Reymond smiled. “Good. You do this, and you’ll be a hero. You will change the lives of everyone here.” He placed a wrinkled, three-fingered hand on Gemma’s shoulder.
She took a deep breath before nodding. “For freedom. For change.”
The slogan of the Dissent hung heavy in the air.
The line of twenty-year-olds was long by the time Gemma reached the exit of Perileos. She filed in behind a tall, attractive girl who appeared to be as alone as she was. The black-haired beauty stood with her russet-brown arms crossed and a don’t-mess-with-me expression plastered across her face.
She looked oddly familiar, though Gemma couldn’t quite place her. Perileos was—after all—massive, with forty-three zones and one hundred eighty-two living sectors. Gemma wouldn’t be surprised if she knew none of the people entering the Oranos Trials this year. Between work and preparing for her mission, she’d had no time for real friends or a social life. Not that she wanted one, anyway. Nadine had been her only friend and confidant. And now...
Why would she risk opening her heart to another person if it meant it could be shattered again?
The girl eyed Gemma over her shoulder, her dark brown gaze trailing up and down. Smirking, she huffed before turning back around, her arms still tightly crossed.
Gemma rolled her eyes. Whether or not another contestant thought she’d be easy to defeat, she was confident she’d prove them wrong. She had been training for this for nearly three years, after all.
The line moved quickly once the exit doors opened, fresh air billowing into their underground city. Gemma took a deep breath as she neared the exit, letting the unprocessed oxygen fill her lungs. The scent was intoxicating.
Individuals in black uniforms scanned the biochip embedded beneath the skin behind Gemma’s ear and handed her a flare gun. She clipped it to her waist before stepping through Perileos’ exit doors for the last time.
Her eyes widened.
The sky above her danced with waves of pinks, purples, and greens, accented on all sides by twinkles of starlight. She’d been outside before, of course—there were no rules against it—but she didn’t remember the night sky ever looking so luminescent. It felt like she was in a dream.
A memory of Nadine flooded Gemma’s thoughts.
“See that one over there?” Nadine aimed her fingertip toward a large, white star near the first of their two moons. Her dark hair, the same shade of brown as Gemma’s, wafted in the crisp breeze. “They say if you keep flying in that direction, you’ll eventually reach the City of Lights.”
“The City of Lights?” Gemma asked.
Nadine shifted a little closer. “Remember, in astronomy class they taught you about Mora, one of our sister planets?”
Gemma nodded.
“Well, the City of Lights is there and is supposed to be the most beautiful city in all the Systems’ galaxies. I’m going to take you there someday.”
A harsh beep chirped through her biochip, signaling an order was coming through and ripping the memory of Nadine away.
Gemma closed her eyes to block out the stars as she refocused. Avenging Nadine was her purpose now. She couldn’t let memories distract her.
“Contestants, please note your guides. Follow them to Zion. If you get lost, or if you decide you can’t continue, send up a flare, and someonewill collect you and take you back to Perileos. You don’t want to be out here alone at night. Trust me.”
In the distance, those leading the march turned and headed away from the city, the hems of their black uniforms glowing with inlaid green and red ultralights. Gemma tucked her backsack tighter against her spine then began the eleven-kilometer trek across Reva’s surface.
As expected, given how many contestants returned to Perileos mere hours after leaving each year, the hike wasn’t easy. The ground was rocky and uneven, and with only moonlight to illuminate the way, several contestants fell within the first three kilometers and had to return to Perileos due to injury.
Gemma sucked in a deep breath, thankful she’d thought to tape her ankles prior to leaving. Otherwise, that might’ve been her with a sprain more than once.
It didn’t help that the sky was gorgeous and distracting, making it hard to keep sure footing. Twice, Gemma caught sight of shooting stars and wondered if the sky was this glorious the night Nadine made this same hike three years ago.
If only Nadine had known she was marching to her death, maybe she wouldn’t have gone.
Maybe she and Gemma would’ve reached the City of Lights together and grown old and had families and known what happiness actually felt like.
“I’ll see you in three years,” Nadine said, “when it’s your turn.” She hugged Gemma so tightly before tapping her on the nose. “Love you, Gemstone.”
Gemma’s eyes burned as she cursed herself for letting the memory of Nadine break through yet another time. It had been three years, butshe would never see her sister again. She hoped she would make Nadine proud.
Nadine’s death would not be in vain.
