“What?” I say. Trying to process this new information. Because how fucking stupid am I? Of course I have a twin. I knew this, right? It was part of that puzzle I was in the process of putting together, but didn’t quite make it.
We all have twins. Me, Serpint, Crux, Tray, Luck, Valor, and Draden. Because we are the ones with violet eyes. Our mothers were pure, silver, Cygnian princesses.
Veila brushes the cyborgs off, still trying to maintain control. “She’s given me lots of genetic stock to work with—” But she lapses into a fit of coughing and then stands up, staring down at her drink. “What did you do?”
I don’t even know what happens next. Several things at the same time. A bunch of cyborgs grab me by the arms and pull me away from the table, Veila collapses onto the floor in a heap, alarms start going off, and then, from the little vent where Flicka disappeared, she reappears and starts flying her little loop-de-loops across the room, little bursts of pink steam, or smoke, or whatever puffing out of her ass.
It’s a tiny amount. A teeny-tiny amount. Not more than one atomized drop every few seconds. But the cyborgs all start locking up. Like… in mid-movement. The ones holding me lose their grip as their fingers extend into rigidity. Those that are rushing around suddenly fall to the floor, their legs stiff and unable to bend.
I stumble backwards and trip over a borg body, then get back up and spin around, unable to believe what’s happening.
Flicka lands on my shoulder and starts buzzing wildly. I don’t understand a word she’s saying, but I don’t really need to. What we need to do next is pretty clear.
I grab several plasma rifles as I run across the room, throwing them over my shoulder and pointing the last one at the door just as it begins to open.
Then I start firing just as Flicka buzzes forward, puffing out pink smoke as she leads the way.
And even though I’m in full battle mode and my main focus is getting to Delphi and saving our asses, I can’t help but think about the girl who is my sister.
What have these monsters been doing to her all these years?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX – DELPHI
I feel a little bad for being mean to this boy.
But only a little.
I can’t have him in my life. I can’t. He needs to go. And yeah, that’s probably super selfish of me, but what the fuck? My body is mine. My heart is mine. And no one should be able to control those two things without my explicit permission.
Still—I glance over my shoulder and find him slumped against the wall looking down at the floor—it’s not his fault we’ve been manipulated this way.
I open my mouth to say something. Maybe even apologize and just tell him it’s OK. We’ll figure something out. But the moment I do the station alarms start blaring.
Loud alarms that come with flashing red lights.
“Something’s happening,” I say instead.
He says nothing.
“Come on, get up! Help me!”
He raises his chin and looks at me. “Help you do what? We’re locked in.”
“I don’t know! Just… something more than just sitting here waiting for other people to decide our fates!”
“Well, unless you can magically enter the security code in the electronic lock on the outside of that door, there’s not much to be done.”
And just as he finishes saying that, we hear beeping. Like someone is pushing the keypad on the lock.
“Get ready!” I hiss.
“For what?” he scoffs.
“To attack, you weak-minded coward. If you want to stay here and be breeding stock for psychopaths, be my guest. But I’m going out fighting like a badass!”
I back up against the wall next to the door and the moment it slides open I whirl around and jump on the bastard cyborg, wrap my legs around his middle and then scream, “You motherfuckers!” as I pound on his face with my fists.
Except… it’s not a cyborg. “Jimmy!” I yell, just as my fist finishes a punch to the eye.
He hugs me tight with one arm while the other one covers his rapidly swelling eye. “Remind me not to get on your bad side in the future.”
“Future?” I say. “If we don’t get off this station we’ll have no future!”
I’m still hugging him with my legs, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He hugs me back and inhales a deep, deep breath, then whispers, “I promise you, there will be a future.”
I pull back a little and look him in the eyes. “You still want me? Even though I’m not yours?”
He glances down at the boy and so do I. He’s still on the floor but he meets Jimmy’s gaze. Jimmy says, “She’s mine. You got that, kid? Mine.”
I sigh, then place both my hands on Jimmy’s cheeks and turn his head so he has to look at me. “You’re mine too. I don’t care what those genetic tests say. We get to choose who we love. Us. Not them.”