it all in. The comforting silence around me. The smell of wet dirt and greenery. If I weren’t a Nyte, I wonder whether I truly would’ve taken over Father’s company. The idea of being able to spend my life calmly tending to the growth of other things is a pleasant one.
If only things could stay just like this. Still. Peaceful.
Footsteps resound through one of the hallways behind me. I don’t bother moving, sensing on my internal grid that they belong to Lai and Al. The sound of their banter follows soon after.
“Like I said, there’s no way I’d lose in an all-out fight against Fiona.” Lai.
“Like I said, Seung’s strong—especially when she fights with her gift,” Al retorts. “I can’t count how many times she got me with that in our practice matches.”
“I never said she wasn’t strong. I just said I could take her.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“Ugh, she never spars with me anymore. She always says she has more important things to take care of than”—Lai’s voice shifts to a high-pitched, smug imitation of Seung’s—“entertaining a bored child. Can you believe that?”
“Actually, yes. I can.”
They enter the space and I stand to greet them. Lai brightens when she sees me, a fact that makes me immensely happy.
“Hey,” I say. “What are you two doing down here?”
“Looking for you,” Al says with a raised eyebrow. “What else?”
“Has something happened?”
“What, we can’t just want to talk?” Lai asks. However, even as she says it, her presence drips with guilt. The fact is, the three of us haven’t spoken together merely for fun in a long time. We’ve all been busy with our duties for the Order. Even meeting for meals is difficult.
We sit by the edge of the field. At first, we merely maintain a pleasant quiet. Lai’s gaze keeps drifting to the plants. Perhaps it’s only my imagination, but her eyes soften each time they return from the growing roots.
I’m surprised she has time to come and simply sit here like this. She’s been switched on for such an extended period of time, I thought she’d crash before she willingly took a break. She still looks fatigued, but at least she’s taking a moment to rest.
“How’s everything going?” I ask.
“Really well,” Lai says. “The Order’s counterstrikes have been successful, and thanks to Austin’s help with the military’s patrolling Watchers that caught the fights, videos of them have been spreading. Our scouts within the sector say almost everyone is talking about the Order these days, and we have more people trying to join us than ever. Of course, it means more work on our part to screen everyone. And the risk of spies trying to sneak in is higher than ever.”
“Oh yeah, Peter mentioned the same thing,” I say. “I’m going with him to screen some potential new recruits today.”
“Thanks for helping with that.”
“Of course.”
“The trainees are coming along, too,” Al says. She grins with a fierce pride of a different sort than I’m used to seeing her wear. “They’re going to be kicking ass and taking names in the next battle.”
“Let’s just hope that isn’t anytime soon,” Lai murmurs.
“Always the pessimist,” Al says with a roll of her eyes. “C’mon, the Order’s been doing great for months. Have a little more confidence in your friends.”
“It’s not a lack of confidence in everyone that’s making me worried.” Lai’s eyes find their way back to the field. “It’s the knowledge of how capable and strong Ellis is. She isn’t going to take all of this lying down. We had the element of surprise on our side in the beginning, but that’s gone now. It’s only a matter of time before she switches gears and comes at us seriously. Seriously enough to try and wipe us out.”
“There’s no use worrying about it until we either receive new information or something else happens,” I say. “We’ll pull through as best we can, just like always.”
“That’s right,” Al says. “With all of us together, we’re practically unstoppable.”
“Almost all together,” I say quietly. The image of Erik grinning and giving one of his flippant two-fingered salutes flashes in my mind. I wish he was here with us. I wish I knew how he was doing or that he would be safe. It feels like a year has passed since we all parted.
“The sooner we end this war, the sooner Erik can come back,” Lai says grimly. “And if his position over there becomes too risky, we’ll get him back.”
“He knows what he’s doing.” Al’s voice