Page 9

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

SYDNEY

I have zero faith that this Krista woman will do anything but truss us up like prize ponies until we become a liability. Huck, Thad, and I are determined to survive this nonsense, but who knows what the extras have planned? If they were moved here unwillingly, our new friends might be fine with taking a dive.

If they put me or the guys in danger, I’ll help them along without batting an eye.

“Why do you look so adorably vicious, sweet pea?”

My eyes cut to the demon as I follow him to the fat couch against the wall. Plopping down next to him, I make a face that I hope conveys my doubt about this whole situation. “I’m not great with new people, remember?”

Thad chuckles as his big frame makes a dent in the cushions next to me. “But you’re so charming and open, Syd.”

Rolling my eyes as he puts his arm around my shoulder, I shrug. “This isn’t a world where you can trust people anymore, Thad. If anyone knows that, it’s supes like us sitting in places like this.”

Krista’s eyes widen and I can tell it makes her uncomfortable to hear, but I don’t give a randy, red fuck. Humans fucked supes over entirely instead of figuring out how we could all work and live together. They don’t get to pretend we’re living it up in these fucking camps like some stupid teen summer movie. It’s dirty, soul-crushing, and inhumane; that’s the plain truth.

Don’t want to be labeled the villain, don’t do villain shit.

A soft chime, almost like a Fae call, rings and the woman looks up with a forced smile. “Ah, that would be the matchmakers. They’ve put your data into the system and we’ll have your team complete very shortly.”

I arch a brow at her. “How did they do that? You didn’t leave, nor did you call anyone.”

“Oh, our magical staff enchanted the forms. The input is transmitted directly to them and they feed it into our system. It’s a miracle of technology!” she gushes. “Our leaders have spared no expense to ensure this challenge is remembered for centuries.”

My lips press together in a thin line as I strain not to remind her that without their supe slaves, this bullshit tech wouldn’t be possible. It won’t help to antagonize her constantly; I imagine she’s not the worst human they could have assigned us. I’d prefer not to be given someone who would use this position for more nefarious purposes than inching their way up the ladder.

“If your ‘system’ is so good, what exactly is it supposed to do, darlin’?” Huck is leaning back with his hands stacked behind his head as if he’s relaxing, but I can feel the tension in his body.

“Thank you for asking, Huckleberry!” Krista says with a bright grin that seems real this time. She bustles over to the chair opposite of our couch, resting her hands on her lap. “The Matchmakers take the information you provided and the algorithm in the computers compares it to all of the other competitors in teams with spots. It looks within the current camp, as well as the new residents we’ve imported for the most balanced group of contestants possible. Once it finds the right combination, I’ll get a notification. The gu… assistants in the gathering area will be summoned to bring your new best friends to this room. I’ll speak to you all for a few moments, then we’ll head for the medical bay.”

All three of us notice her slip—the humans or supes in the ‘gathering area’ are guards, not assistants. That means there are beings there they don’t believe they can leave without armed humans to watch them. The rumors about lockdown losers may well be on the nose. Tilting my head back and forth, I crack my neck to relieve the pressure building there. Huck lifts a hand and his fingers massage the base of my neck, and it feels so good that I let him without a snarky comment.

That should tell you how much this process is tripping my gut—I never let Huck do that shit without complaint.

“What do you mean ‘balanced’?” he says with an easy smile. “Are they looking to balance species or powers or levels….?”

Krista frowns, then sighs. “Honestly, I don’t know the trade secret specific details. No one besides the Camp Coordinators, the FHSA public relations team, and the government advisors have that information. It might be some of those things or all of them. They simply guarantee that your team will be balanced for the competition.”

Thad snorts. “Secrets on secrets, even from their own people. Of course that’s how it works.”

“We don’t need to worry about it! The FHSA always takes care of our people and these challenges are history in the making.”

“Uh-huh,” I mutter. Taterman has the entire country practically lobotomized at this point. Krista is a prime example of the cogs in the wheels everywhere who blindly follow orders and don’t question it. Dissenters to his evergreen rule gained through a hostile takeover of the judicial and legislative branches of this country after the virus were dealt with more severely than us supes.

“Hopefully, you get your message soon. It sounds like we have a few more steps before we’re able to strategize.” Huck continues rubbing my neck, trying to keep me calm, but I know it’s also to distract her from realizing his true goal. He wants to know what’s coming and how we’re going to avoid bad shit.

Krista nods, her hands clasping together and squeezing as she practically vibrates with excitement. “I hope so, too! And yes, you will go through the medical certification, then a mental health review, and then I will escort you and your team to the competitor headquarters to tour the facility. Your new dorms will be there for the duration of the competition, so you will have a short time to go home and get your necessary personal items.”

Is this bitch fucking kidding me? We have to live with these assholes?!

Before they can stop me, I spring to my feet and start pacing the length of the room. The one thing I’ve been lucky enough to have since I was put in the adult home for orphans is a room to myself. It’s where I’m able to let the mask I wear fade and talk to myself about the way things were before this nightmare. I can lie in the dark and try to find the ability to cry—something I haven’t been able to do since my father was killed. The silence and the space are my refuge and now these motherfuckers want to take my last vestige of hope away.

They say the American Dream died a long time ago, but it's true death was the beginning of this regime.

“Sydney, it will be okay.”

