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By the time she’d made it back home, however, she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be meeting the others at Sage’s home in Skulssted, not in the Center. She swam there quickly, glad to find them all already there. She was too on edge for waiting around.
“There you are, Merletta,” Andre said brightly. “We’ve all been dying of curiosity since Sage summoned us here. It was cruel of you to keep us waiting.”
“Sorry,” Merletta said. “I’ve been…” Her thoughts flew once again to Heath’s arm around her. “Distracted.” She shook her head to clear it. “Thanks for coming.”
“It was a little awkward for Andre to extricate himself,” Sage commented, casting him a concerned look. “Will Indigo be angry with you, do you think?”
“If she is, that’s her problem,” said Andre firmly. “Just because she’s my cousin doesn’t mean she should expect to be able to follow me everywhere.”
“She seemed to feel differently,” Sage pointed out.
Andre just shrugged, his eyes fixed expectantly on Merletta.
“I’m glad you didn’t bring her,” Merletta said frankly. “The plain truth is that I don’t know her well enough to trust her, and I doubt she’d want to be part of this conversation anyway.”
“Has something happened?” Emil’s question—calm as it was—showed that he, too, was battling curiosity.
“What’s happened is that I’ve realized I haven’t been fair to you,” Merletta said. “I’ve allowed myself to become too cautious.”
Emil raised an eyebrow, and she couldn’t help grinning.
“Cautious is a relative term, of course,” she amended. She drew in a pull of water, her expression becoming serious again. “I’ve gotten so focused on surviving and progressing in the program, that I’ve lost sight of the real benefit of being in the Center.”
“Which is?” Andre pressed.
“Which is using that position to benefit everyone outside, particularly those who are suffering most for the Center’s lies.”
“But,” Emil chimed in predictably, “if you pass the program and become a record holder, you’ll have greater influence to use on others’ behalf.”
“But I’m not going to pass, am I?” Merletta countered bluntly. “Ibsen won’t teach me anything, and now I can’t even access the records.” She sent Sage a questioning look. “I assume you told them about what happened?”
Sage nodded, and Merletta turned back to the group at large.
“We’ve all heard about what’s happening in Tilssted, with more and more residents trying to explore the idea of settling outside the barrier now that their homes and businesses are being overrun by the other cities. Well, I started that. Not on purpose, exactly. But when I was with Tish in Tilssted, someone asked me about whether I would be willing to live outside the barrier.”
Emil groaned softly. “And of course you put your fins in it.”
“No,” Merletta contradicted, frowning at him. “What I did was answered without lying. That’s all. I wasn’t inflammatory, and I didn’t volunteer information they didn’t ask for. I just told the simple truth. And this is the result.”
Three serious faces looked back at her.
“Don’t you see?” she insisted. “That’s how little it took! Which means that’s how tightly the Center has been holding control over information! A few honest comments on a taboo topic, coming from someone with the loosest definition of the Center’s credibility, and half the city of Tilssted is ready to take the chance and try something the Center’s been telling them for generations is too dangerous! The triple kingdoms are ready for change. They’re ready to be free of the Center’s rigid control. And if my position as a Center trainee is enough to actually help shine some light on the truth, then I need to use it while I still have it.”
“But, Merletta.” Sage swallowed nervously. “There will be no going back from this.”
“She’s right,” Emil agreed. “What you’re describing is exactly what they’ve been afraid of since the moment you made it into the program. I think they’re more afraid of you than you realize. From what I’ve observed, they were fearful of you too early to be logical. Even before you had the chance to show a hint of defiance.”
“That’s the depth of their prejudice against Tilssted,” shrugged Merletta.
Emil didn’t look entirely convinced. “Maybe. But if you go out there and tell people the Center is lying to them, they’re going to hit back at you. And hard.”
“I’m ready,” said Merletta. “I’m not afraid of what they’ll do to me.”
Emil met her look gravely. “But you don’t know what they’ll do to you.”
Merletta frowned. “I’ve faced death before, Emil.”
He shook his head. “I know someone has tried to kill you before, but you must see we’ve moved past that kind of blatant attack. The way the Center works…” He trailed off, shaking his head slightly. “The more I see, the more I realize how ruthless the system can be. But there isn’t as much brute force involved as you might think. Whatever they do, it will be clever, and it will take you by surprise.”
