Birthright

CHAPTER TWO

Even without asking, Kray knew where she was headed. He recognized the winding paths leading through the gardens of red and white flowers. Sparkling lights decorated the tall trees, illuminating their way.

They stopped in front of a bronze statue twice the size of a human. The woman wore a soldier's uniform and carried a long blade in one hand. Her expression was fierce and determined, and her eyes stared off into the distance as if she was about to confront an enemy.

A shiver ran down Kray's spine. This woman was Sara Nathan, one of the earliest Metas ever created, and a great leader in the Burning War against the Sansers. This province, Saranth, was named after her.

She was also Alex's deceased grandmother.

Alex stood in front of the statue and saluted, a quick gesture that would have seemed playful to any other observer, but Kray knew better. He knew her well enough to read the awe and reverence and longing on her face. 

"Do you remember that first Liberation we came here together?" he asked her. It had been exactly six years ago, only a week after he arrived in Saranth. The world had been very new to him then.

She turned around and sat on the edge of the pedestal. "You were so small and wide-eyed. I could have told you anything and you'd have believed it."

Kray laughed and sat next to her. "I did believe everything you said. You told me all about the Burning War and the creation of the Metas, and how the Sansers almost destroyed the entire planet before they were defeated. It gave me nightmares for days."

What Kray recalled most was trying not to look as scared as he'd felt. "I forgot what it was like," he added softly. "Having amnesia." His childhood memories had never returned, but he replaced them with others. He filled the gnawing void in him with people and things he loved, hated, feared and championed.

But the past wasn't all gone. It stayed with him every single day, a dark stain on his life.

Kray looked at Alex and found her watching him, waiting patiently for him to speak his thoughts. That was one of countless things he loved about her. She never pushed too far, never pried into his mind, but she always sensed when he needed a listening ear.

"I'm worried," he admitted. "What if the faction rejects me because of my past? I mean, most of the prospects our age have already been scouted. You've been scouted. I took the entrance exam two months ago, and I haven't even been called for the physical evaluation."

He ran his hands over his face and sighed. It was terrifying to think everything he'd worked for, all the endless hours spent building his body and studying up on Meta jurisprudence, would have been for nothing. It didn't matter that he wouldn't get into a top school like Saranth Foundation like Alex. He'd be happy to get acceptance from a local place. A Meta was a Meta in the end, as long as he had a foot in the door. It was the only way he could shed the burdens his parents placed on him and redeem himself.

"Kray, you don't have a past," she said.

"Let's not get technical about it. You know what I mean."

"You missed my point." She shifted her body toward his, and their knees touched. The light pressure burned him through his pants leg. "You're talking like you're responsible for what your parents did, and I'm afraid it's limiting your vision," she said. "Not everyone sees this stigma you feel hanging over your head. No qualified recruiter would ever turn you down because of something your parents did. If the Meta Faction rejects your application, it will be because you flunked the initial assessment."

He grinned. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"You've got nothing to worry about." Alex nudged him with her knee. "You had the best tutor in Saranth. No way you failed it."