The Restoration of Flaws (The Phantom of the Earth Book 5) Read Free Page B

confidence.”
    “You don’t,” Pasha said, “we understand.”
    “Then I will take my leave and allow you and your sister time alone, but be sure to check your z-disk and prepare.”
    Oriana bowed again. “You have my eternal gratitude.”
    Antosha nodded and left.
    Oriana hugged her Pasha. “I thought I ruined you, that they sent you to the Lower Level—”
    “You did what I would’ve done, what any candidate would have done to win. It wasn’t the end that mattered, O, it was the journey, it was our development, it was the time we spent with the Summersets. They prepared us well, and you delivered them a champion. I’m so proud of you, so glad you’re my sister.”
    She squeezed him tight, then released him. She nodded toward the glowing golden z-disk on her crystal counter. “Shall we find out what happens next—”
    Oriana? Are you there?
    It was Nathan Storm, via Marstone.
    Yes, where’re you? she sent.
    Look in the courtyard.
    She dashed to the edge of the terrace.
    Nathan waved up at her. We have the rest of the day off, and I’d like to take you away from here.
    I’ll meet you in the lobby soon. She disconnected from him.
    Pasha sauntered out to the terrace and stood next to her. She turned to him. He had none of the boy she knew from the early days of development in his face, but he also didn’t look as stressed or angered as he had prior to the Harpoons, after their … argument. His dark blue hair flowed over his forehead in a gust, his bronze skin looked vibrant and young, and his eyes didn’t have dark rings.
    When he didn’t speak, she couldn’t help but wonder: Was he truly no longer upset with her for saving Nathan rather than him during Isabelle’s candlestick puzzle?
    She pushed his hair away from his eyes. “Pash, why didn’t you answer me?”
    “What’d you mean?” Pasha crumpled his brow, and his dimples pocked his cheeks.
    “I’ve been trying to call you the entire way here from the stadium. They didn’t let me watch the rest of the auction, no matter what I said, and I was so—”
    Pasha put his finger on her lips. “O, no candidate can communicate after the auction.” He laughed, and Oriana laughed with him. It was just like the early days of development, when they had so much fun together. She felt lighter than a dove. “You weren’t listening to Lady Isabelle before the auction, were you?”
    The auction was a blur to her. The whispers, the crowd, the perfect sky, Lady Isabelle, and the bid, the bid, the bid! She shook her head. “I suppose not.” She watched the candidates frolicking far below in the courtyard. “Our path is different from theirs, isn’t it?” She looked at Pasha.
    “Only Antosha knows what lies ahead for us.” He and Oriana turned toward the suite, where the z-disk was still glowing gold. “Come, O, let us find out.”
     
    Starmine Village
    Gallia, Underground Northeast
     
    “This is exactly what I needed,” Oriana said.
    She and Nathan navigated the green bioluminescent limestone path, and she massaged the angel necklace he’d given her during the Harpoons. The sounds of streams and waterfalls grew louder as the stone turned to sand and Granville day turned to night. Starlight reflected off the waterfalls, which rolled over boulders rounded from erosion and gushed to the spindly streams below. Oriana breathed in the misty air.
    Nathan set down a silk blanket near the falls. Beimenians meandered around them. The scent of vetiver oil wafted through the air. Nathan unlocked an alloy bin, and up popped mugs brimming with cappuccino. He handed one to Oriana, and she eased into the nook near his chest. She followed the trail of a comet across the sky through the constellations. A sense of peace overtook her.
    “Do you think they’d let us be on the same team?” Nathan said. The Blackstone Consortium, known to train the strikers, aeras, strategists, and captains for the strike teams, had bid for Nathan, who had been in the top quarter