I landed on the wooden floors of the gym at the feet of John Endavell and stared him down as I got up.

  If he noticed my staring, he didn’t show it. Instead, he opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

  “Congratulations for making it to the final round! Your long, hard journey in this project is nearly at an end, and the reward is right around the corner.”

  He paced back and forward in front of us.

  “Please, take this time to rest, enjoy yourselves, because in a few days you’ll all be working harder than you’ve ever worked in your lives.”

  My hands balled into fists.

  “Dinner will be served at the usual time but for now, you are free to go.”

  The rest of the project participants trudged out of the door, with exhausted heads hung low, and I trailed behind them, the last one to leave.

  I was halfway out of the room when I heard John turn to his advisor.

  “I thought Elian would be here, what’s he got up to now?”

  “I’m here father.” Elian entered the room, looking at me long enough I could see dark circles under his eyes, while the rest of him was significantly paler, his cheeks gaunt. As if he hadn’t eaten or slept in days.

  “I was busy looking for Niva. She disappeared suddenly today.”

  The Chancellor pursed his lips and tilted his head, perhaps his attempt at a sympathetic expression.

  “I’ll get my guards on the case. But it’s not all bad news, now you’ll be able to focus on your upcoming meeting with Ariadne, free of distraction. Speaking of...” He turned to me. “VC2104, is there anything I can help you with?”

  “No,” I mumbled, “I was just leaving.”

  I looked into Elian’s eyes. Damn what the Chancellor thought.

  “I’m sure your friend would want you to stay strong.”

  His eyes sparkled in the sun streaming through the full length windows, flitting between me and his father as he wrestled with the words he was about to speak, instinct leashing tears that never came.

  “I’m sorry about the participants who didn’t make it.”

  As soon as he finished the sentence he stumbled forward, swaying on unsteady feet. He appeared dazed, his eyes not quite focusing as he gave one final effort to stand, ending in failure as he collapsed to the floor.

  His arm weakly reached out to break the fall, revealing a festered wound that he’d somehow managed to conceal until now.

  Everyone was so focused on Daniella, I didn’t stop to think… to check whether he’d been hurt too. And if he’d been searching for Niva in the past for days, it had had plenty of time to become infected, rotting him from the inside out.

  “Elian!” I cried.

  The Chancellor snapped his fingers and the guards sprung into action, bringing forward a stretcher. They acted quickly, lifting him with practiced efficiency presumably rushing him to the Estate’s med ward, out the door before I thought to follow them. When I finally got my limbs to move, I ran to catch up, only just about succeeding as they rounded a corner.

  It was a struggle to keep their pace, and through it all I was vaguely aware of the Chancellor running behind me, but my first thought was Elian. For all the good it would do, I prayed to anybody that would listen he’d make it through. Infections could be treated. He was not beyond hope.

  But it was hard to keep optimistic as they rushed him through emergency care, getting him to his own room that no one apart from the doctors was allowed in. They slammed the door in our faces, including the Chancellor himself, and we were forced to look through the large glass windows as they hooked Elian up to an IV drip, pumping him full of antibiotics, even the ones that had long ago stopped working with the rise of resistant bacteria.

  The Chancellor took a seat, wiping the sweat that had gathered on his forehead with a navy handkerchief before looking to me with what could only be described as disgust.

  “What are you doing here? Get out!”

  I crossed my arms.

  “With all due respect, sir, make me.”

  Like hell was I going to leave Elian in this state.

  He balled his hands into fists, and for a second it looked like he was going to use them, until a familiar voice called from behind.

  “She’s with me,” Shirley stated, slightly out of breath from running. “She stays as long as she likes. Unless you want me to tell the Triumvirate where their money’s been going, darling?”

  The couple stared each other down, shaking with deep loathing I didn’t think was possible for people to feel.

  Ultimately the Chancellor decided he liked his relatively easy life, and stood down, sitting back in his chair.

  A too long time passed where the three of us sat in a row, waiting for news in a strange mix of tense and awkward silence until finally one of the doctors called out from the emergency room doorway.

  “Chancellor Endavell, Mrs Alvidrez. He’s stable enough for you to come in.”

  They leapt to their feet, even holding hands as they went to see their son.

  How they switched between hating each other and loving each other so quickly, I’d never know, but it seemed they were both united by one thing at least. Their love for Elian. Their version of love, anyway.