I whirl around, my braid flipping behind me as I glare at Thad. “It is? Oh, thank you for telling me. Now I’m totally fine.”

Huck snorts, shaking his head as he tips his hat back. “I don’t think he meant to discount your feelings, sweet pea.”

Of course he didn’t. Thaddeus is the kindest, most patient dude I’ve ever met, and I know he wouldn’t do such a thing. But I’m so angry about everything and have been for so long, that I don’t know how to parse this newest outrage. The universe has been cruel enough to our kind, yet the hits keep coming, day after day.

When does it become too much? When do we say ‘no more’ and give up?

“I know that.” My voice is soft because I don’t trust it to stay steady. Thad’s eyes meet mine, and I know he sees the depths of my despair. He’s been by my side for most of the injustices and despite Huck’s barnacle-like fixation, the bear is the one person in the world who knows me the best.

“Sydney, I only meant that you’ll have us. We’ll make sure you get the space you need.”

Krista frowns, studying us for a moment. “Does she have some sort of problem you didn’t disclose? That’s very bad. In fact, it’s definitely going to?—”

“No,” Huck says firmly. “But you don’t know what it’s like to be ripped from your home and family, by distance or death, and thrust into prison camps to live because some politician wanted to become a king. So maybe back off and let us handle our own shit, Krista.”

That shuts our bubbly sponsor up. She looks ruffled, as if she doesn’t know how to respond, then settles into her seat with her phone. Since there’s nothing she can say to change our situation, that’s probably for the best. Refuting his claim will only lead to enmity, and I refuse to let a human tell us what we’ve experienced since their betrayal. We would have all been at odds very quickly.

“Any idea why this shit is taking so long?” Thad says after a few moments. “This algorithm must not be that advanced if it’s taking this damn long.”

Krista doesn’t answer him, so I pace again. “Probably me, you know. Unknown magic user is pretty vague, but it’s all I have to give.”

“Sweet pea, come sit down. You’ll wear a hole in the rug, and I’d prefer it be clear whose team you’re on when they bring our rogues along.”

“Rogues? Huckleberry, we would never,” the human glares at him, giving into his taunt. “Your teammates will be perfectly safe to interact with. What a horrid thing to suggest.”

Thad leans forward, putting his forearms on his knees. “The rumors aren’t true, then?”

Her cupid bow mouth purses and Krista looks at him. “What rumors?”

“The ones that say you’ve imported lockdown losers to help fill the gaps in the teams and make better TV,” I growl. “I’ve been told people witnessed caged transports.”

Her smile falters again, and a panic comes over her features. She definitely knew that was a possibility and all her misdirection was to keep us calm while we waited. I believe that she doesn’t know everything, like she said, but she knows more than we’re being told. This entire thing is one big mind fuck, and the humans are moving us around like chess pieces.

I fucking hate them so goddamn much.

Another weird sound echoes in the room and our sponsor claps her hands excitedly. “That’s the notification. Your team members will be here in seconds.”

My eyes meet Thad’s and he nods, so I walk over to join them on the couch. Huck is likely right about presenting a united front, especially because Krista seems uninclined to share what she knows about the supes coming this way. Huck’s arm drapes along the back of the couch to extend to both Thad and me, and he whistles an old tune softly as time ticks by. Finally, something gets our bear’s attention, and he tenses.

“They’re coming.”

The door opens, revealing heavily armed humans and I roll my eyes. “We’re definitely not working with them.”

Krista titters, waving her hand at me. “Don’t be silly. Those are the escorts, Sydney.”

The biggest dude grunts and shoves the door open far enough to allow a trail of people into the room. My eyes widen as I take in the amount of guards they sent, and I have to school my features to keep from giving away my surprise. Usually, they reserve this show of force for criminals and gang members.

A shock of white hair belonging to a tall, lithe male with bedroom eyes and equally pale skin is the first thing I see of our new team. I’m curious for a moment, but he flashes long, sharp fangs, and my breath catches in my throat.

Please tell me that a motherfucking vampire—traitors to supe kind—isn’t one of ours?!

“This is Sebastian Whitmore,” Krista chirps as she reads from her phone. “Sebastian is a resident of the outskirts of Tempest Seven. His coven have homes in the Blood Red sector on the west end.”

Huck grins, but it’s not a nice smile. No, it’s evil from stem to stern. “You mean his family was complicit with the imprisonment of our kind, so your government set them up with wealth and comfort to reward them. However, they didn’t have Fae to review their contract with the humans because of their treachery, so like all vampires, they still have to live in camps… just the fanciest, least objectionable parts of them.”

Sebastian snarls as if he’s going to come at Huck, but the guard puts a hand out to stop the undead asshole. He sucks in a breath and glares with red eyes as he spits, “The rest of you dipshits think you know so much, but you’re clueless.”

“We know you fuckwads got screwed, too, just not as hard as we did,” Thad mutters. “Bring the rest of them in so we can get this show on the road, Krista. I’ve got nothing more to say to this waste.”

I can’t stop staring at the vampire and it makes my body sing with frustration. He’s hot as sin, easily as good looking as Huck and Thad, but in this dark, ethereal way. His clothes are nicer than our uniforms and I note that I’ve never once seen any of their kind in our schools. They must have their own education system or the sires teach them everything. I’m about to speak when the bloodsucker smirks at me as if he knows what’s going through my mind.

Fat chance, dickwad.