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  I reached up and turned off the light, tucking my cold feet under the blankets.

  “What kind of stowaway?” Vic asked, sleep still coating her voice.

  “The tall, brooding type.” I could feel Vic’s silver eyes dart my way, even in the darkness. “Don’t worry. Theo got his punishment for following me.” I chuckled to myself. “I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

  I heard the rustling of Vic nodding before she rolled over and was quick to fall back to sleep. She had always been the trusting one in this friendship, never one to demand an explanation or force me to answer everything right that second. It was why I hadn’t told her what I’d been up to the last year, or how I was funding our future. I wouldn’t lie to her if she asked, but she knew not to ask. She understood me; she was my best friend, my family.

  Vic was sweet and quiet, always listening before talking. It had served her well. I was brutal enough for the both of us. She was smarter than she gave herself credit for and the only reason I had found a way out of the DEZ at all. I relied on her more than I think she even knew.

  As I rolled on my side and a mouth full of Vic’s curly, dark hair hit me in the face, I sighed and pulled it up and out of the way. I was envious of her curly hair perfectly framing her brown skin, making her silver eyes even more striking than they already were. My bright hair was annoyingly bone straight.

  Yeah, we were complete opposites—the pale redhead and the caramel beauty. But we were family, and that would never change.

  Chapter 4

  Jayla

  When the sun sets, we’re all the same—shadows streaking through the night. Some good. Some bad. There was no way to know who was on your side and who the enemy was, and I liked it that way. The thrill of not knowing brought me to life. It set my adrenaline racing and a tingle sweeping over my skin.

  Tonight, however, the shadow sprinting ahead of me was very well known as my enemy. The bullet hole I had given him moments ago was spilling blood along the pavement with little dots for me to follow. The gun I’d used was secure at my hip while I chased after him.

  Azrael, that’s what I’d named my gun. Caspian had laughed at me when I told him the name, but he shut his mouth quickly when I’d said Azrael was the Angel of Death. Azrael always took what was rightfully his.

  My feet splashed against the small puddles of the alleyway. I was careful not to think about what might be in those puddles, but chasing after scum often meant heading into the slums. Not that Cytos had much of that. It was a prosperous city, a metropolis and a beacon to the rest of the world that we were the beginning of the Peace-Making Era…even if it was a lie.

  The Carbon swiftly moving a few yards ahead of me, one hand gripping the bullet wound on his side, was a testament that not everyone had changed. Not everyone was good.

  It was a common misconception that Carbons couldn’t die. Sure, they could live for a long time, nearly immortal with their machine-like bodies, but a well-placed bullet and the knowledge of what was keeping them alive for so long was all we needed to end these rebels. A microchip at the base of their skull was the answer to living forever. A bullet incapacitated them, and a small incision to remove the chip ended their lives.

  I had had to do it more than a few times. As a Watcher, it was my job to protect this city from the enemy they didn’t know still existed. To the outside world, even we didn’t exist. We were a secret organization formed long before the Peace-Making, hidden in the shadows and keeping humanity safe.

  It was our job to be the best, and my team and I were. I sensed them nearby. Caspian took to the rooftops; he loved the free-fall of jumping from building to building. Emery, my second in command, was in the alley next to the one I sprinted down. I knew this because at each crossing, I could see her white-blond hair gleam in the moonlight, and the wicked smile she gave me each time we passed one another.

  The Watchers were scattered throughout the city of Cytos, hunting the enemy. The one ahead of me had been on my radar for some time.

  A group of Carbons were still tied to the old ways. They believed they were better than a mere human, better than even the other Carbons who had kept the peace for the past fifteen decades. Not many had found a way to remove the cuffs quelling their abilities, but even without their powers, they were deadly. The cuffs didn’t mute their speed, agility, or training: they were still inhuman, with or without their advanced abilities silenced.

  Our intel had brought us here tonight. Word of a planned attack meant to take down the one thing our city was most known for—our government.

  The Carbons and the humans ruled over Cytos together—two representatives with equal power working together as one. It was the one thing setting us apart from any other city in the world: we had a Carbon sitting in power beside a human. While others tolerated the Carbons, none had one in a position of power.

  The Carbon I chased, Simon, was believed to be the leader of the rebellion, which was why we had to catch him alive. We had to find out what their plan was.

  I picked up my pace, feeling my lungs fill with sharp, cool air. They burned with effort, but I kept going, moving harder. If I slowed down for a second, he could escape.

  We reached the edge of the city, nearing a part of Cytos most avoided, by the DEZ. The Designated Enlightenment Zone was basically a prison. Seeing it in the moonlight sent a chill down my spine.

  The last of the tall buildings came up, and the alleyway would soon break open to the wide streets and water canals with many places this Carbon could escape. This was our last chance.

  My entire team had been trained with the same skills; we’d grown and struggled together, so it was no surprise Caspian knew as well as I did when to strike. A shadow fell from the sky before it landed right in the path of the Carbon, causing him to skid to a stop or hit the large man looming over him. Caspian was lean and quick, and his tall stature and broad shoulders stopped most people in their tracks.

