Cousins Esther and Tempest have been separated by cities, countries, and continents all their lives; but now, when both girls need each other the most, they are separated by lightyears.
Tempest is stuck on a vessel to Janus, forced into keeping the...
"The war was hard on all of us. If it weren't for Isla and I going through it together, I don't know if I would have made it out as mostly well as I did. Having a partner like that can change everything." -Daniel Crowley
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ESTHER
I'm running straight to Milo's house, since he is literally the only person in Appalachia I can trust right now. I would say the only person in the world, but at least I still have Tempest. I hope she comes to visit soon. It is already dark outside, but Milo's bedroom glows with light. It's not too late in the evening to see him, but it may be too late to knock.
I am just about to run around to the side of the house where I can get a clear shot at Milo's window with some pebbles from the yard when his mom Dr. Valencia opens the door, phone in hand. "Yes, she's here," she tells someone on the other end. Probably my mom... Eleanor... my adopted mom... whatever I call her now. Dr. Valencia holds her hand over the phone. "Es, come on in; Milo is just up in his room. It's your mom just wondering where you are. She said you missed a call from your cousin and that's when they realized you were gone. They were worried about you."
I'm tempted to say something smart in return, but I don't want to point my aggression at Milo's mom, not when she is opening her home to me and allowing me to see Milo, even when my family is looking for me. That's not fair. I nod, fake my best half-smile, and walk toward her.
That's when it happens.
An explosion down the street shatters the first story windows of a house. It's where a boy in my class named Cam, another Perfect, lives. I feel like a deer caught in the cross hairs of its hunters, frozen in the middle of the street, slightly hunched over from the startling burst of flames and glass.
"What was that?" Milo's mom asks, running into the street to meet me.
"I... don't know," I mutter.
Hicksmonians begin pouring from their homes into the street, many of whom race toward the fire that now crackles and hisses inside Cam's home's old brick walls. The whole scene lights the night in orange and red, making each of us indistinguishable, just black and blue shadows running back and forth.
Another shadow passes me, Dr. Valencia, as she runs toward the flames with her first aid kit. I realize then that I still haven't moved, and while everyone else around me seems to be helping, I'm still stuck, frozen in shock. Until Milo's phone rings. Somehow I can hear it all the way inside his house, above the screams, above the blaze, and above the static in my mind. I turn back toward his house to find him running out the meet me, still slipping a shirt over his head. For a second I catch a glimpse of his toned abdomen, shadowed by the flames, but they don't give me the same butterflies they normally would. All that's inside me is fear. Strike that—there is so much more inside me.
Questions take over the majority. Is Cam ok? What happened? Who did this? What happened to all our years of peace and calm?
