Imrian sample and ours, yeah, they’re pretty sure. I think they want to do more analyzing, and they’re not going public with this yet, but it kind of explains a lot, doesn’t it? Why we look like them.”
“But Akiya Deyir said they didn’t know why—”
“Obviously he was lying. And you know what? Lovick had to be lying too. CASS has had access to Imrian DNA for years. They have to know too.”
She wrapped her arms around her knees. She was cold. “So Charles Lovick and Akiya Deyir were both lying.”
“But Dr. Brand wanted us to know. Why else would she have given that sample to my dad?”
Reese’s mind raced. “Do you think there’s some kind of disagreement among the Imria? I mean, if Dr. Brand wanted us to know but Akiya Deyir didn’t…”
“Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on with them. If you’re on the ship now, you need to find out. Talk to Dr. Brand.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Her shoulders were stiff with tension. “But what are we going to do about Mr. Hernandez? I know the Imria haven’t exactly been telling us the whole truth, but I don’t trust CASS at all. You can’t go to that meeting with Mr. Hernandez tomorrow night.”
“If I don’t go—you saw the photos he had. And what about you? Have you decided not to go?”
“My mom won’t let me leave this place until after she thinks our house is secure. I can’t go even if I wanted to, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to help CASS do whatever shady thing they’re planning.”
David’s voice dropped. “My family, Reese. I can’t leave them.”
“Then bring them here,” she said impulsively. “Just bring them all.”
“To the ship?”
“Yes. Bring your parents and your sister. CASS can’t get to them here.”
“I’ll have to tell them why.”
“So tell them.” She was tired of lying; the idea of simply telling the truth was a seductive novelty.
He was silent for a moment. “So you want to just throw in with the Imria. We rely on them for everything.”
“No. We rely on each other. You’re supposed to be here tomorrow for another lesson with Eres anyway, and the UN thing is on Monday. You should stay here tomorrow night, because if you go back, you’ll have to go to the meeting with Hernandez, or else CASS will move in. At least if you stay here, we’ll be able to talk to Dr. Brand together. We’ll get them to tell us everything. We’ll figure it out together.”
She realized this was the first time she had talked to David since he broke up with her in the school hallway on Monday. She had avoided him all week, not even returning his texts after he heard about the attack on her house, because she had been so embarrassed by the breakup. Now that seemed like a million years ago. She was glad David had called this morning while she was asleep, because that was probably the only reason she had answered the phone—she hadn’t been awake enough to be self-conscious. She slid to the edge of the bed and threw off the blanket, swinging her legs off the bunk. The matte black floor warmed beneath the soles of her feet, as if the material was made to sense her presence. David still hadn’t answered, and the silence on the other end of the phone worried her.
“Please,” she said. She didn’t care anymore if she sounded like a dork. The only thing that mattered was keeping him safe. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. Just come here.” Her heartbeat thudded in her ears as she waited for him to respond.
Finally he said, “All right.”
“Thank you,” she said, relieved.
After they hung up, she held the phone in the palm of her hand for a long moment. She took a deep breath before calling her home number. “Hi, Dad,” she said when he answered. “Look, you need to pack a suitcase.”
It was past ten o’clock by the time Reese made it down to the dining hall for breakfast. She didn’t expect to find anyone there, but the room wasn’t empty. Amber was seated at the curved table closest to the plant-filled cylinder, a laptop open in front of her. She didn’t look up when the doors slid open; she was too absorbed in whatever she was reading on the computer.
Reese knew she should say something, but it was the first time she had seen Amber since the disastrous afternoon on the beach. She was wearing a faded green T-shirt, and her blond hair was messy, as if she had just woken up. Reese wanted to be angry at Amber for trying to kiss her last Saturday, but it was hard to be mad at someone who had only done what she knew you wanted. Amber had made a mistake, but so had Reese. Did that make them even now? Reese wasn’t sure.
“Hi,” Reese said out loud.
Amber glanced up and looked rattled to see her. “Hi.” She gestured at the buffet area. “There’s breakfast over there.”
Reese walked over to the buffet. She heard Amber slide something across the table—a bowl or a cup—and the clink of a spoon against ceramic. As Reese assessed the remaining breakfast options, she felt Amber’s gaze on her back like the brush of feathers against her skin, even though she had no idea whether Amber was actually looking. On the buffet table was yogurt, fruit, and granola; bread and various spreads in small jars; a coffee urn; and dishes and utensils. At the end of the table, almost like an afterthought, was a box of Cheerios. Reese spooned strawberries and yogurt into a bowl and made herself a cup of coffee. She added milk and stirred it slowly, wondering whether the Imria always ate ordinary American food, and then she realized she was delaying the inevitable. She picked up her bowl and went to sit across from Amber.
“There’s usually more food, but it’s getting late,” Amber said.
“It’s fine,” Reese said, taking a sip of the coffee. It wasn’t bad.
“Where’s your mom? I thought she was with you.”
“She went for a hike. She left me a note.” The floor-to-ceiling screens on the wall showed the view outside: the grassy field and the hill of eucalyptus trees, a hazy sky above. Reese wondered where her mom had gone. When she returned, Reese would have to tell her that she had persuaded her dad to come to the ship on Saturday, and she would have to tell her why. She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation in which she confessed that she had been deceiving a secret organization that had been surveilling her and her parents for weeks.
Amber closed the lid of the laptop and folded her arms on the table, pushing her own bowl out of the way. Reese saw a few Cheerios floating in the milk at the bottom. “I saw the photos,” Amber said in a soft voice. There was a vertical line in the middle of her forehead, a groove of worry in her skin. “I didn’t know there would be photographers out there. If I had, I wouldn’t have suggested we go to the beach. I’m sure you didn’t want to be outed that way.”
Reese was midway through a bite of yogurt and strawberries, and the yogurt suddenly tasted sour. She swallowed it with some difficulty and reached for her coffee.
“Are you okay? I read about what happened at your house. It sounded… awful.”
“I’m fine,” Reese said, though her stomach had clenched when Amber said the word
Amber’s expression, which had been grave, became apologetic. “I know it doesn’t help that I’m not human. I’m sorry to put you through that.”
Reese’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You didn’t. It’s not your fault the world is full of assholes.”
Amber almost smiled. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“I am. Thanks.” Reese nudged the strawberries in her bowl with her spoon. “And you shouldn’t read that stuff. They don’t know you. They’re just being jerks.”
Amber’s eyes lit up, and now she did smile. “Oh, I know they don’t know me. The stuff they write about me is hilarious. The speculation alone! Do you know how much money I could make if I would just pose for
Reese nearly choked on her spoonful of yogurt.
Amber leaned forward, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “That’s all they want—to know exactly how alien I am. Maybe I should do it and get some tentacle prosthetics or something.”
“You don’t find this insulting?” Reese said, amazed.
Amber shrugged, lifting one shoulder fluidly. “Not really. It’s just ignorance. I am insulted by the fact that the
