“No.” Anger surged through me, giving me back my voice even as my face flushed with embarrassment. “No, of course not.”
“Are you sure?”
“Dad, why are you”—I shook my head, confused—“I don’t understand why you’re so upset. You’ve been pushing me and Lena together for months, even though I’ve told you a hundred times that I don’t like her, but now, when I actually—” I hesitated, looking at Juliette, her face half hidden behind my dad. “I was just getting to know her. That’s all.”
“You were just getting to know her?” He stared at me, disgusted. “Of all the girls in the world, you fall for this one? The child-murdererbound for prison? The likely insane test tube experiment? What iswrongwith you?”
“Dad, please— Nothing happened. We’re just friends. We just talk sometimes.”
“Just friends,” he said, and laughed. The sound was demented. “You know what? I’ll let you take this with you. I’ll let you keep this one while you’re gone. Let it sit with you. Let it teach you a lesson.”
“What? Take what with me?”
“A warning.” He leveled me with a lethal look. “Try something like this again,” he said, “and I’ll kill her. And I’ll make sure you get to watch.”
I stared at him, my heart beating out of my chest. This was insane. We hadn’t even done anything. I’d known that my dad would probably be angry, but I never thought he’d threaten to kill her. If I’d known, I never would’ve risked it. And now—
My head was spinning. I didn’t understand. He was dragging her down the hall and I didn’t understand.
Suddenly, she screamed.
She screamed and I stood there, helpless as he dragged her away. She called my name—cried out for me—and he shook her, told her to shut up, and I felt something inside of me die. I felt it as it happened. Felt something break apart inside of me as I watched her go.
I’d never hated myself so much. I’d never been more of a coward.
And now, here we are.
That day feels like a lifetime ago. I never thought I’d see her again.
Juliette looks up at me now, and she looks different. Her eyes are glassy with tears. Her skin has lost its pallor; her hair has lost its sheen. She looks thinner. She reminds me of myself.
Hollow.
“Hi,” I whisper.
Tears spill, silently, down her cheeks.
I have to force myself to remain calm. I have to force myself not to lose my head. My mother warned me, years ago, to hide my heart from my father, and every time I slipped—every time I let myself hope he might not be a monster—he punished me, mercilessly.
I wasn’t going to let him do that to me again. I didn’t want him to know how much it hurt to see her like this. How painful it was to sit beside her and say nothing. Do nothing.
“What is she doing here?” I ask, hardly recognizing my own voice.
“She’s here,” he says, “because I had her collected for us.”
“Collected for what? You said—”
“I know what I said.” He shrugs. “But I wanted to see this moment. Your reunion. I’m always interested in your reunions. I find the dynamics of your relationship fascinating.”
I look at him, feel my chest explode with rage and somehow, fight it back. “You brought her back here just to torture me?”
“You flatter yourself, son.”
“Then what?”
“I have your first task for you,” he says, pushing a stack of files across his desk. “Your first real mission as chief commander and regent of this sector.”
My lips part, surprised. “What does that have to do with her?”
