Harry's eyes went wide as he slipped his headphones off. "Whoa, when did you guys get here? Don't tell me the whole entourage is—"
Ava shoved him off to the side. She swiftly typed across the glass panel, tapping on one of the three screens and zoomed out. The first one she brought up sported the UFE logo, its background screen categorized the files in numerical order. It'd take months before she'd find anything this way.
"Here, let me do a word search." Harry scooched her out of the way. His fingers were quick to move, typing out the obvious words first, AVA and Aegis Vitale Armament and Earth's General. When none worked, he searched Ava's name. Still nothing.
God, why isn't this working? It was at the tip of her fingers. She felt it. She almost had it. There had to be a file with her birth record in here somewhere. There was no doubt in her mind, one of these tablets had her data on it. And then it hit her.
"Search my birthday," Ava said. He typed it in. Still nothing. She leaned closer, stared the screen down. "Search the day after my birthday."
"New Year's Day?"
"I was supposed to be born on the first. Not the 31st," she said. "If the rebellion never happened, then I would've been born on time. Instead, I was born a day early."
Quickly, he typed it in: 01.01.2162.
A zipped folder popped up. But only one.
Gio grasped Ava's shoulder. He stood beside her, looking over Harry's head. This was it. This had to be it. She squeezed Gio's hand as Harry unlocked it, and when he finally got it open, her heart dropped and so did her hand.
There was nothing inside.
The folder was empty.
.
The folder was EMPTY.
.
.
Her chest clenched, and this time, it felt like she might have a heart attack.
Gio leaned into Harry's chair and pointed at the screen. "Check the other tablets. Maybe that one's just missing the files."
Ava shook her head and walked away. She already knew the files wouldn't be there. The tablets were all connected under one system. If the files weren't on one tablet, then they wouldn't be on the others. Her hands trembled. Her whole body ached.
Breathe in... Breathe out...
It was happening again, just like last time when she lost control of herself. She had to keep it together. It'd be okay. Just because they couldn't find the birth record here, didn't mean it wasn't somewhere else. It didn't mean the information was gone forever. She had to keep believing it was out there somewhere. It was the only way she'd stay sane.
Breathe... Breathe...
It was getting harder to breathe. Just keep taking air in through the nose and slowly out the mouth, exactly like Leo taught her. Ava wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep the heat in. She couldn't let this happen. Not here.
"Ava, are you okay?" Sam asked.
Everything blurred together.
"She's obviously not okay," Mika snapped. "Her energy level is spiking through the roof. We need to get her some help. Or help her somehow."
"Are you suggesting we use koto on her? Do you know how dangerous that is? She's a human, Mika. We don't know how she'll react to our spells in that state."
"We have to do something." Mika pulled out his phone. If Ava wasn't so sure she'd fall over by moving, she'd crush that phone under her heel. "I'm calling Darious."
At least he wasn't calling Marc. If Marc found out what she'd been doing... Who was she kidding? He already knew. Everyone at the Capitol knew by now about the laboratory. What kind of punishment would the Council give her this time? They tracked everyone's activity around the planet. They obviously tracked Ava with her ID.
She gasped. ID. There might still be hope after all.
Turning on her heel, she walked back toward Harry, her legs unsteady the whole way. When she tripped on the carpet, she caught the chair and used Gio's shoulder to hold herself upright. "Look up the ID number I gave you."
It took Harry a moment to understand what Ava said, but once he did, his fingers had never typed so fast before. Still, nothing came up on the two tablets they salvaged. When he clicked on the last tablet—the one Ava found in the wall—the logo of a cross wrapped around the world appeared on the screen. It was a new logo, one that looked vaguely familiar. Possibly seen in History 101.
A single file popped up, listed under a folder called Staff. Harry double tapped the file to open, and Ava lost her breath all over again. There was a picture of a woman.
Long locks of chestnut hair cascaded over her white lab coat to one side, sporting a blue buttoned-up collar beneath. What stood out was not her perfect smile or the bark coloring of her eyes, but the deep shade of red lipstick, like crimson—of blood.
"She looks like you," Harry said, glancing back and forth between the picture and Ava.
What he really meant was: Ava looked like her. "What else is on that file?"
Harry stuck the vapor device into his mouth and scrolled through, reading quicker with his ability. "Says here, she was a Bioengineer. 25 at the time. 193 centimeters tall. No health irregularities. Only relatives: her mother and one younger sister. Father unknown. But get this," Harry wiggled his eyebrows, "she was a mixed breed. Puerto Rican, Italian, and... German."
Gio smirked. "I knew that bump on your nose wasn't just for show."
Like Ava cared about any of that. This told her nothing about her abilities or what was wrong with her. "When was she born? Is she still alive?"
Harry kept searching through the files, then came to a stop. "She's MIA Code PO. So she was alive before they wiped out the Pacific Ocean."
And likely dead like the billions of others who went missing during the attack.
