Chapter 20
Star
I needed air. Lots and lots of air. And space.
Breathing was impossible, my mind foggy.
While I wasn’t stupid in thinking I could escape or should dare try to navigate finding a way out of here, I was so enraged I knew I could easily do something rash. After a quick look into the bedroom to ensure Wren was still sleeping, I grabbed my sword and rushed down the stairs.
Even before I made it halfway down, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. With how the front entrance had been blocked off long before we’d arrived, the only way to slip out into the night air was through the kitchen.
And walking past the other Savages. And you bet that’s what they were. All barbarians, but created for what purpose?
Yes, it was my nature to question everything, but something was wrong with the entire situation. As soon as I moved toward the kitchen, I felt even more uncomfortable. These were Rage’s friends. Phoenix. God, to think in hearing his name I’d gathered a moment of hope.
Why had my parents allowed me to go with them? Why had Peter acted as if he cared about Rage and the others? I hated myself that tears had formed in my eyes, more confusion settling in than I’d felt in a very long time.
I wasn’t a sappy girl. The emotion held no place in my world, whether because of what was occurring outside the door or because fools were made when weaknesses were allowed. And I certainly had no intention of playing the fool.
Including with a man, no matter the hunger felt when Rage was in the room.
“I think there’s a storm rolling in,” Ghost said.
“You have a nose for it.” Wrath told him. I’d learned about satellites, most either destroyed in the initial blasts or soon after. Predicting weather was often a crap shoot.
“I feel it in my bones,” Ghost added. “It’s going to be a bad one. Snow.”
Wrath grumbled something indistinguishable.
“Did you hear the rumor the Resistance is working on new satellites?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of shit about the Resistance and the leaders we’ve never even seen.”
“They need to stay hidden. You know why.”
Ghost was right, but given so many years had passed, the rumors surrounding an uprising had turned from being imminent truths to angry stories then fables. Patience had worn thin.
Without making any noise, I moved through the kitchen toward the door. I felt the pairs of eyes on me, the four men paying close attention to what I was doing. Quite frankly, I was surprised I’d made it to the door without being told to stop.
“Star. Where are you going?” Wrath asked the question, the gruffness of his voice indicating he wouldn’t allow me to go very far.
“I need air.”
“While we’re mostly safe tonight, those winged bastards don’t take the night off.”
I had my hand on the doorknob, struggling to calm down so he wouldn’t feel compelled to drive me crazy. “With their wingspan being over twenty feet, they are not easy to miss and certainly can’t provide a clandestine approach. I think I’ll be fine.”
He moved closer, acting as if he was going to block me in. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Rage won’t forgive me.”
I reacted without thinking, yanking my sword from the sheath and pressing the tip against his throat.
“Whoa,” Ghost snapped, jerking up and tossing the stool he was sitting on to the floor.
“Rage won’t forgive you? Don’t you mean Phoenix Jeffers, son of the president of the United States?
The son of a man who decided who lived or died during the worst tragedy of our country.
No, more than a tragedy. A crime. Letting everything get to the point of absolute total destruction should be considered a crime.
He played God with people’s lives and guess what?
That made him a murderer. I can’t stand the thought of spending any time around the son of a murderer.
For all I know, his father killed my mother. ”
Wrath had his hands in the air, staring at me with hooded eyes while all of the others remained quiet. You bet they should be terrified of a woman holding a very sharp sword, and one who knew how to use it.
“Now, unless you’d like to sing soprano for the rest of your lives, I suggest you allow me to walk out that door.” When not one of them said a word, I gritted my teeth and hissed, swiveling my head from one to the other.
Wrath lowered his arms, cocking his head as if asking if I’d make good on my threat to cut his nuts off.
Yes, I would. That’s how angry I’d become.
I pulled the sword away so he could move farther from me and opened the door. While the anger fueled a constant rush of adrenaline, the ache from deception was what could destroy me. The air was cool, almost frigid, but the chill was welcoming. Maybe the air would clear my lungs.
