Breanne chewed thoughtfully. “I can’t do anything that would upset anyone here because my future and my family’s future depends on it. If I make someone mad, their family can wipe mine from existence.”
Nyla thought about all of the powerful students here. She had the Governor’s protection, but Breanne had no one.
“And it doesn’t help that I’m painfully shy,” Breanne added while putting down her sandwich.
Nyla squinted at Breanne, sizing her up. “You don’t seem shy to me.” Unless Nyla didn’t actually know what shy meant.
Shaking her head, Breanne explained, “Not with you, Nyla. I knew when I first saw you that we were the same: outcasts.”
“How?” Nyla asked. Was there something about her that made her stand out?
Breanne blushed to the roots of her out of control hair. “I don’t know. It’s just, well, we both look different. We
The first weekend posed a dilemma for Nyla. She didn’t know what to do with herself. All the Brauns seemed to be busy with one thing or another, and Nyla wanted to stay out of their way. The best she could do was keep to herself in her room. At a loss as to how to occupy the endless hours, she spent all of Saturday lying on her bedroom floor, gazing up at the ceiling. Her head felt hollow, the same way her chest did – as if someone had taken a dull spoon and scraped out all her insides.That first night in the house, she had quickly realized the bed was too soft, too foreign to lay on comfortably. The cots she had slept on all her life were hard, the thin mattresses doing little to cushion the metal bars that ran through their centers. After tossing and turning for several hours, she had grabbed the flattest pillow and lightest blanket and laid out on the floor. The plush carpet cushioned her just enough to keep her hips from aching. Once comfortable, she had fall
Eason’s soft words came as a shock to her. She had expected a definition – she knew all the definitions for the different emotions. The Major had taught them to her, although they had never meant anything to her. Thinking of the Major brought a sharp memory to focus. Nyla gasped.“What is it?” Eason asked.Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, Nyla stepped back in time. “There’s a moment – I think I know what you’re talking about.“Well, tell me about it,” Eason directed softly, his tone still light. Nyla could hear him move closer.“I was younger, much younger. It must have been right after I joined the military. The Major had been gone for several days, and Sergeant Ryan had told me to stay in my tent until he returned. Early one morning, the Major walked back in, back before he was supposed to be. The moment my eyes landed on him, I felt like everything was right in the world again, as if the
On Tuesday morning, Nyla, Eason, and Mason were almost down the stairs when the trio froze as one. Veronica was standing at the foot of the stairs, wringing her hands. She didn’t notice their approach as she was too focused on Edmond, who was pacing at the far end of the hall with his phone pressed against his ear.Realizing she had an audience, Veronica dropped her hands and pasted on a painfully fake grin. “Oh good, you’re all here.”“Why is it good?” Eason asked slowly, eyeing his mother warily.“I won't have to repeat myself. There’s been a change of plans, and we’re taking you out of class today. It’s like a mini-vacation! Isn't that nice?” Veronica nervously tittered.Frowning, Mason asked, “What’s going on, Mom?”“What? Nothing dear! Everything is just fine!”“But –,” Edmond’s approach cut Eason off.“Yo
The tightness in her chest increased. Nyla didn’t know what it meant, but she wanted it to stop. It was hard to get a full breath of air.The obvious solution, the one that would make Eason and Mason feel better, was to just leave. But there were two problems with this plan: first, she had nowhere to go. She knew once she got out of the city and into the wild, she’d be fine, but getting there would be the issue. The second was Edmond had told her not to leave the house. The best she could do, then, was to stay up here in her room, out of their way.Around noon, Eason tapped on her door. “Can I come in?”“Yes.”What does he want with me?Eason stepped inside and surveyed her sitting on the grounds. “I came up here to check on you,” he said.Nyla nodded. “Thank you. I’m alright. I think Mason is the one that needs comforting at the moment.”Eason sighed. “S
For the first time in her life, Nyla felt the urge to lie. She knew the ring diminished some of her power, but it didn’t drain as much as Edmond believed. Her body was still vastly stronger than a human’s. Confused by her own inclination, Nyla just nodded.“God, your hands are vile,” spat Mason, staring at Nyla’s burned fingers.Eason gave his sister a disgusted look. “Really Mason? What’s wrong with you?”The news anchor reappeared before them and caught everyone’s attention once more. They’d missed the end of Edmond’s speech. “Alet Academy has released a statement. It is as follows: ‘At Alet Academy, we support our government and military. Before her enrollment, the student in question was thoroughly vetted to ensure the safety of both students and faculty. We see no reason to question this process. She will remain enrolled until she turns eighteen. Any families wishing to withdraw t
Edmond was waiting for Nyla when she came downstairs the next morning. “I’m driving the three of you to school. Eason and Mason are already in the hovercar.” He turned on his heels and started down the hall. Nyla trailed after him. Edmond had never shown any interest in the day-to-day lives of his children, at least for as long as she’d been there. She slid into the back seat next to Eason who gave her a worried smile.He knows something is wrong, just as I do. The moment Edmond closed the driver’s side door, the real reason for the trip emerged. “Now listen,” Edmond demanded, giving his daughter a particularly nasty look. “Today is essential to my campaign. Eason, you will not leave Nyla’s side, even to use the restroom. Mason, I know you aren’t in the same classes, but whenever your paths cross, you will greet Nyla pleasantly.”Mason gasped. “You’re asking me to commit soci
“Not to be rude,” Eason said, sounding like he was trying to be as rude as possible, “but what do you want, Sarah? You never do something like ‘help’ unless you can get a story or some gossip out of it. I won’t allow you to make the situation worse for Nyla.”Sarah snorted while rolling her eyes. “I don’t gossip, Eason. I share information. Everything I share is true. It’s clear you don’t understand how valuable such talents are. But I have no interest in doing that to Nyla. I want to help make things go smoothly for her.”“You know you can address her. She’s sitting right here and speaks perfectly fine, probably better than either of us,” Eason grumbled, irritated at being reprimanded.Taken aback, Sarah turned towards Nyla with eyes as the size of saucers. “I’m sorry Nyla, I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”“It’s okay,” Nyla s
“How can you do that?” Sarah demanded, stopping her twirl to rush at Nyla and look intently at her mouth. “Smile, I mean. You shouldn’t be able to.”Nyla sat down and grabbed the sack lunch Eason offered. “I don’t know. Eason taught me how to do it by explaining to me what happiness feels like. Since then, I’ve been able to smile when I want to.”“Nyla,” Eason hissed. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” He jerked his head in Sarah’s direction. “You can’t trust her.”“I can hear you,” huffed Sarah. “And you can trust me.”“I trust her,” Nyla surprised herself by saying. She just had a feeling that everything would be alright with Sarah.Grinning victoriously, Sarah inched closer to inspect Nyla’s lips. “Happy? So that means you can feel happiness?”“Yes.”“W