastard had it coming. For someone
who claimed to love mankind, he had a sick way of showing it. What kind of person
forced a terminally ill boy
to murder his best friend?

A twisted
fasher
, that’s who.

But since he was a member of The Way, taking him down posed a challenge. Even thinking
about killing him made her a traitor. And she still didn’t know why he would want
to kill Aelyx or
try to overthrow his government. The whole thing made no sense.

“She’s finally asleep.” Aelyx returned to the living room, where torrential sleet
pelted the windows. Judging by the smooth skin around his eyes and mouth, the L’eihr
ointment had done its job. He rubbed a hand over his face and Cara noticed the remnants
of dried blood beneath his fingernails. God, the blood. If she lived to be a hundred,
she’d never
forget it. Or the sound of Syrine’s mewling cries when she’d finally broken down.

The memory made Cara’s vision blurry. She blinked a few times to bring Aelyx into
focus and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I hope the sedative lasts a while. It
seems cruel to
keep her awake.”

Aelyx made a noise of agreement, resting his chin atop her head. “Once we’re home,
we can rotate her among the emotional healers. It will help a little.”

“Hey,” she said into Aelyx’s chest. “Look at me for a second.” When he glanced down
at her, she said, “I love you.” She’d already told him several
times, but if she’d learned one thing today, it was never to hold back those words.

He took her cheek in his palm and gave a sad smile. “I love you, too.” For a long
moment he simply studied her, his thumb lightly caressing her face. “Things are different
now.
I didn’t think we could make a home here because I still assumed the worst about your
people. I never would’ve guessed it was one of my own kind who wanted me dead.” He
brushed
back her hair, looking into her eyes. “If you still want to stay on Earth, I’m willing
to talk about it.”

The offer warmed her heart. A few days ago, Cara would have taken him up on it, but
not anymore. “Not a chance. The L’eihrs are stuck with me.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive,” she said. “So let’s get back on track.”

There was work to be done. She’d never thwarted a coup before, and when it came to
cunning, she was out of Jaxen’s league. They still didn’t understand his end goal
or why
he’d tried killing Aelyx instead of Syrine or the ambassador. Their deaths would have
ended alliance negotiations, too. She added to the list of things she didn’t know:
why did Jaxen
want to destroy the alliance at all? Was his apparent love for mankind just a front?

“Alona didn’t respond to any of my summons,” Cara said.

“Did you use priority code One?”

She nodded, hoping it wasn’t too late. When rebel factions took control, they started
by eliminating the old regime. Aelyx had alerted Colonel Rutter to a potential threat
and requested
extra security for The Way, but it might not be enough.

“We need a plan,” she said. “If Jaxen pulls this off, both our worlds are toast.”

Troy spoke up from his spot at the dining room table, a sandwich nestled between his
palms. “I’ll bet his sister’s in on it, too.”

“She’s not his sister.” Briefly as she could, Cara told Aelyx and Troy everything
she’d learned about the Aribol-L’eihr genetics program.

Aelyx swore under his breath. “So they really
can
manipulate minds?”

“They can and they do.” Did he seriously think she’d made that up? “I wouldn’t be
surprised if there are more of them.”

“Enough to replace eight members of The Way?” Aelyx asked.

Cara shrugged. “Possibly. I’m guessing that Jaxen wanted The Way to think humans murdered
you so the alliance would fail. Maybe he wants to take over both our planets. Either
way,
he’ll need a lot of support.”

Aelyx swore under his breath. “I need an audience with Alona. If I can manage that,
I can project what Grimes said to David about the coup.”

“But that’s not proof,” Cara pointed out. “You can’t accuse Jaxen without evidence
to back it up, otherwise you’ll be the one facing execution.” There
was also the issue of mind control. Cara didn’t know if Alona was immune to it. “I
have an idea, but it won’t work unless I can get Jaxen alone.”

“No,” Troy said with a firm shake of his head. “Not happening.”

“Agreed,” Aelyx added.

Cara took Aelyx’s hand and turned it over, studying his burgundy-stained cuticles.
If Jaxen had won, it would be Aelyx’s blood beneath another boy’s fingernails. But
since the
morning’s deaths hadn’t made the news yet, Jaxen had no reason to believe his plans
had gone astray. Cara decided to keep it that way. “We have to try,” she said.

She hoped Aelyx was good at playing dead.

It was chaos as the city scrambled to accommodate twice the capacity of the convention
center, but an ice storm was the least of Cara’s worries. Surrounded by her
security detail, she and Aelyx waded through the crowd and made their way to the lobby
elevators, where Troy planned to help them slip past the soldiers and sneak off to
the emergency
stairwell.

