“Plants.”
“We’re not finished discussing the Continental Exposition,” Julian said weakly.
Ignoring him, Nikola brushed her thumb across her lower lip thoughtfully. “You hesitated.”
“He moved water once,” I supplied, ignoring Ezra’s irritated exhale. If Nikola was a scientist like her grandmother, she needed her questions answered. Questions and answers, Julian had explained, were the foundation of science.
“And what do you make of that?” Nikola directed the question to Julian.
He stiffened beside me and glanced at Ezra silently for a long moment. “It seems unusual. He’s powerful. I’ve also noted that … well, I think there’s potential for synergy between radiance and wild magic.”
“I can go out in the hall if you’d all like to continue discussing me like I’m not here.” Despite the threat, Ezra sank to sit on the floorboards. “Synergy,” he muttered, blushing.
“I’d love to see your notes on that, Julian,” Nikola said, with such an even tone that I could not tell if she was teasing him or not. Abruptly, she clapped like an instructor commanding attention. “Well, then. Two heretical Conductors and an improbable Animator versus all of the House of Industry. As the daughter of a gambling man, I’d love to know the odds.”
“And as Maggie’s protégé?” Julian asked soberly.
Nikola was close enough for me to hear the gentle hitch to her breathing. “I believe in us.”
“You must stay safe,” Julian said, approaching Nikola. He reached as if to take her hand but hesitated. “Without you, we’ll never be able to stop the march of Progress.”
She scoffed. “Do not mistake my haste for foolishness. I’m taking precautions. You walked by four of my spies coming in. And another spotted you before you crossed the bridge to the Far Bank. When the Transistors inevitably trace your steps here, we’ll be prepared.”
“You can’t fight radiance with blades or pistols.” Julian shook his head. Tension lined his face. I thought of everything he’d told us. All the research and knowledge required to change our world was in the two of them, and only them.
“I have many allies and a rogue Transistor of my own,” Nikola said with a smile as sharp as a razor’s edge. “She’s standing guard.”
A thrill ran through me. “Julian and I aren’t the only ones who’ve defected from the House?”
“Every day we make more allies. And yes, some of them are so-called Children of Industry. Including Professor Dunn, of course. She’s the one who helped Julian find his way to my family. She kindled his beliefs.”
I grinned despite myself, delighted to know that so many others had already seen the truth. That meant we had a chance to help the rest break free of the House’s hold. The House of Industry would be nothing without its Children.
When the exposition was over, I could even travel to Gertrude. Find her and explain everything. She’d call me a fool, but after that … maybe she’d listen. Maybe I could save her.
Ezra shifted, drawing his knees up and cocking his head to the side. He asked Nikola, “You left Cascade to prepare for the Continental Exposition?” His voice was a rope pulled taut. I wondered if it was the city itself or the circumstances we were in. As far as I knew, he’d never been anywhere this developed and crowded and far from the wilderness.
“I’d done all I could on a farm at the edge of civilization.” Nikola pushed her shoulders back, and I saw the determination that had shone in Maggie’s eyes. “When I arrived six months ago, it became clear that tensions between resistors and the House have reached a boiling point. More and more people are disappearing after questioning the House. I thought I had a year to prepare. The simple truth is I don’t. What happened …” Her voice wavered. She took deep breath and continued. “What happened to my family only reinforces that.”
“People need to know what happened in Cascade,” I said, recalling the fiddle singing Maggie to her final rest. I thought of the children at the House. The children who had no idea what they were being made to do. “Everyone does.”
“They need to know what happened,” Nikola agreed. “They need to know everything the House has done—and how we can stop them. Our electricity can power anything radiance can, but it doesn’t do lasting harm to people or wildlife or plant life. It can be generated with water and wind or even by hand. And anyone can generate it with the right training. Anyone. At scale. The world needs to know that.”
“Electricity,” I murmured, trying out the taste of the word. “That sounds more appealing thansynthetic radiance.”
Julian huffed, and I had a feeling he’d lost an argument over what to call it. “You know I understand that, but I still think it’s reckless to debut electricity at the exposition so soon.”
“It’s reckless not to,” Ezra said. He watched us, looking far more somber than I felt. “I agree with Nikola. The House won’t stop looking until they find you. If you’re going to give the people a spectacle, you have to do it now. No hesitation.”
I watched Julian’s jaw tighten and his fingers flex and curl. Ezra’s words felt like the ghost of a conversation they’d had before, and judging by Julian’s reaction, I was right.
“Forty-eight hours.” Julian finally relented, shaking his head. “I hope you’re further along with the prototype than I thought you were.”
“I’m far enough.” Nikola touched his restless hands, settling them as if soothing a nervous animal. “Julian. I know it isn’t your nature to take a leap like this. But we must.”
“It’s my nature to be reasonable,” he said, enduring her careful touch. “There’s no harm in being measured.”
“I’m frightened, too,” she said softly, smiling when his eyes widened at what she was willing to admit. “We’d be fools not to be.”
