Chapter Twenty-Nine: REID

Gotta know she's pretty by now. Everyone who sees her thinks it, and she's standing there smiling at me over the flower stand. Right by the blue ones, so they bring out her eyes and teeth and make my heart feel tight. No one is that oblivious, are they?

Ah. She's not smiling at me, but at a bug that's crawling along one of the petals. One of the Kiranese ones, large and metallic, and I just happen to be on the receiving end accidentally. Only her smiles have ever made me feel stupid.

“Reid, I did not know one could buy flowers. It seems silly!”

“Lots of people can't grow their own, you know. So they buy them for decoration.”

She pulls one from the stand and gently strokes its stem. “I want one,” she decides. I let her pick and hand some of the University's money over the the stallkeeper, who's desperately pretending he doesn't recognize either of us. Everyone is. The trial has made us both celebrities. When Rayland's case against Seamus was thrown out, we were let back into civilization, given our wristbands, allowed feed access. Turned on the panel and found Asha everywhere. Feeders were talking about her, and some of them had gotten on campus and tracked down Elene, who had sounded unusually coherent. There were recordings of Asha playing the flute, even.

Figured by now I'd be used to seeing her as other people do, but I have to admit the Asha the feeders like Jaden Ahern show the world is charming. Her collapse, which could have seemed sinister, has been spun as tragic. “Couldn't handle Rayland's underhanded attacks, clearly,” they say, frowning at the screen. “Poor girl just wanted to help her friend.”

She won't talk about what Rayland said about Desmond. Every time I try to bring it up, she shakes her head and grabs her flute or presses her lips against mine. Desmond keeps messaging me and trying to get me to help him, but there's nothing I can do to make her answer him when he contacts her. Has taken everything I have not to tell him he should've told her himself about a year ago. Knowing the Fleet, he would have gotten fired, and that wouldn't have helped either of them. But still, I'm angry that he's hurt her again. At least he's not her father. That would have been unbearable.

Asha slides her hand in mine and we walk down the sidewalk toward other stores. I've got her fingers in one hand and her catskin in the other, but I'm still less interesting than she is. I keep having to tell people to go away because they won't stop gawking at her, but at least the feeders haven't found us yet.

“You are quiet today, Reid.” Her eyes find mine as she smells her flower. Someone needs to tell her to stop doing things like that. She really should've had a female teacher.

“Just worried. Feel like all of this ended too easily.”

She shakes her head at me. “When Seamus is back at the University, you will see.”
“You know better than that.” I take the flower from her and glare pointedly.
She frowns. “You are still angry that I made Rayland hate me. I did not do it on purpose!”

“He's not the kind of guy to give up. Be happy I'm worried about you.” I soften the anger in my words by running my hand over her hair.

“You always think the worst, and it makes me sad. First, you seeded me, then you cannot tell me I am a natural seeder because it would hurt me, and now Rayland is going to hurt us even though we have done nothing wrong.”

She has a knack for making me sound silly and paranoid. Used to hate it, but now I just sigh. “Probably right. Let's have fun. What do you want to do next?”

She points ahead at a jewelry vendor. “Elene needs a present, and I would like to find something for Caroline and Desmond, too.”

“That's a lot of shopping, Asha.”

“We have two more days before we go back with Seamus. But if I am making you tired we can always go back to the hotel.”

She's teasing me. That's new. I grumble at her and let her lead the way. Seamus is off at a local hospital, being woken up from the narcotic coma they'd kept him in because he was a seeder. Every time I think about it I can feel my blood pressure rising. Isn't fair. Seamus is the nicest guy I know, and he gets punished while people like Keven get a smack on the wrist—

“Careful!” Asha grabs my hand in both of hers, and I look down. Wonderful. I've bent the stem of the flower. She looks at it sadly and takes it from me. “We cannot fix this, can we?”

“Sorry. Let me get you another while you get a present for Elene, okay?”

“No.” Her free hand grabs me by the wrist. “Do not leave me right now.”

“Asha, what—” but then I see them. The feeders have found us, and Jaden Ahern is leading the pack, teeth bared like an alpha wolf. Used to think his kind were vultures. Then I met Rayland. But that doesn't mean they're not, as Nanda so aptly put it, “predators.” Leave it to the hunted to recognize a hunter.

“You're a hard pair to find,” he says by way of greeting, and Asha frowns.

“That is because we were trying to avoid you.”

She wasn't trying to be funny, but they laugh because they've decided her honesty is charming. Asha takes a step backward, pressing into me.

“Now that Aria's gone and you've only got the silent bodyguard, we figured we'd ask you for an interview,” calls a curly-haired boy from the back.

Asha flinches against me. “Leave him alone. He is not my bodyguard.”

Jaden's smile widens. “So he's your boyfriend, then?”

“Hasn't she told you she doesn't want to talk to you?” I snap, and instantly regret it, because now they're looking at me with interest. Were just teasing her before. Asha gives them a petulant stare, and Jaden chuckles.

“Elene gave me that exact same look when I first met her.”

Instantly, Asha's face unfreezes, and she smiles. “You are the one who spoke with Elene?”

Jaden nods happily. Thinks he's found an in. “She picked me out of the crowd because I noticed so much about you.”

Her look turns calculating, which is another new development. Need to get her out of the city. “Let me see the memory.”

He steps forward casually and kneels down to her height. Hadn't expected that, but now that I think about it I'm pretty sure he's got an empathic sister. She looks him in the eyes and lets herself into his mind. A few seconds pass, and then she smiles. “She liked you.”

