Domination (A C.H.A.O.S. Novel) - By Jon Lewis Page 0,24

the girls’ dormitories.

“Yeah, I kind of figured.”

“All right, now it’s time for me to ask you a question.”

Colt knew he was in trouble from the way Stacy was smiling.

“Tell me about Lily,” she said.

“What about her?” Colt said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Do you miss her?”

He bit his lower lip and made a silent vow to get even with Danielle. What was he supposed to say? That he thought about Lily all the time, or that it didn’t matter because he was pretty sure she had moved on?

“You do, don’t you?” Stacy’s smile was gone.

“I don’t know,” Colt said. “I guess. But it’s not like she was my girlfriend or anything.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m serious,” Colt said, sounding angrier than he had intended. He lowered his voice and continued. “After my parents died, Lily was . . . I don’t know, I guess she was there for me. Her birth parents died when she was little, so she knew what I was going through. It’s kind of like you and Pierce, I guess.”

“It didn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.”

Colt frowned.

“Danielle showed me a picture.”

“She is pretty.” Colt shrugged, trying to keep his emotions in check. Talking about Lily made him miss her more than ever, and yet he liked spending time with Stacy. Then again, what did it matter, if the world was about to end?

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Stacy said as they approached the front porch.

“Yeah, well, I better get going,” Colt said. “Don’t want to get caught out after curfew.”

“Like it matters,” Stacy said. “What are they going to do, expel you? Everyone knows that you’re our only hope against the Thule. I’m pretty sure you could do whatever you want and they wouldn’t touch you.”

“I doubt it.”

Stacy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for walking me home,” she said.

She ran up the front steps and through the door, leaving Colt more confused about his feelings than ever. Lily seemed so far away, and Stacy was real. Then there was Miranda . . . not that he had feelings for her. Not really, anyway. Still, even if she only liked him because she thought he was going to be famous, it felt good.

“Colt!”

He turned around and saw Grey and Ethan running toward him.

“We’ve been looking all over for you,” Ethan said.

“Yeah, everywhere,” Grey added. “Have you heard?”

“Heard what?” Colt asked, more than a little annoyed. He wondered how long they had been watching him.

“The Black Sun Militia broke their treaty with Koenig’s Defense Corps, and there’s a rumor that the Vril will be next,” Ethan said. “You know what that means, right? They’re going to be so caught up fighting each other that they won’t be able to invade Earth.”

“We’ll see,” Colt said.

“Oh yeah,” Ethan said as he handed him a piece of paper. “I almost forgot. Have you seen these?”

Colt turned it over, and when he saw a Phantasmic . . . March to Victory poster he crumpled it up.

“What are you doing?” Grey said. “That thing is awesome.”

“Yeah, I was going to have you sign it so I could send it back home to my brother,” Ethan said.

Colt took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Maybe later, all right? I just need to clear my head.”

: :

CHAPTER 17 : :

Grey and Ethan were still asleep when Colt slipped out of bed the next morning. He hesitated a moment, looking at Oz’s empty bunk as he wondered if Danielle had been sneaking out at night to meet him. The thought of them dating, much less kissing, made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t that he was jealous. He just thought of Danielle as his kid sister, and he didn’t want anyone kissing her—and that included his best friend.

A flashing light caught his eye, and he walked over to his dresser to find that he had a message waiting for him on his tablet. It was an e-mail from Danielle, who wanted to meet him at his grandpa’s apartment after breakfast. Apparently she and Jonas had spent the entire night and into the morning poring over the data from the Tesla Society, and they’d had a breakthrough.

“I better not be late for my training scenario with Agent Rhane,” Colt grumbled under his breath. As much as he wanted to believe that the Black Sun Militia breaking their treaty would keep the Thule from invading, he still wanted to be ready.

Colt took a quick shower, changed into his uniform, and stopped by the commissary to grab a protein