The plan sounded reasonable. Achievable, even.
The light in Cass’s room went out.
Riot stood at the window, watching that dark square of glass, and tried not to think about what Cass looked like when he slept.
He failed that too.
Chapter five
Hostile Acquisition Attempt
Cass
Casswoketothesound of someone retching in the room next door.
The walls in the hotel were thin enough that he could track the poor person’s entire morning routine: the stumbling rush to the bathroom, the violent heaving, the pitiful whimpers between bouts. He winced in sympathy and sent a quick prayer to the universal harmony for their recovery.
At least I’m not throwing up.
His own body still felt wrong, though.
Another wave of retching drifted through the wall. Cass swung his legs over the side of the bed and immediately noticed the muscle aches—a dull soreness in his thighs and lower back, like he’d spent yesterday running instead of walking through the marketplace. The fever-warmth he’d noticed yesterday hadn’t faded. If anything, it had settled deeper.
His wellness supplements sat on the nightstand next to his meditation beads. Cass reached for the small bottle, the familiar weight of it comforting in his palm. Brother Matthias said they supported spiritual alignment and physical harmony and helped maintain the balanced state necessary for transcendence work. Right now, Cass just hoped they’d help fight off whatever illness was brewing in his system.
He swallowed two tablets dry, grimacing at the chalky taste, and let his fingers begin fixing his braids. He was supposed to use them to tie his hair back, but he liked letting them hang loose, even if it meant having to redo them every few days. He liked the repetition of braids. Sometimes his mind raced with questions, and being able to do something tangible with his hands always made him feel better.
Eleven days left.
Eleven days to prove he wasn’t spiritually deficient. Eleven days to find someone—anyone—willing to return with him to Springfield Gardens and enter the Harmony Program.
Eleven days before Honey might have to pay for his mistakes.
The thought made something twist in his stomach that had nothing to do with the maybe-flu. He could picture her so clearly, her sharp dark eyes, the way she’d furrow her brow when she was working through a problem, the soft smile she reserved just for him. They’d been inseparable since childhood, two puzzle pieces that fit together despite being completely different shapes. He missed her.
My fault, Cass thought, as he did every morning.If I could just feel the right things, think the right way—
If he could have completed the Chrysalis program like he was supposed to, they’d have done their Sacred Bonding Ceremony by now. Instead, he was in the Neutral Zone doing his mission years later than his peers, the only failure of a program he couldn’t remember, and apparently now riddled with some terrible flu that might kill him before he ever got to go back home.
The Elders had explained it with such patience. Such disappointment.Your resistance proves how deep the earthly confusion runs, BrotherCassiopeia. Completing your mission and seeing the lost will help make the lessons more concrete.
It hadn’t. They were about as clear as concrete.
The bathroom mirror was cracked in one corner, splitting his reflection into two misaligned versions of himself. He looked... rough. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, and his cheekbones stood out more sharply than usual, fever making his cheeks and nose bright red. His hair was tangled despite the braids, and the clay beads looked dull in the harsh fluorescent light.
Not pure enough for Elysian. Too Elysian for everyone else.
“Today will be different,” he told both versions of his reflection, making his voice firm. Confident. Like Brother Matthias had taught him. “Today someone will listen.”
Neither reflection looked convinced.
Cass actually staggered in the hallway, one hand flying up to press against his temple as his brain struggled to process the onslaught of the day’s scents. He pressed his sleeve against hisnose and hurried toward the stairs, trying not to breathe too deeply.
The marketplace was only a few blocks from the hotel, but the walk felt longer today. The sun was too bright again, the autumn air simultaneously too warm against his flushed skin and too cool when the breeze touched the sweat at his temples. At least the outdoor air was easier to handle than the hallway. Wind dispersed the worst of the scent-noise, carrying it away before it could overwhelm him. Cass took a deep breath and tried to center himself.I am a vessel of harmony. I carry light to those who dwell in shadow.
The words felt hollow, even in his head.
He was halfway down his usual route when he realized something was different.
