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Escott stared at the mirror and the idiot he found there looking back at him. The scars on his chest from where the Elemental medic had to eventually use his own power to jumpstart Escott’s heart stood out against his pale skin.

Those marks were still sensitive to the touch. He’d have to go without a shirt, just a jacket. On a normal day, Escott would have been too embarrassed to do that, but he hardly felt like the old Escott anymore.

One month from the initial quarantine, two weeks from the worst day of his life. Not even the day he died, but the day he woke up to find he’d been left to die.

As usual these past few weeks, the Chief was there early, hovering. Couldn’t blame the guy, most Newbreeds were forced to stay at the enforcer HQ under strict observation.

Escott was the first to walk away other than Winrose who barely had a scratch on him.

DAWN’s database was going live today. Escott thought about turning down the invitation.

“We’ve updated the uniforms to suit Newbreeds better,” the Chief said.

Escott focused on his father in the mirror. “The only thing I wanna hear is about Karen Blackwell getting arrested for poison and murder.”

His words held a challenge, one that his father never took.

Their eyes met and the man finally explained himself. “Karen Blackwell has a good alibi.”

“So what?”

Letting out a sigh, the Chief said, “So it’s hard to prove that she somehow planted bombs here and set them off at the exact same time a gang broke out their merchandise. As far as we can tell now, it was all an unexplained accident.”

Escott wanted to slap the man. “Is that what you’ll say to Darla’s husband when he comes back from hibernation to find his unborn child dead and buried?”

Silence. This topic always shut the old man up, but that wasn’t Escott’s intent. He wanted an explanation.

“Blackwell moved heaven and hell to let Lander out before a bomb goes off.” Escott waited but eventually had to answer on his own. “Because she knew this was coming.”

The Chief put his hand on Escott’s shoulder. “It’s one day. And it’d mean the world to your Eza to know you’re back.”

Eza.... Eza and the baby came out of it all like fighters, all the more reason poor Darla’s situation was so pitiful.

“Elementals can see bloodlines, so can most imps. Isn’t DAWN a waste? Why do we need to track DNA? We can already track it. Are people saying our Elementals aren’t reliable anymore?”

His father studied him for a moment, debating whether or not to keep him in the usual dark.

“Elementals aren’t reproducing with other Elementals anymore. A lot of them follow the old ways from the underground, meaning Elemental to Yule paring in hopes of avoiding an Elemental baby too strong to sustain itself. Many more simply debate bringing a child into The Fan with our future so unsteady. We can’t depend on them forever. Are you sure you want to go? I think you should—”

“Stay here a bit longer with my thoughts?”

This was one of the few times his father seemed to understand him.

“You stick close to me, all right?”

Nodding, Escott finished checking the suit over. He picked up the gun on the table. “What’s this?”

“Part of the new outfit, I told you. We’ve upgraded.”

Eyes wide, Escott asked, “Is this a gun?”

Their eyes met and his father said, “Someone’s trying to kill Newbreeds. That used to be off limits. We all knew we could let our kids move about freely without trouble. If this hate campaign’s picking up, we’ve all agreed we’d better be safe than sorry. So yes. It’s a fucking gun. Take it with you at all times.”

A gun.

Escott was familiar with them but hated the things—from their obnoxious sound to their crude nature. Rarely did he find a function for them that his claws and teeth couldn’t take care of.

“Biting people is no longer an option for you lot as of now. Are we clear?” the Chief said.

Escott walked strong, though with each step he felt like something pressed on his chest. It wasn’t from any injury, though, just another issue he wrestled with.

Someone slammed into him in the hallway. “Essy!”

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Caught in a vice grip, Escott tensed but calmed once he realized who it was. “Lander.” He tried to hug him back.

“You bastard, of course you’d be okay,” Lander said.

Escott was happy to see him, but asked, “Who let you in?”

“It’s an open event.”

Lander didn’t have many good clothes, but this must have mattered to him because he’d cleaned his best pair. They were still a size too small, though. He looked rough, but Escott appreciated that someone was happy to see him.

Still, an open event looked like a way to invite trouble.

“We have a lot of opposition to DAWN, even now,” the Chief said. “But it’s best we get it up and running.”

“There’s Winrose,” Escott observed. “I wanted to give him my condolences about his mother.”

The Chief caught his shoulder. “No. He’s been acting weird ever since then. And besides.... Amber Winrose isn’t in any of our records and none of the other Newbreed committee mothers knew her beyond that day.”

Escott blinked at him. “How’s that possible?” He watched Winrose’s every move as he slipped into the room. “He’s a Newbreed through and through.”

Lander agreed, “Yeah. Even girls with less of the mutation are still obvious. Especially when they grow three times faster than us.”

“Never mind that.” The Chief ushered them into the main room. “We’re gonna start soon.”

To Escott’s surprise, Lander followed them. That was strange. Even at an open event, the Chief had little incentive to walk next to the criminal likes of Lander. A lot might have happened in one month. Maybe they finally dropped those charges. Smuggling people into their domain seemed like one of the worst crimes someone could commit, though, so that was unlikely.

It occurred to Escott why Lander was sticking so close once they entered the crowded room. Gus-Gus walked by, Gwen chatting beside him a mile a minute.

Lilah was here.

