Destiny's Fire (Kythan Guardians 1)

“But you’re right,” I said. “This can wait. There’re other things going on right now. We need to stay focused.” He nodded. “But thanks. You know, for wanting to make it special.”

Reese sat up, bringing me with him. “You’re special, Dez.” He smiled, his face brightening. “Are you hungry?”

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nbsp; I laughed at his sudden change of topic. “If it’s not sex with you guys…it’s food,” I joked.

He arched an eyebrow. “Have to have something to satisfy me after a match like that.” He winked. “Come on. I know a place.”

Reese hovered up to the front of the Steam Pipe, an eat-in diner not far from Cogs. After parking his levibike on the bike ramp across from the autowalk, he lowered the kickstand and shut off the engine.

I slid off the back of his bike and looked around then down the roadway. Something seemed off. Sundays were normally slow in Haven with the usual bustle of the town halted for a day of rest, but today was unusually quiet.

We hopped across the autowalk and headed into the diner. I’d been inside the Steam Pipe a few times. The walls were lined with copper, as if you were inside an actual steam pipe. The tables were, in fact, giant gears made of brass and iron with deep cogs. It was cliché, but the food was great, and I liked the atmosphere.

Reese and I sat down at a table near the back, and I glanced around. “It’s really slow today.” Two other couples and a group of three Narcos were scattered throughout the mostly empty diner.

“Yeah it is.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Even for a Sunday.”

“I was just thinking that.”

I opened my menu as the waitress approached our table. She held a small tablet. “What are we having today?”

I quickly scanned the menu. “I’ll take a burger and shake.”

Reese ordered the same, and she punched our order into her tablet. She turned to go, but I called out, “Um, wait.” She sidled back up to our table. “Are you the only one working the floor today? Normally there’re a few girls…” My face flamed as I trailed off. I wasn’t trying to embarrass her. I was only curious.

“Yeah, I am.” She rolled her eyes. “No one else showed up for work today except a few of the kitchen staff.” She blew her blond bangs off her forehead. “Not happy about that, but it’s dead anyway.” She shrugged and bounced off.

“Weird,” I muttered. I checked out Reese’s reaction, and I knew he felt the strangeness, too. There was something not right. I didn’t know how I knew, but I could sense it.

He looked around the Steam Pipe. “Something’s going on.”

I nodded. “Think it’s an epidemic? Like the flu or something?”

“I don’t know.” He scooped up our menus and placed them back in their copper holders. “But I think we should get our food to go.”

After packing up our lunch, Reese and I sped along Haven’s roadways, studying the empty storefronts and alleys. By the time we made it back to the Academy, I wasn’t hungry anymore. Reese tossed our food into a trashcan, and for the first time ever, we walked hand-in-hand—Shythe and Narco—into the Academy.

A group of Shythe halted mid-conversation as we passed them in the hallway. Reese squeezed my hand. We had discussed that revealing our relationship was the right thing to do, but I still felt sick to my stomach as I imagined Jace running into us. I didn’t know how I’d handle that scenario. I pushed the thought away. No matter what the Councils were up to, we still had to support their decision to end the prejudice against the races. And we also figured by publicly supporting the Councils’ decision, we could get closer to them—and the truth.

As we pushed through the doors to the courtyard, I noticed downcast faces everywhere. It wasn’t our display that was upsetting people, though we did get some angry looks. There was something else going on.

I pointed to a bench. Reese led us over, but before we got there, Lana sprinted up to me with fear deep in her blue eyes. “How come you didn’t answer my data message?” she asked, creasing her forehead.

I shook my head. “What message? I didn’t get any messages.” I took out my communicator and checked. I hadn’t received a message since Lana the day before.

“Crap,” Lana said under her breath. “That means the transmission has been shut down.” She ran her hand through her hair.

“What’s going on?” Reese asked.

Lana studied him a moment, her eyes tracing his face. Then she glanced between us. “You mean you don’t know?”

“No,” I snapped. “What is it? Is it Jace?” Panic flooded my body. I didn’t know if I could handle something happening to him or him doing something stupid at this point.

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s fine for the most part.” She averted her eyes from Reese. “Have you tried to leave Haven? Like, go beyond the border?”

“No, why would I?” I asked, my eyes squinted in confusion.