“Does this mean I get an interview?”

“Yes,” she says, then looks at him oddly as he starts to unpack his feedgear. “I am sorry, but I did not mean now. Reid and I are shopping.”

The rest of the feeders burst into laughter. Jaden is clearly not used to being told to wait. He gives her a bemused smile, then shrugs. “I'll find you later, then.”

She nods. “I look forward to talking to you.”

Asha walks a little ahead, and I pause in front of Jaden. “Don't take it personally. She doesn't understand fame yet.”

“You certainly do, though.” He looks at me steadily. “Reid, was it?”

I nod.

“I can't get over how afraid everyone around her is of being in the spotlight. At first I thought all of you were being protective, but after this stuff with Desmond Doyle I can't help but wonder if you're all being selfish instead of helpful.”

I shrug. “I can't speak for her Teacher.”

“Which is a polite way of saying that you won't speak for you.”

Am about to get annoyed when Asha calls for me. Jaden lets me go, but I can tell he doesn't find Desmond and I nearly as charming as he does the University's prettiest Type Three. She takes me by the arm and leads me away, and I hear one of the feeders snicker.

We look at necklaces for a while, and she eventually decides on one for Elene. More of the University's money out of my pocket and into the vendor's hands. Asha hands me the tiny package and frowns at the flower again.

“Let me get you another,” I sigh, and this time she nods.

“I will be over by the food. I am hungry.” She smiles at me and walks toward the vendors in the center of the square, weaving carefully through the crowd. They tower over her so much that they startle when she walks by underneath them.

“Get me some tea!” I shoulder her catskin and retrace our steps back to the flower vendor, who is sympathetic to the fate of the blue one we bought. Of course he's got no intention of giving me a new one for free, though. This time I buy three. Another blue one, and two green ones that were my mother's favorite growing up. As soon as they're in my hands I feel stupid, but Asha'll like them. This is the first time I've seen her happy since Nanda left, and I want to keep it that way. Even though she's so upset about what happened with Desmond, when we were told Seamus had been released and the people who'd seeded him were being hunted down, her eyes had lit up like they did the day I showed up at Hanakawa and gave her my old flute. I catch myself smiling and freeze my face as I hand the vendor more money.

The street seems less crowded as I return to Asha. I check my wristband and sigh. The Kiranese have a bad habit of closing everything down for an hour and resting in the afternoon. Not looking forward to how much Asha's going to sulk when I tell her we have to reschedule the next bit of shopping. The University never does the break, so she's not used to it yet.

Three more days. I look around and spot Asha ordering us food from a Midbaran vendor. She's facing me, and smiles when she sees me approaching. Behind her, a group of men round the corner and come into view.

I recognize those arm bands. I recognize those guns. Kiranese police, headed straight for Asha. She frowns as I stop in shock.

“Reid, what is wrong?” she calls, and one of the officers looks in my direction, but doesn't pick me out of the crowd.

No. No! They take us in now, she'll be jailed, and I'll be deported to save what face the Fleet can. I think back to the way Aria and the other empath girl staggered when she got angry at Rayland, and how I felt sick to my stomach. Someone had decided she'd seeded the courtroom after all. Won't be able to prove I didn't help. No. Can't. Told her and Desmond both that I wasn't her bodyguard. Surely they wouldn't expect me to rush in and stand by her.

“Reid?” she repeats, and I shake my head at her. So focused on me that she hasn't noticed them yet.

I let the flowers fall from my hand and turn on my heel. She reaches out to me with her mind, but I keep her out. If she feels my panic, she'll panic too, and then all of this will go horribly wrong.

She makes a confused noise as the men reach her, and I turn around before I've quite rounded the corner. No. Should go back. If I'm not there she'll get scared, and she'll—

“What do you want?” Her voice is shaking, eyes wide. Slightly crouched and ready to spring away.

“Asha, we need you to come with us, please.” They don't have their weapons drawn yet. Trying to be nice, but they're circling her, so of course she's going to be scared. Should have known better than to hunt her like that.

“No, where is Reid? I need Reid.” Her head is shaking back and forth, and she is swaying slightly. Old Asha, at the worst time. Of course; I'm leaving her stranded in the Capital.

“If you tell us, he can come with us, too.” Thinks he's being crafty, but she isn't stupid. Her eyes narrow, and she whirls to face him directly. A crowd is forming on the other side of the square. In the middle of them, a man gasps and falls to his knees. No.

“You stay away from him. He has done nothing wrong. I have done nothing wrong!” Her voice is too loud. “Why are you all so angry?”

Can't stop her. If I show myself, they'll take me too. I take another step backward and turn, but I can still hear them. Their tranq guns load with ominous clicking sounds.

Another member of the crowd falls, and then an officer screams and clutches his head. Never seen her seed non-empaths before. Almost run to quiet her; if I'm there, she'll go with them. But before I can make a move or hate myself for staying put one of them shoots, and she shrieks.

People collapse in a ring around her. I hear the heavy thump of another officer and his gear as I pause yet again. She screams, long and sustained, and as I whirl out of habit they fire a second time. A third time. She goes silent and crumples, hitting the ground with eyes still open. When I see the bent flower still in her hand I almost throw up.

“Find the other one! He's never far from her!” The leader grabs one of his dazed men by the shoulder and drags him to his feet. “Stop napping and go!”

I'm sorry, Asha. This time, you're really not worth it. As soon as I'm around the corner, I break into a run and throw my wristband down an alley.