Sothat’swhat she’s afraid of. Disclosure to the Authority. AndFisher has a bloodmark. This isn’t a simple case of reporting,Hey, my kid has telepathy. Jot it down in his file.
This is,Hey, my kid might be dangerous.
“They’ll start training him immediately, and if he does have a manipulation ability or healing powers, they’ll want to use him.” She angrily shakes her head. “They’re not using him, Darlington. I’ve spent the past six years doing everything I can to give him a normal life. Kallister and Adrienne wanted us to live on the base because I’m a pilot and I should be more available, but there was no way I’d allow my child to live in this fortress. He needs to be around other kids his own age. I fought for our cottage in the valley. I don’t care that I have to fly up here at the crack of dawn every morning. I don’t fucking care as long as he’s safe and happy.”
“What if you didn’t disclose?”
She falters for a second, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me that didn’t occur to you. You don’thaveto say anything if you don’t want to.”
I don’t mention my own omission, how I still haven’t told anyone that I’m able to hear Cross talking to other people. Granted, it hasn’t happened in a while, but it’s certainly something the Authority would want to know about.
“It’ll be hard to hide,” she says slowly. “Beatriz or Jenni help him get ready for bed some nights, if I’m running an op. And what if he swims in the creek with the other children? He can’t wear socks and shoes every second for the rest of his life. Someone will see the bloodmark eventually. You can’t hide it forever.”
“I was able to hide mine. Until last year, anyway. My bloodmark appeared when I was seven. Jim—Julian Ash—burned it off me.”
She frowns. “Burned it how?”
“He poured a pot of boiling water over it. Sometimes I still smell the burning flesh. Like a phantom scent.”
Evlynne grimaces. “Wow. That’s brutal.”
“It was worth it to him to keep me safe.”
That gets me a dry laugh. “Are you suggesting I burn my son’s foot?”
“No, I think the location of his bloodmark will make it difficult tohide. I’m just saying, I know the lengths a parent might go to in order to protect their kid, especially a kid with a bloodmark.”
Though I don’t know if that applies to my actual parent. I’m still choosing to believe my mother was protecting me by giving me to Jim, but after reading almost her entire file, I’m not any closer to knowing who Marina Serrano really was.
“What are you going to do?” I ask Evlynne. “If you can’t hide the mark, can you…” I think it over. “Can you hidehim?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not trying to pry, but…is there another parent in the equation? Can you send him to live with his father?”
“His father doesn’t even know he exists. I never told him I was pregnant.”
“Why not?”
Her tone grows bitter. “Because he was a Prime, and he had no idea I was a Mod. It’s already bad enough I slept with one of those piss-veins—I wasn’t about to raise a child with one.Ifhe even would’ve wanted that, andifthe Company would’ve let me keep the baby, and that’s a big fucking if.”
“How did you get pregnant? What about the shots?” All female citizens on the Continent receive yearly injections. Nobody is allowed to start a family unless the Company approves the application.
She laughs harshly. “Those shots are ninety-nine point nine nine percent effective andI’mthe one who beats the odds thanks to one night of drunken sex. Fucking unreal.”
Sympathy clenches my chest. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to contact the father? Tell him he has a son? Sometimes people’s perspective changes when they see their child, right? Or at least I would hope so.”
It’s a weak pitch, but short of encouraging her to burn Fisher’s mark off, I don’t know how else she can hide this from the Authority.
“I don’t know…Luckily, he’s not manifesting anything dangerous right now.” She hesitates, seeking out my gaze. “Look, Darlington, I know we’re not friends, but if I could ask you to keep this to yourself—”
“Of course,” I say immediately. “I won’t say anything.”
“Not even to Gray. I know you’re screwing him.”
“That doesn’t mean I tell him everything.” I keep my tone light but my gaze firm. “I won’t say a word. I recognize that this isn’t about putting myself in danger. If I said something, I might be putting a child in danger, and I’d never do that to you and Fisher. I promise.”
