“I’ve yet to meet a Prime with a conscience,” Teriq says, his tone derisive.
“There are plenty,” I shoot back. “We work with them, for fuck’s sake.”
“She has a point,” Gray hedges, but Teriq isn’t having it, shaking his head in irritation.
“I don’t give a shit. I’m not letting a Prime wander around our base gathering intel that he can feed to his fellows if he manages to escape.”
“Then hold him in a cell until he proves his loyalty,” I plead. “Just don’t kill him.”
There’s a brief silence.
“We’ll take the request under consideration,” Kallister says.
“Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?” Adrienne asks politely, and Gray bites his lip as if trying not to laugh.
“No, that was it.” I hope I did enough to save Xavier, but I don’t know.
“Good,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Then let’s move on.”
The rest of the briefing focuses on the Silver Jubilee and the fallout from that, including how my cover was ultimately blown. My blood burns as I describe how Lyddie De Velde, my best friend in the Program, turned on me, yet nobody around the table even blinks to hear it, as if betrayal is a daily occurrence for them.
I don’t reveal what I did to Jayde Valence. If the Authority isn’t ready to share all their secrets with me, then fine, right back at you, assholes.
After the briefing, Kallister pulls me aside as promised and says, “Stay behind. I’d like to talk.” He glances at Fiona, who’s gathering her tablet and comm. “Fi, could you ask someone to bring Wren’s dinner to the war room?”
She nods, but I don’t miss the tight lines around her mouth. Her distrust of me is palpable.
Gray hesitates at the door, his gaze shifting from me to Kallister, but then he tips his head at me in goodbye and leaves the war room. Once everyone is gone, Kallister drags his chair so we’re sitting next to each other.
“You were there the morning my brother died,” he says without mincing words.
A hot stab of agony slices into me. “Yeah. I was.”
The pain on his face mirrors my own. “Did he suffer?”
“No. It was fast.”
Kallister rakes his fingers through his hair, visibly upset. “I wanted an extraction. We could have rescued him.”
My surprised gaze flies to his. “My contact in the Point said the people on top refused to risk it. Wasn’t it the Authority’s decision not to rescue him?”
“That was the result of the vote, yes.” I hear the bitterness in his voice. “I was outvoted four to one.”
“Grayson voted against it, too?” I say in indignation.
“They all did. I understand why. A rescue in broad daylight would’ve been too dangerous, and we couldn’t risk Gray. He’s the only pilot skilled enough to fly through Company airspace undetected and get close enough to launch an air assault on their base. The logical part of my brain gets that, but…” He trails off, letting out a heavy breath. “How much did Julian tell you about me?”
“Not much. I knew he had a brother, but not that you were twins. He said you guys didn’t really speak after he joined the Command.”
“Not often, no.” Kallister rests one palm on the table, running his fingers along the steel edge. “I thought it was foolish when he signed up for Command service. Julian joined right after upper school. He was determined to work undercover for the Uprising and help them sabotage the Company. Me, I wasn’t interested in all that undercover bullshit. I’m better suited for a control center, making tactical decisions. But Julian wanted to be on the ground, in the thick of it. I told him it was too risky, but my brother never shied away from danger.”
“Why didn’t you reconnect afterward? After he deserted the Command and resettled in Z as Jim Darlington.”
“We did, occasionally. But we were living very different lives. I was here at the Dagger, and he rarely left the ranch because he was wanted for desertion and couldn’t run ops anymore. And, well, you know how stubborn Julian was. We butted heads every time we spoke. His way was the right way. Always.”
I chuckle. “Sounds like him.”
“Eventually we drifted apart. Hardly ever spoke. And when we did speak, we argued.” Sadness dampens his expression. “I do regret that. I wish I made more of an effort to keep in touch. When I found out he was captured and sentenced by the Tribunal, I called for a vote immediately, but the others shot it down, and now my brother’s gone.” Kallister studies me for a moment. “You were at the execution? You witnessed it?”
