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‘Game! Game! Game!’ the kids chanted eagerly.

‘Quiet!’I shouted again to be heard over their deafening enthusiasm. As before, though this time there were a few wobbly lips at being told off a second time, they settled down.

‘Good. Now we all have to be quiet to listen to the grownups, please. Raise your hand if you understand.’

At first none of them moved, but then one little hand rose into the air, and then another, and soon enough most of them were sitting with their hands raised while they awaited further instruction.

I was well aware that their reaction was abnormal compared to children who had been raised outside of The Program, but these kids weren’t so lucky. Their parents had done a respectable job of making sure they knew their place in order to keep them safe, and I was proud of them. Though there were still a few rebellious sorts scattered throughout the crowd of tiny bodies, most of them were obedient and that was good news for us all.

‘How is she doing that?’ I heard Addy whisper to Xander behind me.

‘Not a clue,’ he whispered right back. ‘I was about to ask the same.’

I wanted to laugh, but the gravity of what these children must have suffered through to become this way blocked it from getting past the base of my throat. These children needed a firm hand, no doubt, but they also needed love, guidance, and safety. And above all, they needed their mothers.

Right now, we were all they had, and I wasn’t about to fail them.

‘You,’ I pointed at the closest volunteer. They looked behind them as if expecting to find me talking to someone else, but when they turned back and saw me still focused on them they pointed to themselves with an eyebrow raised in question. ‘Yes, you.’

‘How can I help?’ he asked.

‘Do you know any games the children could play?’

‘I know a few from when my little ones were at school,’ he admitted.

‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ I told him. ‘Just remember, they’re used to firm commands and they will obey. Just don’t abuse that knowledge, okay?’

For a moment he looked as if he might argue, the implications behind my comment clearly causing some sort of reaction. Eventually, he gave me a single brusque nod. ‘Got it.’

When he started barking out orders to the other volunteers and they all began to round up the kids in the centre of the room, I knew the crisis had been averted and it was safe to continue on.

‘Stars, Arty. That was incredible,’ Addy said once the kitchen doors closed behind us and blocked out the rising noise.

I simply shook my head. ‘It was nothing. They deserved better than this.’

When the lovers exchanged a confused look, I knew they didn’t comprehend the full scope of what those kids had been through or how they’d been raised. I hadn’t acted any particular way to earn the trust of that many children, nor had they truly trusted me. They were simply following what they’d been taught as a means of survival, and that was the saddest thing I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing firsthand.

I debated giving the pair an explanation to what the children had endured for the entirety of their short lives. As I handed a Nutri-Bar to Bal and placed another on a plate on the floor for Dave Junior, I decided it was better if Addy and Xander retained their ignorance. It really was bliss, after all. Livingwithin The Program was pure darkness, and it didn’t matter how much they had interacted with them thus far. They had barely scratched the surface.

CHAPTER 8

Artemis

Ino longer needed Xander to drag me along – progress – and I propelled myself down the hallway with Baldr still secured firmly in my arms. Dave Junior was walking beside Addy who was scratching between his ears as they moved, but I could tell that though Xander was attempting to project confidence around the large Kikshrut baby, he was still nervous. Perspiration was accumulating on his brow, a drip leaking down the side of his face that he tried to surreptitiously wipe away. I gave him his privacy, pretending not to see.

When we made it to the infirmary, it was packed. Bromm still took up one of the cots, but the other two were occupied while a crowd had formed a little waiting area outside the door. People with varying degrees of small injuries were propped against the walls or sitting on the floor as they awaited their turn to be seen.

Henrik was flitting about, gathering new packages of gauze or needles for stitches, while Cadmus was surprisingly situated beside Bromm, head bowed as his gaze was fixed firmly on my Griknot prince.

‘Hey,’ I said. Everyone, medic, patient and visitor alike, turned to face the door, expecting me to enter on the ground. I took a small amount of amusement from their shock when they found me on the ceiling, their jaws dropping comically. I tried to hide the way my pride was wounded at not being able to get back down just yet by donning my signature poker face.

‘What the fuck are you doing up there?’ Cadmus asked with a startled chortle.

‘The ceiling needed some love,’ I deadpanned. ‘How are things in here?’

Henrik waved at me but kept his attention on his patients, the only one who hadn’t batted an eye at my unusual position, leaving Cadmus to respond. ‘Bromm’s fine. Everyone else has cuts and bruises, a few broken bones here and there, but otherwise they’re also fine.’

‘No animals in the infirmary please, Captain,’ Henrik suddenly stated, and I glanced down to where Dave Junior was shoulder-to-shoulder with Adara, a content expression on his face as he accepted even more scratches from her small but deft fingers.