As soon as I walked out onto a decking area, I moved into the shadows.
I hadn’t realized the smells were different here.
The stench of decay would always be a mainstay, yet there was something almost floral, similar to the flowers Peter had grown from seedlings.
If there was such a thing as a fragrance of hope, flowers would be the ideal candidate.
I shoved the sword back into the sheath and leaned against the exterior wall. While I realized somewhere in the back of my mind Rage wasn’t his father, I’d never felt so disillusioned or uncertain of why I even existed. Nor was I certain I could trust him. That was perhaps the worst aspect of all.
Because I really wanted to.
The night was quiet, with very little noise of any kind, but I could feel a deep vibration coming from under the ground.
For a little while, I tried to envision what it would be like living in a place like this.
A nice little town with hundreds of people.
All the pictures I’d seen had been amazing.
But they were just pictures, paintings of what had been and what would never be again.
A noise had my throat tightening until I realized one of the guys had come to check on me. He kept his distance as well as remaining silent.
After a little while, I laughed. “Always the good soldier, Wrath. Huh?”
“I follow orders, but that’s not what I’m doing right now.”
“Then what are you doing, enjoying a beautiful night? Pretending that everything is suddenly going to be like it was when you were a child? Or just trying to disguise the fact your buddy is a very important man?”
“If you’re talking about Phoenix, he is an important man. The only problem is he doesn’t know to what extent and even if he did, he wouldn’t accept it. He’s pretty stubborn just like you are.”
“Oh, and you know for certain just how important he is?” I could tell even in the shadowed light he did.
“Let’s put it this way. He was protected for years, someone standing in for him as a young man.”
“What are you talking about?”
Wrath glanced at the door. He was keeping secrets from his friend.
“President Jeffers was a very intelligent man and knew that if he was right in that his family was in jeopardy, every member would be killed. They were. A young soldier lost his life impersonating Phoenix, who’d already been sent to the Verndari program.
President Jeffers intended on protecting his wife and daughter as well, but the betrayal came out of nowhere. ”
I had a difficult time believing what I was hearing, but I could tell he wasn’t lying. “Go on.”
“All Rage could think about for years was acting on his need for revenge. When given the opportunity, or I should say when forcing it against orders and against common fucking sense, he was captured along with several of the men loyal to him.”
“You included.”
“Me included. Given the assassination failed, the king became aware of his existence. Hence the bounty. By all rights, he should be dead along with the rest of us and would be had the Angels of Destiny not interfered.”
“A bounty. My God.”
He laughed. “Hell, yes. The traitor of the year. I take it Rage didn’t tell you that he should have died with his family?”
“No. He only begrudgingly told me his real name. And I jumped all over him.”
“Yeah, he was supposed to be with the family in their secure compound, only no one knew Rage had volunteered for the Verndari program. After his family was slaughtered, he went crazy and broke out of the highly classified military compound we were being held in for the duration of the program. I say he broke out, although rumor is that they wanted him to escape. But not for the purpose of hunting down the man responsible. At the time, that wasn’t widely known.
Anyway, he found you instead. He was supposed to find you, Star.
That changed everything, including potentially saving his life. ”
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. I was told to watch him. We went through the program together, but I was his shadow for a reason. So was Vicious.”
“To keep him safe.”
“Yeah, and out of trouble. We became friends.”
I heard him, but I wasn’t certain what if any difference what he’d just told me would make. All the information did was confuse me even more. “I’m so sorry about his family.”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this and will likely suffer punishment for doing so.”
“But…” I cocked my head, pleading with him with only my eyes.
“Anthony Washburn was Theodore’s best friend, the man now known as the king.
They went to a military academy together, graduated from VMI together, which is a miliary college.
And after a tour of duty in a smaller war in the Middle East, they both began their careers first as attorneys then moving into politics.
Naturally, when Theodore was elected president, Anthony came along with him into the White House. ”
Wrath wasn’t looking at me, still allowing me space, but I was paying close attention. Even studying his profile. The man held genuine respect for Rage.