  I was quick to pull out my gun, ready to get answers. Emery stepped out of the shadow from the adjacent alley.

  Cas circled behind the Carbon, one strong arm holding him in place, and Emery took up the other side.

  “Care to explain why you were running?” I tilted my head to the side, letting my long, dark hair fall over the side of my face.

  “You shot me, you crazed bitch!” the Carbon shouted. His hand was soaked in blood. In the moonlight, the silver cuff on his wrist shone bright in contrast to the dark red smeared across it.

  Even if the Carbons were more machine than human, they were still built to feel pain. They were created through human hosts, which meant they felt everything as a human would. Though they looked and sounded like us, I knew better.

  “Well, if you hadn’t run, I wouldn’t have had to shoot you.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Listen, Simon—it is Simon, right? We just want to talk, get to know you guys a bit.”

  Simon spat on the ground between us. “I don’t talk to trash like you, especially the Watcher kind.”

  My face dropped, and within a split-second, Simon knew that had been the wrong thing to say. However, it wasn’t me he should have been worried about.

  Emery wrapped a hand around Simon’s neck in a flash, but she didn’t squeeze. Instead, she took her other hand, brushing away a small strand of hair from Simon’s face. She slid her long, knife-like nails down the side of his face. Little lines of blood dripped before the small wound quickly healed itself and the cut disappeared. The Carbon’s healing abilities were fast, but not fast enough for the gunshot wound still seeping at his side. Simon flinched with each little slice, but he was smart enough to know not to move away from the blond-haired beauty. Her venom-coated grin grew.

  “How about we try that again,” I said, my voice sweet, twisting Azrael smoothly in my hands. The silky black metal of the gun caught in the moonlight, and Simon’s eyes followed it the whole time. Em took a step back, wiping the blood off her nails with the sleeve of Simon’s jacket. “We hear you’re planning an attack. Care to tell us a bit more about that?”

  He flinched to move away, but Cas gripped his arm tighter. “I’m not planning anything. I’m not that high on the food chain. Your people should know that by now.”

  “That’s odd. We’d been told you were the leader of the Carbon Resistance. Do you mean to tell me we have the wrong guy?” I placed a hand on my chest in feigned shock.

  Simon snarled, “You think you know me, know us? You have no idea. The things they will do…You’re better off leaving while you can. Get out of here, out of Cytos, and don’t look back.”

  I quirked an eyebrow, waving my hand as if to say, “and why is that?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You don’t get it—none of you do. This isn’t about us. This isn’t even about you. I’m not the enemy you paint me out to be. You’re all blinded by ambition, too stupid to read between the lines. Everything I do has a purpose, but sometimes it’s not what you think.”

  I narrowed my eyes, stepping closer to him, resting my gun under his chin. “What is your purpose then, Simon?”

  He didn’t respond.

  I pressed the gun harder against the smooth skin under his chin, shoving it up and against his jawbone, aiming for his skull. “If you aren’t the enemy we know you are, then prove me wrong. Give me a reason, and I’ll let you go.”

  Simon’s eyes flashed to Em, still playing with her sharp nails, picking at them like a cat. She glanced up at him under her heavy lashes, and he glanced back to me with a bored sort of expression.

  “You want proof?” Simon asked, and I quirked an eyebrow. “There are things happening in Cytos, beyond even my ambitions. Things I cannot stop, even if I wanted to…”

  Em smirked. “Are we meant to feel sorry for you?”


  “History always has a tendency to repeat itself, no matter who tries to erase the past. It never truly leaves,” Simon mused.

  I tilted my head, watching his cold eyes as they followed my movements. “Isn’t that something you’d prefer to have happen? Isn’t that what all you Carbons are trying to achieve?”

  Simon knew exactly what I was referring to—a history where Carbons nearly wiped out the human population. When they had full control of their powers and used them to kill and destroy and take whatever they wanted. But that wasn’t going to happen. I sure as hell wouldn’t allow it to happen.

  He smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes as he leaned forward as much as he could against the hold Cas had on him. “Perhaps,” he whispered, “but there are a few of us who know the whole story, who lived through it, and remember all of it. There‘s a part of our past even we don’t want to see repeated.”

  “Then tell me, Simon, why did you run?” I asked.

  Simon shrugged. “Because I saw you following me, and I wanted to see how far you’d go,” he said. “Because tonight, I’m the distraction.”

  A loud explosion echoed through the city, and the blast threw me to the ground. Red flames and black smoke bellowed in the near distance. I could already hear the sirens blaring.

  I was dazed for a moment, my ears ringing, and my vision blurred before I blinked it away.

  Struggling to my feet, Emery helped me the rest of the way up, before moving on to help Cas, who bled from his nose. As I glanced all around, I noticed one thing was missing: Simon.

  Cas swore under his breath. “Sorry, Jayla. The blast…I lost hold and he was quick. Shit, I think he broke my nose.”

  “It’s okay,” I sighed, looking back to the city burning in the night.

  Even in the darkness, I could see the growing black smoke. The smell of the fire already reached us, making my eyes water. At least that’s what I told myself it was from.

