The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,38

smaller populace, but it wasn’t like the same mentality couldn’t be applied to larger communities.

And then it hit me. If Zone 3 was able to survive, become a place where those left behind could thrive among those who needed sanctuary, then what about the other zones? There were three other cities that had been walled off and left to decay: Alexandria, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Luc hadn’t exactly said they were empty. He’d just said that people were left behind.

“What about the other zones?” I asked. “Are they like this?”

Zoe watched the wind rolling through the canopies. “In some shape or fashion, yes. All but Alexandria. It’s too close to the capital.”

“What about the people in there? Were there still people left behind when they built the walls around Alexandria?”

Zoe started walking again. “We don’t know. It’s been too much of a risk to get close. The bridge into Arlington has always been blocked, as are all the other roads that feed into Alexandria.”

Pressing my lips together, I trailed alongside Zoe. It was hard to think of the people who could’ve been trapped. Four years without aid? Zone 1 had to be truly dead by now.

The invading Luxen weren’t responsible for that. It was we who’d dropped the EMP bombs, and it was our government that walled up those cities, knowing there were people either too sick or too poor to leave. It was our government that told extended family members that their loved ones had died in the war when they could’ve still been alive in those cities, waiting for help that was never going to arrive.

The number of people who had to be involved to hide what was done was astronomical, and I couldn’t understand how any of them slept at night.

As we neared the stalls, it became apparent who was approved to enter. Most of those moving about were elderly, their backs hunched and their speckled fingers with swollen knuckles clutching shopping carts used more for support than for goods. There were younger people, a few I spotted in wheelchairs or those who had other mobility challenges, and others who were younger but were being aided by older people who I knew weren’t all human. The silvery-haired woman with eyes as glacial blue as Grayson’s was definitely Luxen. Her pale arm was curled around the shoulders of a young human man who held a straw basket full of leafy greens close to his chest as they stood in front of a table loaded with potatoes in wooden crates.

She appeared to be the first to become aware of us.

Glancing over her shoulder at Zoe and me, the smile on her lightly lined face faded. She quickly turned to answer whatever the young man said. Her smile returned as she ushered him farther into the market, to where several firepits cooked meat.

“Are we allowed to be here right now?” I asked.

Zoe’s grin was teasing. “Yeah, we are. Don’t worry.”

Not worrying was easier said than done, but I was caught up in the market and how all of this was possible. “You said ‘they’ make sure no one goes hungry. Who are they?”

“It’s a group of people, kind of like a city council, that’s made up of humans, Luxen, Origins, hybrids, and Arum.”

My gaze jerked to her. “How does that work out with Arum and Luxen here?”

The two alien species were natural-born enemies, having destroyed their own planets in a way. That was how they’d ended up here in the first place. Arums could feed on Luxen or any creature who had the Source in them, taking the power within them and then using it, which made them a totally different kind of dangerous.

“There aren’t a lot of Arum, but the Arum and Luxen know to behave. Obviously, no feeding on the Arum’s part and no bigotry on the Luxen side. Neither are tolerated.”

“And what happens if they don’t follow the rules?”

Zoe’s eyes narrowed. “As far as I know, there have only been a few instances where rules were broken. All of them have been resolved in one way or another.”

I studied her profile. “And what do you mean by ‘one way or another’?”

She didn’t respond as we walked along the outskirts of the crowded tables, not for several long moments. “The people here don’t want to leave, Evie. For many, their lives are better, but it’s too much of a risk to kick people out. Luckily, it’s never come to that. No serious rules have been broken, and there is