“Maybe you aren’t aware of American history or the politics at the time.
I honestly don’t know what’s been taught to the children of survivors, but times were different.
The president didn’t make unilateral decisions.
He had a cabinet guiding him, providing expertise and ultimately making policies. ”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m a few years older than Rage for one thing. Plus, the Verndari are all programmed with knowledge of what brought us into the final war. It’s our job to ensure future generations are aware of what occurred so history won’t be repeated.”
I leaned against the building, fueled by a rush of adrenaline. “Okay. You know more.”
“Some. Anthony Washburn was the man put in charge of the lottery system. From what we were told years ago, he was very selective in who was allowed to survive. But not in the way you would hope could occur. He didn’t want people who would cause him issues or fight him as he altered the future, turning a republic into an autocratic monarchy more savage than any in history.
That wasn’t his only treachery. His actions trailed to other countries, making promises and threats.
Acting as the president when he was merely an advisor.
But by the point Theodore found out, it was already too late.
There was nothing President Jeffers could do to stop the war. ”
“You’re kidding?”
“No,” he said and for the first time, his voice was quavering.
“My family was lost too. My father was the secretary of defense. The only reason I survived was because Rage’s father had already put into motion protections around the children of those serving for the greater good.
Within the program of the Verndari. While I can understand your concerns, Theodore Jeffers was an amazing leader, a kind and generous man.
I remember how he was with his son. Don’t share that with Rage.
Much like you, he’s never wanted to remember the past or his heritage, but now he has no choice. ”
“No choice.”
“No, Star. And honestly, neither do you. Rage is an amazing guy when you shove aside all the same layers of armor you’ve placed with steel rivets around yourselves.
And in all the years I’ve known him through the battles we’ve fought, the lives lost and the agony suffered, he’s never once reacted to anyone the way he has with you.
There is more to the story that none of us are privy to, but here’s the greatest aspect about what is happening between you. ”
When he hesitated, I sensed he knew he had me on the very edge. “What? Tell me?”
“If the two of you will stop acting like fucking enemies, you have the chance to shape a future far removed from tyranny. My father taught me something very important before he died. He taught me that strength didn’t come from weapons, but from people who were willing to lay them down and find common ground.
We lost our way decades ago. The two of you have a chance to change that.
Wouldn’t it be cool if you’d allow that to happen? ”
“Yes, it would.” Sighing, I wasn’t certain how to handle dealing with Rage any longer.
“There’s something else you should know. When we were captured, we were taken to Freedom City One, held prisoner and forced to compete in the Exile Games.”
“The scars.”
“Exactly. We were taken to a healing facility where we learned about Eden’s existence. The prophet known as the Revelator came to speak with us.”
“The prophecy.”
“Yep. Trust me. I didn’t believe in the possibility, but the leaders of the Resistance have always stated that when the time was right, the world would be reclaimed.
For being healed much like Wren healed your mother, Rage made a pledge to honor the Revelator’s single request. Bring you to this mythical place called Eden. We all did.”
I couldn’t seem to stop shaking.
“Rage is risking everything to fulfill his duty to the prophet. He agreed without question because of the bond that was created all those years ago when he saved you. I just thought you should know how strong that bond is and how important it is that the both of you are taken to Eden. My duty as is for the others is to ensure that happens. No matter the cost.”
My God. To think how much he’d risked in coming to find me was incredible.
Wrath finally turned his head in my direction and while I was uncertain if he was waiting for a reply, my guess was he wasn’t. He was waiting, hoping that I’d make the right decision with the information I’d just learned.
I took a deep breath and moved behind him toward the door. When he slumped as if he’d failed, I placed my hand on his arm, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Will you do me a favor?”
“If I can.”
“Keep the boys downstairs for a little while.”
His laugh was heartfelt. “That I can do. Good luck cracking his armor.”
“I think I know how.”