  They were in there for a while, but with nothing else to do I stayed, and eventually they left the room with grim faces, so grim I wondered what the bad news was, until the Chancellor looked my way.

  “He’s asking for you,” he spat.

  I brushed myself down and trotted towards the room.

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  It wasn’t an uncomfortable room. There were plants along the walls and an effort had clearly been made to minimise its clinical feel, but with Elian lying on the bed looking like death it was hard to feel comforted.

  “Ayla!” He called, rubbing his eyes and trying to sit up.

  The doctor rushed forward and laid him back down.

  “Master Endavell-Alvidrez, please you must rest,” ordered the doctor, but Elian waved him away.

  “I’ve done that enough times before. What I haven’t done, however, is have Ayla Pickering as a hospital visitor. I’d like to talk to her.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Alone.”

  “Sir, is that really –”

  “You’re dismissed.”

  The doctor left the room.

  “He saved your life you know, you should probably be kinder to him.”

  “I’d rather talk to you.” He fidgeted with his hospital gown. “Although under less embarrassing circumstances,” he muttered, looking down at his gown and around at the hospital equipment.

  I placed a hand on his.

  “It’s not that embarrassing. All you need to focus on is getting better.”

  “What I need is something to take my mind off of it.”

  “Alright. Let’s talk about your mother.”

  He tilted his head.

  “Or why you’re here? How did you even get in?”

  “That circles back to your mother. She let me stay for some reason.”

  His face sunk and he was quiet for a moment, staring off into the distance. I dabbed his forehead with a damp cloth by his bedside.

  “You saw them deal with Daniella’s injury, why didn’t you say anything?”

  “It’s not anyone’s job to save me,” he said.

  “No, but I want to help you where I can.”

  “That.” He yawned. “That doesn’t make sense. I should be the one helping you.”

  “Well, it seems we’ve found ourselves in a tricky situation. Why don’t we both agree to only help each other when we ask for it?”

  He considered for a moment, then nodded weakly.

  “Alright, on one condition. You have to actually ask for help when you need it.”

  My mouth immediately opened to agree but the words stalled in my throat. It was a fair demand, but was it one I could deliver? My whole life had taught me that showing weakness was the worst mistake a Relegate could make. We were already seen as weak, so confirming what the wardens already believed always ended poorly. Living like that… I wasn’t sure I knew how to ask for help if I wanted to.

  But I wasn’t in the institution anymore. I could trust Elian. He wanted to help.

  “Deal.”

  He leaned back, satisfied. His eyelids heavy and drooping.

  “So, how bitter were my parents when I asked to see you?”

  “I’m going to have to watch my back now, that’s for sure. But I don’t care as long as you’re alive and well.”

  “It was touch and go for a minute apparently,” he said bluntly. I shook my head.

  “What were you thinking? Staying in the past for days on end with an infected wound?”

  “I thought I could do more to help the Lion Legion.”

  I wiped a lock of hair from his eyes as they slowly shut, and he fell back asleep.

  “You’ve already done enough,” I replied, as the door swung open and I jumped back to see the two doctors reappear with Shirley.

  She shuffled past them, taking a spot at the edge of the bed.

  “I hope I wasn’t interrupting,” she said in a way that made it seem like that was exactly what she was hoping to do. I shook my head.

  “Of course not, ma’am.”

  She lifted an eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and satisfaction that I’d addressed her properly.

  “The med ward holds a lot of memories for me, you know. The first time I came here was to get the Custom procedure done for Elian,” she started, her eyes weirdly alight, “Do you know how it’s done?”

  “I know you change the baby’s genes before its implanted into the mother,” I admitted, “But that’s about it.”

  Shirley nodded.

  “It’s a long process. The genetic screenings, the consultations, the alterations... all worth it to produce my genetically perfect son.”

  She reached over and kissed two fingers before placing them on Elian’s forehead. She looked at him with the loving adoration expected of a mother, but I tried to imagine a world where a parent would try to change their child if they really loved them and couldn’t picture it. Not that I was in any way an authority on parenting but even with my limited experience it didn’t feel right.