  “We’d better go.”

  Cas nodded, blinking away the pain, and Em took up the lead.

  How could we have missed this? How could I have missed this? I released a long breath before I began sprinting back towards the middle of the city where the people I was meant to protect had been wounded. As I neared the building no longer standing amongst the other skyscrapers, a crumbled mess of cement and glass and fire, I began to hear the screams.

  They grew louder the closer we moved, like a ringing in my ears I couldn’t shake, and I knew each one would haunt my dreams tonight.

  Chapter 5

  Sienna

  The explosion from last night was all anyone talked about. We felt it even in the DEZ. Reports said it was a gas leak in a Genetics Lab downtown. Two people were killed, workers were still in the building, and more than a dozen were injured from the blast itself. The entire city was shaken.

  I knew all this from the LinkedNews Station Vic had hacked into during computer class. We didn’t have Linked systems or programs to find out what was going on outside of these cement walls, but luckily hacking was a skill Vic had acquired, among other things.

  “I just don’t get how a gas leak could even happen,” Vic said from beside me. Theo was reading over my shoulder. “I mean, we have Bots for that. They should have detected a leak long before something like that occurred.”

  I bobbed my head in agreement as I continued reading. “Something isn’t right about this report.”

  “People died, and all you guys are thinking about is a conspiracy theory?” Theo scolded us, as he sat down in the chair beside me, beginning the schoolwork we were all supposed to be doing.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness. Didn’t realize I was supposed to be mourning at a time like this.” I rolled my eyes. “Am I the only one reading between the lines and seeing that what they said happened is nearly impossible?”

  Theo’s jaw tightened, and I watched his pupils dilate before he let out a long sigh. “Does it really matter what happened? It’s not like there’s anything you could do about it. You’re just obsessing over yet another conspiracy theory you’ve made up.”

  I shot daggers at him with my eyes. “They aren’t all conspiracy theories. Rumors of desert assassins are common knowledge. And what about the stories of the Prince of Kuro suspiciously missing for five years? No one has seen him, yet the King and Queen say he’s sequestered outside their city for specialized training. That’s not suspicious at all.”

  “You’re worse than the gossip channels.” Theo shook his head. “All of those are rumors. Likely lies made up to keep people watching their show and reading their stories.”

  I shoved him. “That’s not the point. You don’t see a connection between the building that blew up and us down here?”

  Theo thought for a moment. “None.”

  I threw my head back in exasperation. “The Genetic Lab that blew up, that’s where we were created. That’s where we were all born.”

  Vic shook her head, as if to deny the truth of it. Neither of them had made that connection yet, but I had. If this was just some random explosion, then so be it. But if there was any chance this had been planned or set off on purpose, then I believed this was something to be concerned about. Anything that could affect Vic and me getting out of here was worth looking into.

  Theo draped his hand over his face. “You’re thinking way too hard about this. Just let it go. It’s not your job to worry about these things.”

  I opened my mouth to argue when Instructor Yarik stepped around her desk. Quickly, I closed all the windows on my screen and scrambled to open today’s assignment before she was at my back.

  “Did you get your fill of the daily gossip?” Instructor Yarik squeezed my shoulder, and I did my best not to wince.

  “Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” I kept my eyes straight ahead. There was no use lying to her. She was a Carbon, after all, and was likely aware of everything we did and said.

  “Good. Then I’d suggest you get working on that assignment. Failing again is not an option for you, Sienna. You’ve hardly got any room left for another strike.” Another firm squeeze of my shoulder before she carried on down the row of computers. All together only ten of us were set to graduate in the next few months, but I was the easy target for everyone, not only the teachers.

  “Do you think they’ll even give you a job when you graduate, Sienna, or will you be rifling through our leftovers like the trash you are?” The snide voice of Camilla, the only person alive I hated more than any Carbon, sang from behind me. “I hear some Carbons prefer to have a human do their chores for them instead of a MaidBot. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and someone will hire you.”

  No one in the DEZ was fond of Carbons, even if they were a part of us. But even within our broken society, we weren’t stupid enough not to realize they held more power than most humans. Some had assimilated into the city enough they were hardly noticed, while others purposefully stood out and were feared because of it. Regardless of how they did it, the Carbons held power.

  “At least I won’t be the one grovelling to every Carbon I see, hoping they take pity on me and keep me as their pet.” I glanced over my shoulder at Camilla, her coal black eyes piercing through me. “Better a maid than a whore.”

  She moved quickly, but I was quicker. We were both on our feet before anyone could stop us. My fist rose to meet her face when a second body stepped in the way. I stopped just in time.

  “That’s enough,” Theo said through clenched teeth. His face was so close to mine I could feel his breath on my cheek and see the flare in his eyes. “Both of you sit down and shut up.”

  I tightened my jaw and glared before I sat back down with reluctance. Camilla did the same, as she gave Theo a sweet smile. “Sir, yes, sir,” she said mockingly before she sat down beside her little group of friends. Blane, the male to her right who was also her boyfriend, smirked at her quip.