The Liberator

up from school when she promised she would? And I mistakenly believed her…again. I never stopped wanting them to pay attention, to notice me. And I hate myself for that. I hate it. I didn’t want to love them. I didn’t want to care what they thought.

But I did.

I believe they loved me. From a distance. When they had time. I try to tell myself that my dad cares now. He came to see me when I got cuffed as a liberator. And he left the ivory pendants for me and Charlie. That’s something, right?

Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. I guess in the end, I returned their affection accordingly. After all, I made my father a corpse and my mother a widow.

You’re welcome, Mom.

You’re welcome, Dad.

Do you see what a good son I am?

I throw my fist into the wall beside me. The pain feels good, reminds me that I have pain all over—in my muscles, my bones, my eyes. But still the memories sit on my shoulders. They press me down until I can hardly walk. Press, press, press.

But I suddenly realize something, and when I do, I stop cold.

The weight isn’t inside of me anymore.

31 You Speak of War

As I make my way back to my room, the pain becomes unbearable. Instead of focusing on it, I think about why Kraven took me outside. The answer comes easily: to show me how much I need my wings. And that staying here until I can summon them is worth the wait.

I take another step, and my ankle rolls. Another one, and my knee buckles.

I’m falling.

Hours later, my eyes flutter open. The Mute Chicks stand over me. Their hands knead my muscles, and their touch feels like a unicorn’s vagina. I groan deep in my throat, and one of the girls smiles. Her cheeks redden, and I know I’ve embarrassed her, but I don’t care as long as she keeps doing whatever she’s doing.

But they stop soon enough and move away, shuffling out the door like they’re eighty years old, even though one is probably in their late twenties and the other is younger than me.

I pull myself up in bed and realize the hurt is mostly gone. I have no idea how the Mute Chicks—who I’ll henceforth call the Quiet Ones, because it’s a cooler name and I’m thankful and all—did this to me. But it’s like I didn’t almost die this morning, more like I just got kicked in the face by a Clydesdale.

The Quiet Ones reappear through the doorway with Charlie between them. One of the girls strokes Charlie’s hair while the other wraps her arm around her shoulders. Charlie seems comforted by their presence, and I suddenly understand why some liberators would choose to be this for her versus becoming a protector.

When Charlie is safely deposited in a chair near my bed, the women leave. Then it’s just me and my girl.

“I can’t believe he did this to you.” Charlie’s eyes are swimming with tears, but her mouth is pressed together in a tight line. She looks like she’s ready to fight Kraven herself.

I realize she thinks every injury I have is from Kraven’s hand. I measure my words carefully. “I’m learning how to better protect you.”

Her entire body flinches. I said the wrong thing.

“I’m tired of people getting hurt because of me,” she says. I expect her to repeat some version of this until she feels her point is made. But instead, she smooths her hair back and takes my hand. “But I know it’s necessary. He needs me to be strong. This isn’t about me. It’s about mankind as a whole.” Her eyes close. “And that means I’m going to have to think about everyone versus individuals I love.”

Her eyes flash back open. “You may be hurt, Dante Walker. But I won’t have you treating me the way you did this morning. You don’t make decisions for me and Blue. And you don’t make decisions for yourself that affect us, either. Do you understand?”

I’m almost as wary of upsetting Charlie as I am of Kraven’s bottled-up rage. So I nod.

“Good.” She leans over and touches her mouth to mine. The ivory pendant dangles from her necklace and tickles my chest as her hands explore the length of muscles in my back. A shiver races across my skin. Her lips hover over my ear, and she murmurs, “Valery is waiting outside.”

My head falls back, and I sigh.

Charlie laughs and moves toward the door. “I’ll be back. Don’t go getting knocked around while I’m gone.” She glances at me from over her shoulder. “The Silent Sisters are awesome, huh? They were putting all kinds of crap on you.”

“I think you mean the Quiet Ones.”

“Silent Sisters,” she repeats with a grin.

That grin is so damn stunning.

As soon as Charlie steps outside, Valery bursts into the room all business and breasts.

“Nice cleavage,” I tell her. “Looks like you’re really trying to make things easier on Max.”

She ignores my comment and sits down. Her forehead is coated in a thin film of sweat, which I know can’t be right, because girls like Valery would rather cut off their right arm than be caught perspiring.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Valery says, her brow wrinkling. “What’s wrong? Kraven never should have taken you”—she glances at the doorway— “outside. You could have been killed.”

Understanding pours over me. Red was worried about me. I should hug her. I should get all serious and tell her I care about her, too.

But I just don’t have it in me.

“You were scared I was going to get hurt,” I say. “You love me. I mean, you are obsessed with me. Does Max know? Oh, man. I’m the reason you and Max aren’t together right now. How did I never see it before now?”

Valery starts to get up but I grab her hand. My face softens. “Thank you, Red.” I swallow and find that small function more difficult than normal. “Thanks for caring. If it had been you instead of me, I would have shattered Kraven’s spine.”

She smiles and shakes her head. It’s the closest we’ll come to admitting we like each other.

Outside the open door, I can hear Aspen and Charlie talking. They seem to be playing some sort of game. One will start a sentence, and the other will finish it. Then they’ll laugh. I recognize Charlie’s chiming laugh over Aspen’s slightly deeper one.

“What are they doing?” I ask.

Valery rolls her eyes. “They’ve been doing it all morning. They can finish each other’s sentences almost every time. It’s pretty funny, actually.”

I try to focus on what the two girls are saying, but Valery touches my arm, bringing me back to her. Her lips press together until they’re nearly white, and then she stands and moves toward the lounge area.

“Hey, I need to talk to Dante without you guys here,” she says to whoever is out there.

“Oh, so secretive,” Annabelle says through a laugh.

Blue must make an offensive gesture because Valery yells at him and Annabelle laughs harder.

“Out, all of you,” Red orders.

There’s a shuffling of feet, and then Charlie’s voice rings out. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, babe. Want something to eat?”

A grin sweeps across my face. “How about a piece of my baby?”

“Disgusting,” Blue says, though I’m surprised to hear the word isn’t tinged with jealousy.