“If you mean unhelpful, then yes I definitely know.”
“Let’s go, man,” Hawk said. “Whatever’s going on, we’ll work it out.”
Dropping his hand from his face, Christian nodded at his red-haired friend, and Hawk led them out the door.
The walk and tram ride back to Gallowood House was mostly quiet and almost too easy. But Christian, his family, and his SARTF teammates all made it to their makeshift headquarters without a problem.
The governor met them in the entryway and held out his hand to Christian’s father and sister. “Hi, I’m Philip Gallowood.”
“Eric Holm,” Christian’s dad replied while shaking Philip’s hand. “And this is my daughter, Lysa.”
“Wonderful,” Philip replied. “You’re very welcome here. Yosef will find you places to sleep, and if you’re hungry, there is plenty of food in the breakroom.”
When they both nodded and Yosef announced he’d take them on the “grand tour,” Philip turned his attention to Christian. His brown eyes did not hold the warmth he always seemed to carry, and Christian’s jaw clenched.
“You and I need to talk,” Philip said. “Ahna, join us.”
“Wanna go drink?” Claude’s voice carried from the entryway as Christian followed after his superiors.
“Eh, I dunno. We’ve been at it for, like, fourteen hours?” Hawk replied.
“Aw, the old man needs his beauty sleep,” Imara teased.
“You know what? Fine. Let’s go drink.” Hawk’s voice trailed off as Philip led Christian around a bend.
The governor paused at a set of double doors, unlocking them with an actual key rather than a handprint or fibroglass ring. It was a practice Christian had seen maybe only once or twice in his life. Lock-picking had become such a lost skill over the centuries that using an actual metal lock was the safest choice for securing a place you never wanted discovered. Given that Philip was privy to top secret information, Christian wasn’t surprised to find one in his manor.
“Sit.” Philip pointed to a brown chair on the opposite side of a massive wooden desk before taking his own. Ahna hovered in the corner of the room, her dark arms crossed over her chest.
Christian obeyed, his pulse in his spine. As the man in charge, Philip had to have heard of the Falaichte, even if it was so well hidden that if anyone spoke of the organization, it was often accompanied by an instinct to retreat. Even Gemma had heard of it, though she’d assumed it was just a literal black market. Which didn’t even scratch the surface.
Any moment now, the governor would throw him in prison, and Christian wouldn’t blame him for it. But he’d also told Gemma he’d be there in a heartbeat if she needed him. He’d said he was only a call away.
A lump formed in his throat. The only good thing in his entire life was about to be stripped away.
Philip’s stare was so intense that every hair on the back of Christian’s neck rose. The governor leaned forward and knocked his knuckles against the top of his desk in a slow, deliberate rhythm. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure I fully understand. So, you need to start filling in the blanks for me. This Cho person—how do you know her?”
Christian swallowed before clearing his throat. When he was twelve, he’d sworn an oath to keep all the details of Perileos’ underground district a secret. If it hadn’t been for the shame he carried with him every day—and the fear for his family’s safety—his tongue might have loosened sooner. But now, with his future and his ability to protect Gemma on the line, it was time he broke that promise.
“We both grew up in an organization here called the Falaichte,” he said at last.
Philip sat back in his seat, eyebrow raised, as if this was the last thing he expected to hear.
Christian continued. “I was recruited when I was twelve. Cho was fourteen. The man who runs the Falaichte—Paulo—is a tyrant, and once you’re in, it’s for life. He controls you through threats and by forcing you to do things that would make you want to stay silent. I took a huge risk when I left to enter the Trials, but it was my only chance to get free. I taught my sister some basic self-defense moves and how to watch for a tail, and I made sure she knew about the rifle in our floor. I had to trust she’d be safe until the Falaichte realized no one was coming after them.”
“And what if you hadn’t passed?”
“Then I would’ve returned and faced the consequences.”
“Which would’ve been?”
Christian shook his head. “I don’t know. I made Paulo so much money that killing me wouldn’t have been an option. But”—he shifted in his seat—“to be honest, it likely would’ve been preferable.”
Holding eye contact with the governor’s stare was like keeping a hand over a hot flame. Even if he’d wanted to lie to the man, Christian doubted he would’ve been able to. Philip’s gaze was all consuming.
The governor tapped his pointer finger against his lips. “What sort of things would this Paulo ask you to do?”
Christian’s hands began to shake. He gripped the arm rests to hide the tremor. “When I first met him, he offered ‘real world experience’ to help me prep for the Trials. I already knew that the only way out of here was as a soldier for the Systems’ military, so I wanted to learn to fight and use weapons. And for years, that’s all I did. To the point where I could hit a bullseye from six-hundred yards away. I won just about every sparring match I was in, and throwing a blade had become second nature. Then I had the unfortunate privilege of being noticed by Paulo.”