  “My father worked hard to make me a Custom so I thought giving the same gift to his grandson was the best way to repay him, but I never knew the journey it involved. As soon as it was announced to the world I was expecting my first child the plots started. Every week there was some attempt to kill me and the unborn Chancellor’s heir. What I’m saying is, I went through a lot to give him the best life possible so I’m very protective of him. Do you understand?”

  “Do you think I’d hurt him?” I asked.

  “I think you’re surrounded by fire, and he’d burn himself to get close to you.”

  “He’s smarter than that.”

  “Do you care for him?”

  It almost came out pleading, as if she hoped she was wrong. As if she hoped I’d turn around and say no.

  It wouldn’t be the truth if I did.

  There was a something. And I wasn’t sure what it was, either because I didn’t know or didn’t want to, but it was something new, and exciting. It was also delicate. Like if I said it out loud it would disappear forever, and I certainly didn’t want that. Because whatever this something was, I had never imagined, not in all my life, that I would feel it, that I could have a feeling so wonderful. Even if it wasn’t real, even if it wouldn’t last, the fact that I’d felt it at all was a gift. A gift I’d cherish for the rest of my life, however short that was probably going to be.

  “Is it even worth pretending I don’t?” I sighed.

  “So it is as I feared… In that case I feel sorry for you,” she replied, to my surprise. “He will marry Ariadne, one way or another, and you will not get in the way of that. The best you can hope for is to live in the shadows, a secret from the world.”

  My nails dug into my palms.

  “I’m done with living hidden away, as if I don’t deserve a chance to be seen and heard as much as anybody else.”

  “Good. You’re a smart girl, you deserve better than second place. If the laws were different, who knows, but as long as the Chancellor lives, Relegates will never experience love in its entirety. Now if you’ll excuse me I’d like some time with my son.”

  “Of course, ma’am.”

  I left the room, taking one last look at Elian’s sleeping form. He looked peaceful.

  Outside, the Chancellor was fussing around his staff.

  “Who deals with records?” he demanded, standing there with his long grey coat and blue waistcoat.

  The man at the reception desk stood up.

  “I do, Sir.”

  John Endavell whirled towards him.

  “Perfect, then you know what to do.”

  The man furrowed his eyebrows.

  “Again sir?”

  “Did I stutter?”

  His blue eyes flashed dangerously like the raging sea, a tempest of fury about to crash onto the shore.

  The receptionist clicked his fingers and an android left, returning soon after with a small pile of papers.

  “Good work.” He waved around to all the staff how I imagined the ringmaster at the circus Ramya told me about would gather his performing troupes. “And as usual you will all be getting compensation for your professionalism in this matter.”

  The hospital staff whispered gleefully to each other.

  “Please,” beamed the Chancellor, “It’s the least I could do. Now go, take some well-deserved time off.”

  All the staff of the hospital left the entrance hall in a buzz of excitement, leaving the android and the Chancellor alone.

  “Android.” He pointed a finger at the poor robot, a female form with brown hair and brown eyes. “Change the documents to say Elian was injured while fighting Lion Legion attackers. We need to pitch Elian as a leader who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, who will defend our country to the end against tyranny and evil. They can’t doubt my decision to put him forward for the next Chancellor.”

  “Changing today’s files for Lieutenant Elian John Endavell-Alvidrez, the Eagle of Saxanglain. Action initiated.”

  The android went still for a second, its eyes shutting down to black as it connected to the mainframe and altered the stored files.

  “Maybe these rust buckets have a purpose after all.” He chuckled to himself.

  “Oh android,” he sighed dramatically, throwing himself onto the nearest chair, “I hate to do it but it makes life so much easier not having the Triumvirate on my back. Especially Elexis and her supporters, you know how they get.”

  He pressed the back of his hand against his forehead.

  “My father was worse than me, you know. He signed me up for fights he knew the whole Triumvirate would watch to convince them I was a suitable heir, but I came out better for it. Just look at where it got me. I only want that for Elian. I only want him to be strong. What are fathers for if not to make their sons strong?”

  The Chancellor was monologuing to himself like a drunkard, but no trace of alcohol could be found on him. No wafting smell that so often followed wardens at Vocafeum.

  Should I be worried? I thought. Yes. Most likely.

  He turned sharply to face me, unfazed by my presence. It was an odd moment, me standing alone in the middle of the floor, watching him lounge on his couch.

  “You’d better be leaving,” he snapped.

  This time, I did as he asked.