Page 67 of The Last Hope

“But I knewenough,” I retort. “My mom prepared me and said it’d come every month and when it stopped, it meant I was with child. At the orphanage, I learnedmore.” I point at my chest, defending my decent knowledge that I thought would last me till death. “I knew to drink roselthorn broth if I planned to bed a boy and didn’t want a baby. Most FTs did it.”

All three boys are silent, letting me finish.

I’m not done yet. Sweltering to a stance, I continue. “My mom taught meallshe knew. I wasn’t supposed to be around for long. Why should I know about sicknesses when I’d die at seventeen years anyway? That’s why I know what I know, and I loved my life. So save your pity for the real misfortunate. Because it’s notme.”

Stork tries to shelter a growing smile. He hooks my gaze an extra beat.

Court nods several times; his understanding is one of the best feelings. Like wading in warm waters. I exhale fully.

Mykal raises his hands in defense. “Heya, I never pitied you, little love. Just minding myself here.” He upturns my lips most of all.

And I ease back down. Just to double-check, I ask Stork, “is malnourishment the cause?”

“Highly likely,” he confirms.

Good.

Since Stork is obliging us for a change, Court shuts the encyclopedia and asks, “Back when both races lived on Earth, did anyone learn what happens when a Saltarian and a human conceive a child together?”

My brows fly off my face. Why in the hells would Court want to know that?

Stork sips from his flask. Licking liquor off his lips, he says, “There’s a fifty percent chance the baby would be human or Saltarian. It hasn’t been a factor in human population.”

Maybe that’s why Court asked. I sit up out of a slouch. “Are there any Saltarians still on Earth?”

“I’m the only recorded one.” He flashes a bitter smile. “You want to know the main difference between us? The triple helix affectsbody chemistry,and in turn, Saltarians differ when it comes to mortality. We live longer than humans.” He raises his flask. “I’ll outlive you three. Cheers.” He swigs.

Mykal cringes at his drinking. Disgruntled every time Stork puts the rim to his lips.

I’ve had my fair share of binges, so it’s hard to be snappy. And I focus on the life span bit. “So how old can we be?” TheLucretziacrew ranges in age, some in their forties or fifties. So I’m not too distressed.

“Early one hundreds,” Stork admits.

I smile.That’s old.

Mykal also wears a lopsided grin.

We all thought we’d die much,muchearlier. To hear about this possibility is good news.

Stork swishes his flask. “Body chemistry is also why we’ve been immune to most lethal affronts. Even before deathdays were known, Saltarians couldn’t die easily. The invention of Death Readers just made our immunity more of a certainty.”

Court processes with another faraway look.

Mykal asks, “You always drink like you’re dying of thirst, baby brother?”

Stork lets out a short laugh. “Saltarians can hold their liquor down for longer.”

Resting my chin on my knee, I tell him, “I’ve seen FTs who were sloshed drinking less than you.”

He considers this quietly and says something about body mass and alcohol. He reroutes the topic in a flash. “I brought you all to the library for the retrieval op. You all need proper knowledge about Earth and Saltare before we can move forward.” He nods to the shelves. “We have a small collection of physical books here.”

To us, this is humongous. Court is even astonished at the amount of hardbacks, and he’s traveled to all the fancy Influential places.

“At first,” Stork continues, “we only held a trillion volumes in the digital databases, but with the threat of Earth being overrun, the Republic of Gaia agreed to send these copies for historical purposes. No one is allowed to remove the hardbacks from the library. You’re free to read them here. Otherwise, you’ll have to take a digital pad.”

Court frowns. “You already lent me theMythshardback.”

Stork caps his flask. “That book comes from my personal collection. I like graphic novels and the occasional fable, but to get physical copies, I have to purchase them at auction. I bought theMythshardback about a year ago.”