The Revealed (34 page)

Nero yanks his arm away from Zared but doesn’t try to run into the crowd again. He crossed his arms over his chest and glares. Romni is his best friend. I don’t blame him for being worried, but I also have enough emotional detachment to see Zared is right. We can’t go back.

Rory pulls out her phone. “We’ll call Julia and have one of The Revealed stationed at the local drop house come pick us up. We’ll have to stay with the crowd and follow them far enough out to a road cars can access.”

Skylar nods. “Let’s go.”

We gather around the television at the safe house we fled to, watching Riley Fisher on the news.

“This show serves as a continuation for the election’s announcement following the terrorist attack by The Revealed earlier this evening, which left Representative Atwood severely injured.”

“You know,” Nero pipes up, “anyone with half a brain would realize that The Revealed have never used guns.” He scoffs, “Morons.”

“They don’t want to see the truth,” Rory replies curtly, crossing her arms over her chest. “The world wants to make us the enemy and so we are.”

“We would like to take this moment now, to inform you of the results of today’s election. With a record eighty-five percent voter participation throughout the country, partly thanks to the new electronic ballot system, the results are in. With fifty-four percent of the votes, Mark Atwood is the new president of the North American Sector.”

Just like that.

I forget how to breathe.

My father is president.

My father is president.

“Well, congrats,” Nero offers.

“Shut up,” Rory barks, understanding the look on my face.

I feel conflicted.

I definitely don’t want Roderick Westerfield to be president, but my father…. I’m not ready for this. After years of knowing everything he did was building toward this moment, it wasn’t real until those words came from Riley Fisher.

“We are told Represen—excuse me, President Atwood will soon be undergoing surgery following the gunshot wound to his shoulder this evening. However, his camp has released a statement saying, ‘The nation should expect positive change in the next four years, further reconstruction efforts in the wastelands, improved defense measures to keep the nation safe but, above all, an end to the destruction caused by The Revealed. We pledge to stop them—stop them from taking our children and stop them from attempting to ruin the nation we’ve all worked so hard to rebuild.’ No doubt the Atwood administration is thinking particularly of Lily Atwood tonight as they make this statement.”

The camera switches from Riley Fisher to a replay of the events in front of the White House, beginning with a shot of me leaping recklessly onto the stage.

“Ms. Lily Atwood was part of the team that was responsible for shooting her father tonight and destroying the ceremony, in one of the largest terrorist attacks we’ve seen since the war,” Riley Fisher says in a voiceover as the video footage continues to play. “A statement from President Atwood himself regarding his election and the nation’s current situation is expected as soon as he has recovered.”

Oh God I hope my father is okay.

I need some air. I stand up from the couch and walk outside, letting the breeze waft against my face. It’s a crisp, chilly night, and the longer I stay outside the more the frost begins to bite at my face.

The apartment we’re staying in is on the tenth floor of a building, and the city stretches out beneath me. I stare out at all of the familiar shapes in the distance. It’s quiet tonight. The streets are now lifeless. People are afraid of another attack.

It’s funny how in the span of only a few weeks, I feel so disconnected from the place that should be home. despite having lived in Capitol City longer than anywhere else, I always knew this wasn’t where I belonged. But now that I’ve found my place, it feels entirely different being here. I’m the outsider.

I rub my hands together to warm them and cover my ears against the frosty breeze.

I want to say I feel shocked and hurt that my father didn’t believe me about The Revealed, but I don’t. I expected it. Rory was right. The world wants to make The Revealed the villain, and so everything that goes wrong is blamed on us whether it’s logical or not. My father follows the same thought pattern as the rest. I thought the same way only three weeks ago. It’s hard to change someone’s mindset when they are so adamant in their beliefs. It took brain surgery and an assassination attempt on my parents to get me there. No, I definitely don’t blame my parents, but I feel detached from them now. I’m no longer a part of their world. My father is president, and it will probably affect me very little at this point. I will be with The Revealed, not at the White House.

Maybe someday, in the far-off future, the world will be able to understand the truth of The Revealed, and I will be able to reconnect with my family. Someday I might be able to be in their lives again, but right now it’s impossible. We’re on separate paths.

It’s the natural progression of children, I think. We all have to grow up at some point, and distance ourselves from our parents to become our own individuals. It doesn’t stop me from missing them, but I know this is the way things have to be.

I’m happy for my father, though. He’s worked so hard to become president. People believe in him—even The Revealed. They’re right to put faith in him, too. He really wants to do the best job for the new nation. It just turns out that he thinks the most-important part of being president is to obliterate the organization in which I now have my faith.

Rory walks outside with two mugs in hand. The warm aroma of spices is picked up by the wind.

“Brought you some tea.” She offers me a steaming mug. “How are you holding up?”