Since the next human evolution didn't occur until eighty years ago, this also meant she had no abilities. Still, Ava felt a connection when looking at her picture. They didn't look exactly alike, yet there were clear details, in their eyes and hair, that proved they were related by blood. And that part scared Ava. She'd rather be adopted and unknown.
"What was her name?" she asked.
"Lily Capri."
The name reeked of high society. She probably froze her eggs in the name of science, and the UFE randomly drew her eggs as the test subject to create Ava. At least that's what Ava told herself.
She was so focused on the picture, she didn't hear the door open. She didn't hear the whispers until Marc's voice broke through the haze. "What's going on in here?"
He stood next to her, arms crossed over his chest. Ava jumped, and met his blank expression. He was beyond pissed. "I'd ask you why you're not at home, but the reports are already coming in about the laboratory," Marc said. "I hope it was worth it."
And yet, it wasn't. This whole idea, secret missions—they felt like a waste of time. Childish. She thought for sure they'd find her birth record. Instead, they found the egg donor and that only ruined her mood further.
Defeated, Ava dropped her head against Marc's chest to cover her face. Tears spilled out and she didn't want anyone else to see.
His fingers gently ran through her hair, pressed her closer. His voice murmured on her ear, soothing away the anxiety but not completely. "I'm taking her home."
"She needs to see a healer," Darious said.
Ava refused to look at him and stared at the floor. His boots were dark gray, thunderous. Usually he wore so many pastels. What changed? Why did she care? It was better than thinking about her failure. Anything was better than here.
Marc shifted away. Before she knew it, they left Harry's room. "What she needs is to be as far away from here as possible."
Footsteps hastily tapped behind. "Her face is pale," Darious said.
Marc slid a hand over Ava's forehead. She wanted him to keep it there forever. She missed his touch. "No, she's burning up."
Once they reached the ribbons and crystals, they left the hallway and arrived in front of the bar. Kay nearly dropped her cocktail mixer on the counter. She called after them but Marc ignored her and Ava had no energy to respond. Marc took risks, teleporting inside the club when the flashing lights were to prevent this. We could have been trapped in a void.
They walked through the front entrance and past the ropes in a moment's time and left just as swift. The sun blazed overhead. It was the middle of the afternoon, the hottest time of the day, and yet, in this snow, it barely made a dent.
Marc let Ava go. She collapsed to her knees; the snow cushioned her fall. They were outside the house, trees surrounding them, snow piled everywhere—alone. It covered her pants and gloves. It invaded her lungs. The ground moved beneath her, spun on its own axis. She was caught in the middle.
Her fingers stretched out across the buried grass. The trees' whispered, their energy flowed through the Earth and into her palms. Finally, she felt the Earth's own heart pulsate through her soul. God, it's been too long. Her ability to control nature was stronger than before. She was either losing control or the curse mark worsened.
"How do you feel?" Marc asked. He stood over her, hands stuffed in his coat pockets to keep himself warm.
Ava dug past the frozen blades of grass, into the dirt. Being in nature like this always helped calm her and removed the anxiety completely. "Better. My head feels better."
And it did. Her mind cleared, felt light, which may not be a good thing. She always acted rashly when sober. Ava stood so fast, her legs wobbled. Marc had to hold her. "Wait, I need to go back. I forgot to grab the tablets."
"It's fine. I'll get them later."
"I told you I need to get them now." She pushed him off. The anger gave her strength.
"And I told you to stop being friends with Harry," Marc snapped back, and everything just fell still. "He's been causing you problems since you were a kid. And then he got you roped into the nightclub and that basement..."
His jaw tightened, not wanting to say another word. He hated everything about that club. Ava knew it was hard for him to go in there, harder to walk through the sea, knowing she used to be one of those enchantresses.
"I chose to do those things. Harry never pushed me into it," Ava said.
"Yet he's the one who introduced it!"
"I'm not proud of it! Okay? But I can't change the past, Marc. So what do you want me to do?" Her hands flew out into the sky, thinking maybe the stars would finally bring her the answer she desperately sought. Silent snowflakes fell in response.
"I want you to learn from those mistakes. Instead, you continue making the same mistakes all over again." One hand came out of his pockets, asking for a prayer of their own. "Why didn't you just tell me you were going to the laboratory?"
"Because you would just say no."
"But did you have to destroy it? That was your only lead left."
She couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't even denying it. "It wouldn't matter. The place was already flooding when we got there. It will be completely flooded in a week's time!"
All this hate and anger and blame boiled at the surface, and it only took a change in subject to make it all go away. Marc lowered his guard, dragged a hand through his black hair. Strands fell over the red wine specs.
Ava gave him those specs on his eighteenth birthday. He'd been on Earth for a year and wanted to learn more about their culture. When he opened the gift, his eyes were excited and he smiled so bright—she was spellbound. Her feelings grew deeper. She couldn't imagine not seeing that smile.
