They are here to bury me. They aren’t open to listening, to figuring out the problem and solving it. I just hope Allele has enough time to figure out what’s happened and find my mate before someone else does.
I’m so sorry, Jovie.
I’m not breaking out of prison. No one ever has. This is my end.
“You are a mutinous prince who will fade from memories,” Elder Rowalt remarks. “And your treason must be dealt with appropriately.”
“I had no intention of fracturing Amphir. My Storm has consumed me. I can’t always control it,” I admit. “Do what you must. I swore my life to Amphir when I joined the Rogues. I will die for the Amphir I believe in. You cannot imprison my heart any longer.”
“You think your desires are more important than the needs of the people,” my father remarks. “You bring so much shame to my name.”
To his name. Never mind that it’s also mine.
“You set that in motion,” Elder Iphata clarifies from where he stands beside the king ofLuridia. “He is like this because of you. So your price is his sacrifice.”
My father turns away from us and marches out of the room. “Do what you must to restore balance. I cannot stand to look at him any longer.”
The floor sinks lower until I am falling below the court and leaving light behind. I am laid back by the pins and take my last look up at my fading freedom. The ceiling seals far above me.
Tanks with other Amphirans line the racks around me as I lower deeper into the belly of Ermaea. They are all in a permanent state of icy sleep like wilted flowers, some brighter than others, some close to their ends.
I never approved of this place. Few Amphirans are ever so maniacal that they deserve to be here. And soon, I will be with them.
The cables will feed me, keep me alive while my nodes degrade in the stardust, and my remaining charge is taken for ships. And then I will meet Viestria and my ancestors in the mountain peaks above the storm clouds.
Royals try to tell us that we needErmaea, but we don’t. Allele doesn’t need the power of others. She has her own systems and has—hadme. I was her backup power cell. And I didn’t have to die to be one. We were symbiotic when we needed to be.
I have ruined the kings’ plans and their perfectly organized worlds. I have shattered the faith of those not like them. But I can’t say I’m upset about it. I just hope someone will remember me and continue to fight for freedom.
The platform lowers me into a glass chamber where my body floats between the two sealing electromagnetic ends. The air gushes with iridescent blue smoke and is so cold I can see my breath. A conveyor system picks me up and circles me through the facility to my final resting place, where I’m clamped in.
An attendant walks over with her tablet, looks up, sees me, and gapes. The glass muffles her voice. “Prince Aurelius? I— I didn’t know it was you. They said it was a mutineer.”
She frantically scans the controls. “I can’t stop it now. It has to complete the process before I can reverse it, or you’ll be torn apart.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. On her tablet, I see the ABR race playing live. The female toys nervously with her necklace. The pendant is a symbol I haven’t seen in years. “Is that the mark of Viestria?”
She clutches it and hides it in her shirt. “It is forbidden.”
“I know.” I brace myself on the glass, hoping she’ll listen. “I found her, my mate. My Storm— It wanted a human. I don’t know why. I don’t understand why the kings hate me for it. But I changed. My Storm is Ascendant now.”
She walks up and rests a hand on the glass opposite mine. “Your courage has changed everything, sir. I will do what I can to get you out.”
Someone shouts from across the room. The female jolts, scrambles to grab her things, and runs around my chamber. “I’msorry, sir. I’ll come back when I can. But we’re being hunted by the Royals.”
“Who?”
“Everyone with any hint of a tie to Genesis.” She waves a hand, drawing a circle of green light that fades as she flees.
Ihavestarted a revolution.
And I must pay the price.
25: Jovie
I hold my breath as Allele portals us to Mars. One minute, we’re outside Earth. The next, I’m staring out the windows at a dusty red sphere in the sky. Allele cloaks. Green light turns my view of the planet a shade of brown.
Blaize, Fieri, Jorusk, and RAM-11—back in dog form—group up in the armory, donning space suits and weapons harnesses with warp-blast canisters and pulse rifles. I watch from my seat as Blaize helps Jorusk put on a wristband and describes how to use the shield.