Within minutes, they’d achieved their first goal. Disappearing into the masses had
been disturbingly easy. The three of them jogged up four flights of stairs, and when
they reached the
landing, Cara paused to prep herself—scrubbing her eyelids and nose with her fists,
then squeezing a few drops of Visine along the corners of her eyes.

Troy handed over his iPhone.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying?” she asked.

Aelyx nodded. “You sure he’s here?”

Cara was certain—just like she’d known Jaxen would answer her hysterical transmission
begging him to meet her. Whatever his end goal, he’d always been weirdly drawn to
her. She
turned on the phone’s voice recorder and slipped it in her tunic pocket so the microphone
faced up.

“Remember,” she told Aelyx and her brother before pulling open the stairwell door,
“if Aisly tries to get inside, block her without looking her in the eyes.”

“Got it,” Troy said. “Pound twice on the wall if you need me.”

“I’ll keep watch from the elevators.” Aelyx gave her a quick kiss. “Be careful.”

Nodding, Cara stepped into the hallway and transformed into character—slowing her
steps and slackening her face with grief. She spotted the room number Jaxen had specified,
and a flicker
of fear tickled her chest. There were no guards in the hall, no signs of life on this
floor. What if he hadn’t come? After trading a worried glance with her brother, she
turned the doorknob
and stepped inside the room, leaving Troy behind to stand watch.

All her doubts vanished.

Jaxen was here—along with a small army. At least a dozen guards, both L’eihr and human,
lined the walls of the small boardroom. The confusion must have shown on her face,
because
Jaxen hurried to embrace her while shutting the door.

“It’s okay,” he murmured into her hair, pulling her uncomfortably close. Cara ignored
the urge to ram her knee between his legs and relaxed into the hug.

“I h-h-hoped we’d be alone,” she whispered, hitching her breath for effect. “I d-don’t
want anyone to see me like th-this.”

Jaxen stroked her lower back. “Don’t worry,
Cah
-ra. They can’t hear us.” She rested both hands on his chest and glanced up with a
question in her eyes. He
pointed around the room at the soldiers, who stared into empty space, arms hanging
loosely at their sides. She recognized a few of them from the capital. “They’re in
a meditative
state,” he explained. “We’re as good as alone.”

Widening her eyes, she asked, “How’d you do it?”

“I have many gifts,” he said with a wave of his hand. “But that’s not important.”
He took her upper arms, holding her back as if checking for damage. “Are you
all right?”

Cara faked her best ugly cry and crumpled against Jaxen’s chest. “He’s gone,” she
sobbed. “What am I going to do?”

Jaxen smoothed her hair, making light shushing noises. “You’re going to let me take
care of you. Now that the extremists have killed another of our youth, the alliance
will fold. But
I’ll see to it that your loved ones are protected on the colony. You needn’t worry.”

“But what about Earth? I c-can’t just—”

“Earth is ruined,” he said. “Humans have made an utter mess of the planet. It’s best
to let the elements reclaim it.”

She blinked at him in shock.

“Extinction is the natural order of things,” he explained smoothly. “Weaker species
die out while the fittest survive.”

“But I thought you loved mankind.”

“I do!” His eyes widened in rapture. “Humans are wonderfully expressive and creative.
I would never let them die out. But can’t you see how they need to be controlled?
Look at what they did to the water supply. I plan to relocate the best of your kind—the
top scientists, the most brilliant artists—and integrate our people on L’eihr.”

“Only the best? What about everyone else?”

“All is not lost. I may still find a use for the remainder of your kind. If humans
are obedient, I’ll correct the water crisis for them—in stages.”

In other words, he’d keep mankind beholden to him by withholding the permanent fix,
much like he’d done to David. That must’ve been why he’d tried sabotaging the alliance
by killing Aelyx—the one L’eihr who would fight as hard as Cara to save the human
race. It was the vilest form of manipulation, but not enough to convict Jaxen of treason.
She needed an
incriminating admission.

“I don’t know if I can go to the colony,” she said in a helpless voice. “It’s not
just memories of Aelyx; it’s the government. The Elders are set in their old
ways.” If that didn’t hook him, nothing would. “I can’t live like that.”

“
Cah
-ra, listen to me.” He took her by the shoulders, peering down at her with raised
brows. “Change is coming. A new order will rise up and restore the glory of
Mother L’eihr. The Elders have made us weak, but we—”

“Wait,” she interrupted, rotating her torso to ensure her phone caught every word.
“Are you talking about overthrowing The Way?” Her tone was hopeful, as if nothing
would
please her more.

He grinned. “Look around,” he said, glancing at his drone army. “These men will set
it in motion.”

Will
set it in motion—that implied Alona and the others were still alive. Cara released
a shaky breath. She had enough proof. Now she needed to make her exit and track down
The
Way. “This is overwhelming,” she said, backing away as she brought a wrist to her
forehead. “I need a minute to think.”