"The weather's shifted that far east... we're running out of time. Plan B is still not ready yet," he said. "This planet will drown before the war even gets here."
"And then you'll have to leave." It always came back to this. He'd leave one day and she'd be forced to accept it.
She couldn't imagine him not being here.
"Ava..." He took her hand. "You know, I don't want to leave."
"Then run away with me," she said, surprising herself, but maybe this was the moment she'd been waiting for. "When the war is over—or when we're fending for our lives to keep from drowning—there will be chaos. We could easily run away and never look back."
"You can't abandon your duties."
"It wouldn't matter! They won't need me when the war is over! They might not be around anymore!" Ava grasped Marc tighter, pulled him closer. "I'll finally be free."
He said nothing and kept his gaze focused on their hands. The silence was killing her, his constant thinking was breaking down her confidence. "You've been wanting to leave Amaranthine for a long time. You don't even want the throne. You despise it. This is the perfect chance to leave it all behind."
"They'll come after us," he stated like it was a known fact.
Ava let out short ha. "This universe is so big, they won't find us."
Marc's hands trembled, anger boiled in his words. "This universe is small for my grandparents, Ava. They have satellite stations scattered across the stars. Why do you think my planet has lived for so long? We reign over every spaceport in existence. We have our hands in everything."
"There has to be someplace they don't," she said. "There has to be a safe place."
For the first time in their long conversation, he looked her in the eyes. "Primordial and wherever they touch. They're the only race to withstand arms against Amaranthine."
And Earth just so happened to get caught in the crossfires. Ava didn't care about the war. She just wanted all the fighting to stop. She wanted to live a normal life. She just wanted to be with Marc. Her feelings were raw and they wanted to soar.
Ava kissed Marc. She kissed him hard and it felt so good. She always wanted to kiss him, and now that she was, she couldn't think of anything greater than this. She loved how soft his lips felt. How it satisfied her heart to finally press her mouth against his. She dug her fingers into his soft hair. Held onto his strong shoulders. Her heart fluttered as butterflies did in the springtime. She got lost in the kiss.
And then he pushed her away.
He held her shoulders at an arm's length, and shook his head from side to side. No words spilled out and she wished they never did. She wished to stay in this happy bubble, forever naïve. Forever in bliss. But she learned at a young age, wishes never came true.
"I can't... I can't do this. I'm sorry, Ava, but I can't."
And with that, her perfect world crumbled.
It felt like the cold finally took over, so much, her body wanted to collapse, again. Somehow she mustered up enough courage to answer, but even then her voice shook. "You can't... but that doesn't mean you won't."
He sighed as he let her go. "My duty is to my planet," he said, but no matter how many times she replayed those words in her head, they sounded monotone and scripted.
Ava clenched her hands into fists, stared at Marc's left arm. "You're only saying that because you're supposed to. But that's not what you really want. Or have you already forgotten how much you hate that curse mark?"
"I haven't forgotten, but what choice do I have? As long as I bear this curse mark, they will always find me. I will always be the Crown Prince." He dragged a hand through the hair she used to tease, down his beautiful face and smudged his specs further. The specs he never took off. "Ava, I'm sorry but I can't—I can't be with someone who's not an Ama."
"Even if I'm a god?"
"Especially if you're a god!"
So this was it. This had nothing to do with being a human. It had everything to do with being a god. A maybe-god. Ava didn't know what the heck she was, but he already decided she was one of these gods. He already decided to reject her for it.
Well, you know what? I'm done with him.
She didn't want to be with a man who refused to fight for her. She didn't want to be with a man who cowered away from his own grandfather when he had no idea how he'd react. A man who brought her gifts and flowers, yet never gave her what she really needed. Love. He never even gave them a chance.
No matter how much she said she didn't want him, it still hurt. The tears still pricked her eyes, ran off her cheeks. Her body ached. Her heart broke in two.
Marc hesitantly reached out for Ava. She slapped him away. "Don't touch me."
It was hard walking away from him—harder seeing the crushed look on his face. She wasn't sure which was worse: that she'd have to face him tomorrow or she'd have to forgive him because he was the Crown Prince of Amaranthine, Earth's only ally.
For tonight, she'd let herself hurt. She wouldn't let him take that away, too.
By the time she reached the front porch her nose was dripping, sleeve stained from tears. Darious stood in front of the window by the door, not even trying to hide the fact that he was watching this entire time. The bastard probably heard every word, too.
The moment the door opened, Ava snapped, "I hope you're happy. You got everything you wanted and much more!"
He caught her arm when she walked past. It was gentle when she expected it to be rough. "It would have been better if you'd kept your feelings secret. Then maybe you could have lived in bliss until he had to leave."
Shocked, it took her a moment to react. She never thought in a million years Darious would break the rules for love, but that still didn't change things. She snatched her arm out of his grasp, and stood as tall and confident as ever.
"I'd rather have my heart broken, then live with the unknown," she said, then turned on her heel. "I regret nothing."