“It’s a little surreal,” I respond blankly. “My father is president. And then Romni…. We have to get him back. I have to find him. This whole thing is my fault.”

“Come on, Lily,” Rory scoffs, “you didn’t do anything but save your father’s life.”

“He still got shot. Westerfield got away and now the world hates The Revealed even more. If anything, we just made everything worse.”

“The world wants to see The Revealed as evil,” she says. “We live with it because we can be proud of the work we accomplish. Eventually, maybe the world will accept we’re working for the greater good and then we can collaborate with the government. Until that day, focus on the good. Your father isn’t dead, Lily. He’s president. If you hadn’t jumped up on that stage, it might not have turned out that way, and a lot of people could have died in an unnecessary war that Westerfield wants to create. You did well. The system can’t be perfect. Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.”

I nod, but I don’t think I believe her. I sip my tea to avoid Rory’s inquisitive stare. I know she sees the truth in my features. I cup my hands around the tea and keep the drink warm with my abilities.

“I wish I could be with my father right now, just to make sure he’s okay.”

Rory raises an eyebrow as an idea sparkles behind her gaze. “Lily, we’re The Revealed. If you want to go into that hospital, we can get you in there.”

“What?”

She shakes her head with a small laugh. “You’re still missing how vast our influence is. Our members rarely stay at the facilities. We’re out in the world, climbing the ranks and integrating ourselves into the system. There are members all over the colonies that have made lives for themselves on land.”

“They have families?” I ask.

Rory understands what I’m asking. “Don’t get your hopes up,” she says, her smile deflating. “It doesn’t work like that. We still have to be safe. Keeping who we are secret is one of the most-important weapons we have. Unfortunately, you don’t have that luxury. I’m going to be blunt with you, Lil, your face is too recognizable to make it possible for you to settle down in the colonies, and especially not with Roderick Westerfield’s son. It would never work. Not now.”

“I wasn’t talking about Kai,” I immediately deny, “I was just asking.”

She doesn’t buy it for a second. “You’re better off moving on.”

“Rory, really,” I scoff. “I’ve moved on. I barely know Kai. It isn’t a big deal.”

I nearly gag on the words, the falsehood in them. Kai’s never far from my mind. Some part of him has buried itself deep within my heart, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. Forget the surgery and the election. Kai brought change into my life in a way that made me act on what I want. He gave me the fight to make something of myself. I’m better when he’s in my life.

Rory lets it go. “Well, see you in the morning, and we’ll see about getting you into the hospital.”

I’m grateful for the change of subject. It hurts too much to think about Kai. He’s the one thing from my old life I don’t want to give up. He’s the sacrifice I’ll be making to be part of The Revealed. I can’t be with him.

“Yes,” I tell Rory, grateful I may have a chance to say goodbye to my parents.

Rory leads me down the hospital wing. “You’ve only got about ten minutes,” she warns.

“I won’t be long,” I promise.

It turns out Rory has connections with a nurse, a member of The Revealed who works at the hospital and cleared the wing for us. All it took was one call, and we were good to go. It helps that this wing was vacated of all other patients because of my father’s high-profile status.

My footsteps echo as I walk down the hallway and into my father’s room. He’s sleeping. The nurse confirmed what the media reported last night. The bullet didn’t puncture anything vital. He’s lucky; he’ll be fine. It will take a few more weeks of recovery before he’ll be ready to leave though.

I stand next to his bed.

The others are waiting outside for me, guarding the door.

My father’s eyes blink open. “Lily?”

“Hi, Dad.”

Panic fills his eyes and he pushes the call button near his hospital bed.

“It won’t work,” I tell him, a little hurt by his reaction. “We’ve had the floor cleared so I could speak with you.”

His body tenses. “Are you here to finish the job?”

“What?” I can’t believe he just said that. “Dad, of course not.” How can he even think that? “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“How could you let them do that, Lily?”

“It was Westerfield. It wasn’t The Revealed, Dad. We were trying to stop it.”

“Or so they told you,” he snaps. “I know what I saw.”

“I know what you think you saw. You’re wrong. It wasn’t The Revealed. It was Roderick Westerfield.”

He still doesn’t believe it. It’s like talking to a wall. “Roderick Westerfield bowed out gracefully after the announcement. He’s going on vacation. I’m told he left town today.”

“He’s not gone for good,” I warn. “But I’m not here to talk about Roderick Westerfield, and I’m not here to argue with you about The Revealed. How’s Romni?”

“Who?”

“The member of The Revealed that you arrested.” I grind my teeth together, trying to contain my frustration. The last thing I need is a windstorm to freak my dad out even more.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I close my eyes and rub my eyelids. “We’re going to get him back, you know,” I say somberly. “We’ll get him back.”