Epilogue
Ender
The technicians stand in a neat line. Their eyes are downcast as I demand answers. These incompetent fools let the girl slip through their fingers.
“He drugged us, sir,” the man says with pleading eyes. “We didn’t see his face.”
“And he stole our uniforms,” the woman continues.
I listen without interruption. Excuses. That is all they offer me.
Once they are done, I whip out my gun and put a bullet in their heads, quickly and efficiently. Blood splatters on my boots, and a satisfying thud sounds as their bodies collapse on the tiled floor. They deserve to die for letting our strongest asset get away.
I head to my office on the upper levels of Block A. My father has been working out of it since he arrived yesterday. His leather briefcase lies flat on the desk, files spilling out of the open mouth. There is one with a bright white sticker that reads Astrid Mallory.
“She escaped,” I say flatly.
His scornful, dark eyes burn with fury.
“How?” he growls. “How could you let this happen?”
“They had help from someone. Their identity remains a mystery, but they mentioned he was a male,” I say. “He took her and her sister.”
Unease slides across the Supreme Director’s face.
There have been strong Untamed in the past whom we’ve captured and executed to protect the civilians and the greater continent. I don’t recall him ever having an interest in them. Not like he does with Haven Warrick.
I wonder if it has to do with the fact that he cannot see her future. As a Psychic, he can see everyone’s path. Except Haven and anyone whose life is intertwined with hers. It is why he couldn’t see her betrayal.
“Show me,” he barks.
I play the surveillance footage in silence. His fingers are steepled on the oaken surface, his expression unreadable.
“You lost our weapon and put her in the hands of the rebels.”
“She will come back,” I say.
A vicious look crosses his face, teeth locked tight in a grimace. “Why are you so certain?”
She looked me in the eye, and she said she would come back for me.
I do not understand her attachment to me, but I will use it against her.
I can see our memories together, but they don’t quite register.
I feel no form of sentiment towards her.
She seemed upset when Clover reached for me.
She acted as if I belonged to her when I told her that the engagement was nullified.
“I know her,” I say. “She will return.”
My mind is clear now. My objective is set. Any weakness of hers that I find, I will exploit it.
“She is dangerous,” the Supreme Director continues. “They will use her against us.”
“I will bring her back,” I say. “Alive.”
I wait for his permission. The Supreme Director rises. His gaze is frigid and scrutinous.
“Do you care for her?” he asks, sternly. “Will Haven Warrick distract you from your responsibilities?”
“No, sir.”
A knock sounds, and he calls for the person to enter.
My eyes widen in surprise at my mother’s appearance. Like my father, she hasn’t set foot in the Forge since my graduation ceremony.
“Hello, dear,” she says, appraising me like I am a foreign species and not her son.
Norah Vale has always been as frosty as a winter storm.
For so long, I resented her for not caring about me when the other mothers fawned and preened over their children.
Her fair hair is swept into a sleek ponytail, and her white blazer and trousers shine with sophistication.
I wait to feel the rush of anger, but all I feel is an empty, bottomless indifference.
“Hello, Mother,” I respond.
“Your father says he fixed you,” she says. “And those pesky distractions that torment you are gone.”
“I feel clear-headed,” I agree. “And my purpose is set.”
“The Bind balances your emotions, but your memories will be a hindrance,” the Supreme Director says. “Your mother has come to fix that.”
My mother stares at me with her ice-blue eyes.
“That is not necessary,” I say. “I bear no attachments to the enemy. I will marry Clover Ashford as promised.”
“This is the second phase of compliance,” he says. “Your mother will fix the other soldiers who have also been upgraded.”
I swallow, unsettled by the thought of my mother in my head. She hasn’t done this since I was a child.
“I’m too old for this,” I say. “The answer is no. You do not have my permission.”
I don’t want to refuse the Supreme Director, but I don’t like the sensation of her crawling in my mind. There have been times I kissed Haven, and I don’t want her to be privy to those moments. The past doesn’t matter.
“This is not optional,” the Supreme Director says coldly. “Do it, Norah.”
My mother approaches me slowly and cautiously. I retreat until my back hits the wall. I want to do more, to curse and fight, but that is not appropriate behavior. Those feelings are not calm and reasonable. Part of me doesn’t want this, but another part wants to comply.
“It won’t hurt, sweetling,” she whispers. “It’ll be just like last time.”
“Don’t make me,” I say hoarsely. “I don’t want this.”
My fists are clenched by my side. I could shove past her and leave, but my body refuses to react so irrationally. Every inch of me demands to serve.
“I will leave you one,” she says softly.
The words are a faint whisper; even I have trouble hearing them.
She presses her icy fingers to my temple and filters through every memory of Haven Warrick. A burning pain builds behind my eyelids as she slowly erases them, one by one, until there is nothing left but darkness.
My bedroom is eerily silent. A pounding headache thumps behind my eyes.
My mother took something again, but I don’t know what she stole.
All I have left behind is the chilled sensation of her presence in my head, her eyes studying my memories.
Mother is a Class One. An Untamed whom my father allows to live.
He uses her as his secret weapon. If there is ever anything he wishes to stay buried, she rifles through the minds of his victims and deletes them.
My arm itches, and my nails scrape a small bump on my bicep. I glance down at it. At the faint pink line. My chest tightens, and a pounding sensation fills my head. The pressure eases when I stop thinking about it.
I can finally breathe easily.
I’ll come back for you.
My fingers curl deep into the fabric. There is a girl. An enemy of the regime whom the Supreme Director wants captured. Her name is Haven Warrick. All I remember is when she was supposed to get her Bind and escaped. Beyond that, everything is a blank canvas.
I open my eyes and stare into the piercing dark.
Run, Haven Warrick.
Because when I find you, I will destroy you.