Inheritance

as she exited the room.

“I will see you both next week,” said Eres. “And, Reese, think about what I told you.”

* * *

Eres knows about Mr. Hernandez, Reese thought to David as they drove back to the ferry.

Is that what Eres was talking to you about? David asked. They were sitting in the backseat of the SUV while Reese’s mom made small talk with Nura Halba in the front.

Yes. Eres also knows that we have different abilities, but I don’t think she knows exactly what they are.

Eres said our lessons are confidential. Do you think she’ll tell the other Imria?

She said she wouldn’t.

The SUV turned down the road that circled the harbor, and Reese’s mom twisted in her seat to look at them. “David, your parents know you’re going to the Arenses’ with us, right?”

“Yeah. They’ll pick me up from there later.”

Reese and David were getting together with Julian under the pretense of working on a physics lab, but they were actually planning to record interviews for Bin 42. Reese had told David about Julian’s secret investigations earlier in the week. She had thought up a whole speech to persuade David to do the interview, but he had agreed almost immediately.

“More insurance,” he said to her after school on Wednesday. “Now that we have to deal with Hernandez, we need as much of that as we can get.”

As the SUV pulled up to the closed information booth beside the dock, David thought to Reese: If Eres keeps our secret, that will be one reason to trust the Imria.

Reese opened the door. Well, it will be one reason to trust Eres. She still wasn’t ready to trust the rest of them.

CHAPTER 22

When they arrived at Julian’s house, he had tacked a black cloth over the closet doors in his bedroom to create a backdrop, and he had set up a camera on a tripod. He angled several lamps straight at the backdrop and motioned for David and Reese to sit down on two crates he had arranged in front of the camera. “I’ll shoot you from the waist up,” Julian said. “It’s not fancy, but it’ll work fine. I’ll be behind the camera but I have a bunch of questions to ask. My voice will be edited out of the final interview, so I need you to answer the questions by restating them, if you know what I mean? Like a reality TV–style confessional.”

His questions were thorough, drawing out every last detail of their experiences beginning with the June Disaster and ending with their lessons on Angel Island. It wasn’t until Reese and David began to explain the purpose of susum’urda, though, that she realized how little Julian—and other humans— knew about it.

“Susum’urda isn’t about reading others’ thoughts,” she said. “It’s not about getting people to reveal their secrets against their will. It’s about connection.”

“What does it feel like?” Julian asked.

“It’s… hard to explain,” Reese said, and glanced at David.

“We’re not that good at it yet,” David said. “We’ve really only done it with our teacher. With Eres, it’s like seeing someone’s interior identity. Who they actually are, beyond what they look like on the surface. It’s incredible, and incredibly scary at the same time.”

“Why is it scary?” Julian asked.

“Because—” David hesitated, his gaze going beyond the camera to the UFO photos on Julian’s walls. Julian waited, and when David looked back at the camera, he was focused. “It’s scary because it opens you up to someone else too. It makes you vulnerable. In order to have that connection with someone else, you have to be willing to show them who you really are.”

“What about you, Reese?” Julian prompted.

She looked at the camera self-consciously. “For me, it’s mostly just scary.”

“Why?” David asked softly.

She looked at him. His dark eyes reflected the lights that Julian had pointed at them. Reese said awkwardly, “I’m just… I’m not the best when it comes to feelings and stuff.” Her emotions seemed to rear up inside her, both affirming her statement and rejecting it, and her face heated up with everything she had left unsaid. She turned to Julian, who was standing behind the camera watching her. “Do we have to put this in the interview?” she asked.

“No, it’s okay,” Julian said.

“Thanks,” Reese said, relieved. “Could we maybe take a break?”

Julian glanced at his watch. “Sure. My parents are going to make us come down for dinner soon anyway.”

“Great.” Reese got up. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She fled Julian’s bedroom and crossed the landing to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. There was a window in the wall that overlooked the backyard, and the sash was pushed up to let in the warm evening air. She could hear the sound of her mom’s voice floating up from below, and Celeste’s answering laugh. Her mom was staying for dinner, and her dad was going to show up soon too. One big happy family, she thought dourly.

She used the toilet even though she didn’t need to and flushed, then turned on the taps to wash her hands. Her face was grim-looking in the mirror, as if she had gotten bad news and hadn’t shaken it off yet. She tried to smooth out the frown that was dragging down the corners of her mouth, but her eyes still looked agitated. She felt like an idiot. David could speak so directly and honestly about susum’urda. He could tell the world what had happened to the two of them and make everyone believe. In comparison, she probably came off as a dork. An emotionally stunted, freaked out dork with secrets.

There was a knock on the door. “Reese?” It was David.

“Just a minute,” she called. She dried off her hands and took a shallow breath before opening the door.

He looked concerned. “Can I come in for a sec?”

She hadn’t expected that, but she let him in. “What’s up?”

He entered the room and pushed the door shut. He had a strange expression on his face—like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to word it.

“What is it?” She began to imagine all sorts of horrible possibilities. He probably thought she was ruining the interview. Or maybe he was going to—she couldn’t think about it. Nervous sweat broke out on her skin.

He seemed to make up his mind. “You sure that’s all it is? That you’re not good with feelings and stuff?”

Her cheeks turned pink.

“I mean—” He waved his hands as if he were trying to gather up all his thoughts into a coherent sentence. “What happened with Eres today, and then what you said to Julian… I feel like something’s wrong.” His face reddened. “Is something wrong?”

She backed away, crossing her arms. Were they having a talk? The kind where people said, “Can we talk about something?” but actually meant “This isn’t working out”? She scrambled for something to say to stave it off. “I was a little overwhelmed at our lesson today, that’s all. You said it yourself—it’s scary.”

He nodded, but doubt was still written clearly on his face.

Her stomach sank. “Really. There’s nothing wrong.” She felt like a liar. She was a liar. She held her breath, as if that would prevent him from knowing.

His hands had been stuffed into his pockets as if to avoid touching her, but now he lifted a hand to her arms, pulling one of her hands free. She stiffened. “Do you not want me to touch you?” he asked, his face darkening.

She forced herself to let him hold her hand, but her anxiety shivered between them like a steel sheet in a