Slowly and deliberately, Daphne took Zada’s hand in hers.
It was about that time that the grandest room of City Hall erupted into chaos once again.
Everyone spoke at once. Some were shouting. Administrator Erskine was calling for a microphone, but even she couldn’t really be heard over the din. Zada looked for her parents, butthey were lost among the crowd. Some were leaving their seats, while others were activating their SmartGems, no doubt to tell their social circles what had just happened. The scandal of the century.
Daphne squeezed Zada’s hand in three even pulses. Zada felt her mouth curve into a smile.
Someone tapped Zada on the shoulder. It was Flora. Augusta stood behind her.
“That was wonderful!” Flora had to shout to be heard over the noise of the crowd. “I had no idea—”
“Well, I did,” Augusta put in, beaming.
“You need to go, right now,” Flora yelled. “Aiden heard Administrator Erskine talking. She wants to Extricate you, Zada—”
“They’ll have to go through me first,” said Daphne, eyes flashing.
“We’ll take our chances,” Zada said. “Together.” This time, she wasn’t letting go of Daphne, not for anything.
Augusta shook her head. “They’re going to put you through Counseling first. They’ll make you recant everything you said, in front of everyone. Then they’ll abandon you outside without any of your memories intact.”
Zada tried to imagine the two of them, freshly Counseled, utterly helpless and full of deluded belief in the very people who had abandoned them. They would not survive for long. She shuddered.
Augusta grabbed her by the arm. “Run. The sisters are outside waiting.”
“But how—” Zada started.
“Aubrey,” Flora broke in breathlessly. “You were right aboutthem. We reached out to Aubrey, and they did the rest.” She handed Zada her triple cello and bow. “You’ll need this.”
“Out the back door, now,” said Augusta. “We’ll cover for you. Hurry!”
A pair of guards thundered up the steps, and Flora and Augusta moved to block them. Zada and Daphne bolted for the back exit, slipping past the heavy curtains. Then Zada and Daphne were racing through the double doors and out of the room.
“The guards were right there. We have to jam the doors.” Zada panted, searching for something, anything, they could use to bar the doors.
“Here!” said Daphne. She’d snapped a candle-style light fixture off the wall and tossed it to Zada, who slid the artificial candle through the door handles.
Soon, they were running down the mazelike back half of City Hall. It was strange to think that only two months ago, Zada had wandered the hallways alone until she’d found Daphne surrounded by twinkling blue lights.
“Do you know the way out of here?” asked Zada.
“I think so,” said Daphne, “but we need to—”
She broke off. Someone was standing in the shadow of the hallway. The figure emerged from the darkness as if he’d been waiting for them. He wore a fashionable blue suit, and his auburn curls had been slicked into place.
“Thought you might come this way,” said Buford Arnoth.
Chapter Twenty-TwoIn Which a Door Is Closed
Zada froze. “Buford,” she managed. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but—”
“No,” said Buford, “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you more, after that first night. Do you love her?”
“Yes,” said Zada, glancing at Daphne, who squeezed her hand again.
Buford nodded. “I love someone else, too,” he said, and Zada felt herself start to breathe again.
The doors rattled ominously.
