Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Her heart had been thudding so hard then. She’d wondered if she’d die, too.
Now, only two weeks after she’d broken into the system, she stood outside her grandfather’s door and she tried not to run through these rooms screaming for Pax. He wasn’t here. She’d always been able to tell when her brother was close by, and so she knew he wasn’t here.
A lump grew in her throat, threatening to make her eyes burn. She’d been so good about not showing emotions; she’d been hoping that her family would forgive her for being so weak, that they’d take her back.
But Pax wasn’t here. And Colette hadn’t told her to pack her things.
She blinked really fast in an effort to fight her tears.
That was when her grandfather’s aide, a short woman with gray hair who’d been his aide as long as Theo could remember, came out from his room. “You can go inside now,” she said to Theo, and for a moment, Theo thought she saw a softness in her expression, and she wondered if she could tell the aide her email address and she’d give it to Pax.
Then the woman’s face turned all hard again, and Theo knew that whatever had made her face go soft had nothing to do with Theo. The woman belonged to her grandfather, would tell him anything she said. And Theo would lose even the small possibility of meeting up with her brother.
“Thank you.” Her voice came out quiet, but calm.
She checked that her knee-length black coat was neatly buttoned, her socks pulled up and her black shoes shiny, then turned and walked into her grandfather’s study.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Chapter 4
Dear D,
It’s so good to hear from you. I’m sorry I missed you when you visited Mom and Dad. My trip to Paris got extended because I’ve been promoted to supervising engineer! I’m now in charge of the entire Paris project. I’m so excited I might self-combust!
I’m going to call Mom and Dad tonight. But I had to tell you first! I would’ve never passed my exams without your advice and support. I’ll never forget your patience as you helped me find my feet. I wouldn’t be the confident woman I am today without having such an amazing big brother.
I hope you and Marian are having the best week. I can’t believe my big brother is mated!! And at only 24! That ceremony was amazing. Now that you two have had six months of mated bliss, I want you to seriously consider visiting me in Paris. I’ll be here for at least two more months, and they’ve given me a spacious two-bedroom apartment. There’s plenty of room. Do come, D!
Your favorite little sister (who I hope you’ll notice is writing you an actual paper letter in her terrible penmanship, and who will be paying the exorbitant rates for a telekinetic courier, rather than sending you a message via the Internet).
P.S. The discussion about shifting the aims of Silence is really heating up. I don’t know what I think about it—what are your thoughts on it?
—Letter from Hien Nguyen to Déwei Nguyen (19 February 1972)
DAY FOUR OF the same nightmare and Yakov couldn’t stand it anymore, couldn’t stand watching her die over and over again! All while he lay in screaming helplessness, unable to go to her aid.
Yakov wanted to strangle someone and punch them at the same time.
Freshly showered but still pissed—and awake far too early—he went to grab coffee and pastries from the den’s main kitchen. He met no one in the hallways, and even the Cavern, the huge central hub of the den, was empty. Weird time between shifts, he realized.
Fifteen more minutes and there’d be a steady flow of people in and out.
The brawny clanmate on duty in the kitchen grunted at him before going back to his breadmaking, his biceps flexing as he kneaded the dough like he was imagining it to be his worst enemy. Yakov had no idea why someone who absolutely was not a morning person had chosen to be a baker—but he was a damn good one.
As showcased by the array of fresh pastries ready for the taking.
“Thanks, Dan.” Yakov’s whisper had Bogdan waving a flour-dusted hand that said, Get the hell out of my face, you infuriating morning person.
Leaving his clanmate in peace, Yakov went to wake his twin. He didn’t bother to knock since he knew Pavel was sleeping alone today. Pavel’s lover—and the man for whom he was head over paws crazy in love—was on the final day of a work contract for a tiny Psy family unit out of Ecuador that could surely not pay him what he was worth.
Mercants had a way of making unusual choices.
Pavel proved to be lying facedown in bed, one foot out of the blanket and his arms above his head. “If that’s not a croissant I smell, I will murder you,” he muttered before raising his head. His bedhead might’ve been extreme if not for the silky weight of his hair—it fell back into place around his face at once.