Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,224

hallway at the girl who had just appeared through the door with a wide grin on her face. And suddenly Alouette understood. This man in the tuxedo who was glaring at Cerise with a deep scowl cut into his face—this was the infamous Directeur Chevalier.

“I’ve missed you so, so much, Papa!” Cerise said, leaning in to pull the directeur into an embrace.

He grabbed her by the arms and brusquely pushed her back before snapping his fingers at the cyborg and pointing toward the server room. “Rolland, find out what she’s been up to in there.”

Alouette felt her legs go wobbly as she watched the woman in the lab coat stride into the room. But Cerise didn’t look concerned. She gave a playful little snort. “Up to? Papa I wasn’t up to anything. I got lost looking for you. I thought you might be in this—” she glanced back into the server room and crumpled her forehead in confusion—“room with all the flashy lights.”

“Save it, Cerise,” the directeur snapped. “I’m not falling for it. Not this time. You’ve been gone over a week. Vanished without a trace. Your maman has been out of her mind with worry on Samsara. I had people searching all over Ledôme for you. Fortunately, a neighbor saw you coming home earlier today with some friends and AirLinked me to let me know. Where have you been?”

For just a split second, Cerise seemed to falter, as though she wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But when she spoke again, her voice was as breezy as ever. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it, Papa. I was kidnapped by this violent rebel group and then I got caught up in this wild space adventure where Albion warships were chasing us and the aerodrones were firing at us. Oh, and then we crash-landed in the Terrain Perdu and I thought we were going to die.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “It was exhausting. I would have AirLinked, but I’m pretty sure we were being tracked by the Mad Queen so—”

“Stop.” Directeur Chevalier pressed his fingertips into his temples. “Just stop. No more lies, Cerise. No more stories. You are not getting out of this. I know the games you’ve been trying to play with me. And they won’t work.”

“But Papa, I swear I’m not—”

“No,” the directeur interrupted again. “You can’t keep running away from your future, Cerise. I’ve rescheduled your operation for tomorrow morning. And until then, you’ll be under constant surveillance. It’s done.”

Operation.

Alouette’s heart clutched in her chest. Her throat burned. She could not let this happen to Cerise. She could not let them take her and turn her into a cyborg. She readied herself to burst down this hallway. To fight. To cry. To scream. Until she remembered her promise to Cerise only moments ago.

“Get out of the Ministère. Now. And whatever you do, don’t try to rescue me.”

Cerise must have seen her father coming on the security feeds. She knew what was about to happen. She knew she was about to get caught. Why hadn’t she run? Why hadn’t she saved herself?

The cyborg reappeared through the doorway of the server room with Cerise’s network bridge in her hand. “I located this. Without further analysis, I can’t be precisely sure what she was using it for. She covered her tracks pretty well. Any traces of network tampering seem to have been erased.”

Then, like a series of stars colliding into one another, it all became suddenly clear to Alouette.

Cerise hadn’t saved herself because she’d chosen to save them. Instead of running, she’d tried to erase the evidence. Even though she knew that if she got caught, it would end like this. Her brain would be cut open. Cybernetics would be implanted behind her skull. Fiberoptics would be laced through her neurons. A web of flashing circuitry would be artfully embedded into her skin. And one of her twinkling dark eyes would glow an eerie, probing orange.

And still, she chose to save them.

“Take her to the surgical ward and lock her in a room.” Directeur Chevalier motioned toward the two guards, who grabbed Cerise by either arm and began to lead her down the hallway. Cerise struggled in their clutches, bucking and twisting, but they were too strong.

“Papa!” she shouted down the hallway. “Please, just listen to me! I swear I can explain everything!”

Alouette kneaded her hands together in quiet desperation. Could she really just stand there and let them take her? Could she really keep her promise to