Of course she was. It was her job. Escott tried to get a hold of himself. Rather than look for her, he focused on someone he deemed more important.

Sitting alone, her back against the wall, Darla observed the room with a blank expression.

“She lost the baby,” Lander explained. “First time it’s ever got this far. It was a stillbirth.”

Escott’s throat felt tight. He wasn’t sure what to say.

“Worst part?” Lander said, “Her imp hibernated for the first time in twenty years.”

“Thinking he didn’t have a reason to skip this season, too.”

“Yeah. He gets to come back to life and death.” Lander’s voice dropped. “Essy.... If I brought those guys in.... If I’m the reason they released that stuff....”

Escott struck him on the chest. “Shut up. They wanted a jailbreak. And if this shit’s out there for all criminals to have a fighting chance against us, fine. But at least we have an antidote finally.” His spirits sank. Lilah’s family had to go through hell for years, and all this time, poisoning a Newbreed child—poisoning Escott—would have brought a cure. For that he was sorry.

He kept that sorrow until he caught sight of her.

Lilah was beautiful. No one could dispute that. And even though she rarely dressed up, the times when she did—for this ceremony for example—she was even more stunning. Today, Escott’s gut roiled at the sight of her. She wasn’t beautiful now. Full red lips, big blue eyes, wavy black hair hanging past her shoulders, yet he couldn’t see an inkling of beauty. Hell, her second name meant beauty and he’d thought it fit. Now? Now he saw only irony.

He took a step in her direction and his father caught his arm.

“Essy....”

Teeth gritted, Escott said, “I need to do this. I’ve been thinking about nothing else for two damn weeks.”

Escott made his way to Lilah and she stood when she spotted him. Lander and the Chief followed close, but that didn’t matter.

“This really isn’t the time to be doing this,” the Chief whispered.

“Shut up, old man.” Escott gained speed. The ring in his pocket weighed him down for weeks, now he gripped it, feeling strong.

Lilah had height, nearly meeting him eye to eye. That was one thing he always loved about her. Now it felt condescending.

“Essy...” she whispered, seemingly genuine in her relief at seeing him.

“Yup. Ain’t dead yet,” Escott said. “Disappointed?”

She didn’t have an answer.

Others slowed in what they were doing to watch them. Maybe they expected some blow out, but that wasn’t Escott’s intent. When he held out the ring and he brought up bile from his second stomach and spat on it, the metal eroded then melted in his palm.

Her features softened. He’d made his point.

With that, he turned to walk away.

That’s when she made the mistake of saying, “It wasn’t you, Essy. You’ve gotta know that.”

“Don’t.” Escott turned to her, a rush of rage coming over him. “Don’t you dare. If you’re going to say this isn’t my fault but yours, save your breath. Of course, it’s your fault. You left someone to die. You broke up with someone on his deathbed. Of course, that’s your fault.” Silence filled the room, but Escott swore he could hear the pounding of his own heart. He meant to walk away. He’d resolved to do just that, but he couldn’t believe her nerve. “You’re broken inside, Lilah.”

“Essy....” The Chief gasped.

There were no tears for Lilah, just a woeful expression as she muttered, “What was I supposed to do?”

Escott leaned away, shocked. “Supposed to do? Supposed to do? When someone’s dying and they ask to complete a promise, what the hell do you think you’re supposed to do?” He waited for an answer and hated her all the more for not giving one. “You proposed to me.”

She made a sound but swallowed down her reply.

“And when someone’s in a rough way, like say a friend whose mother was dying and she needed someone close and she asked for marriage, you be a friend.” Escott looked her in the eye. “I don’t love you romantically, not like I’m supposed to, I know. But I loved you.

“And when you asked, I figured the rest would come. I didn’t get lovesick like I’ve seen with others, but I was so sure that love would come. That eventually I’d crave you and long for you like the Newbreed mothers cried for their imp husbands whenever they went off on a hunt. I expected to feel that in time, and I thought I was wrong for not feeling it, but it’s got nothing to do with me, Lilah. It’s you. Something’s wrong with you. You’re a shell. You’re an empathic Elemental with no empathy or emotion. You are empty. It’s not me who didn’t feel, it was you who were incapable of it. No smiles, no optimism, just this fear that made you run in circles. And why? If you were just gonna leave, why choose me?”

“You were supposed to be indestructible,” Lilah whispered a tear threatening to fall. She blinked it back. “You were supposed to be indestructible, Essy....”

Escott stared her down, willing himself to calm. “Well I’m still here, aren’t I?” She didn’t cry, but it was all he could do to keep back his own tears. “What if it was Gus-Gus? If he’d become sick, would you have walked away then, too?”

Lilah slapped him. Her body trembled.

The Chief leaned close, pleading, “Essy, let’s go.”

But Escott couldn’t move. “I’m supposed to be indestructible? Rest assured, woman, you’ve done more than your fair share of damage to me.”

Face twisted into a frown, Lilah shook her head. “You’ll get over it by morning.”

Escott gritted his teeth.

Lander grabbed his shoulder. “Essy....”

“Yeah, get me outta here,” Escott said, “for the first time in my life, I’m afraid I’m going to hit a woman.”

The vice grip on Escott’s arm drew his focus as Lander marched him through the crowd to the other side of the room.