Unraveled Read Free Page A

them,” I say.
    “I need them in their places, Adelice. Our plans won’t succeed if the citizens are
     scared.”
    “Exactly what is happening in Arras?” I ask.
    “Nothing that can’t be handled,” he assures me, but he blinks as he says it.
    Except he needs a wedding— a huge distraction —to handle it.
    I push the plate away from me and rub my wrists. I don’t know how much time I have
     until he puts the gages back on my hands, now that he’s pitched his idea.
    “You’re finished with your meal,” Cormac says. He looks at the gages, and I sigh,
     raising my hands to him. An aeroship caught in the Interface between Earth and Arras
     is no place to try to escape. If only Cormac could see that.
    “These protect me from you,” he says, picking up the gages. “I saw what you did to
     Kincaid, which was admirable, but I’m not eager for a repeat performance. Not yet.
     There is another option, though.”
    He glances toward the box on the table. I still haven’t touched it.
    “If I say yes, no more gages?” I ask.
    “When you put on that ring, Adelice, you’ll be making a commitment. As will I,” he
     reminds me. “To show you I am serious about our endeavor, as long as you wear that
     ring, there is no need for these.” He waves the gages around and I look from them
     to the ring.
    It isn’t until I reach out for the blue velvet box that I notice my fingers are trembling.
     Are all girls this scared of a marriage proposal? It probably doesn’t help that mine
     comes with a real till-death-do-us-part clause attached. I stare at the ring. It’s
     flawless, but its loveliness is tainted by what it stands for: control.
    Over me.
    Over Arras.
    “Allow me,” he says, slipping it onto my finger. “I know you think of this as a means
     to an end, Adelice, but remember, there is no shame in compromise.”
    There is shame in lying, I think. But I swallow the words deep inside me with a frantic
     gulp.
    “Perfect,” he says. The ring fits precisely as though it were made for me. It probably
     was.
    I fan my fingers in front of me, noticing the ring’s weight as the stone catches the
     light and blazes with fiery life, sending flickers like stars around the room.
    “Do we have a deal?” Cormac asks.
    “The proposal every girl dreams of,” I mutter.
    “I’m not getting down on one knee.”
    “Thank Arras.”
    I stare at him. Then I stare at the ring. Cormac needs a wedding to distract the citizens
     from trouble, whatever that means, but a wedding could buy me time as well. Time to
     figure out what Cormac is keeping from the people. Time to allow the Agenda on Earth
     to organize. Because time is a precious thing there, and I need to buy as much of
     it as I can for my friends.
    “Yes,” I say, pushing Erik’s face from my mind and ignoring the twinge of fear I feel.
    We regard each other for one wary moment and then I reach out and grip his hand in
     a firm shake.
    “How businesslike,” Cormac says, and he pulls my hand up to his mouth, but before
     his lips can touch it, the door zips open and Hannox enters. He freezes for a moment,
     no doubt stunned by Cormac’s romantic gesture. Or maybe by the horror on my face.
    “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir.”
    Cormac waves it off. “What’s the trouble? Are those Agenda fools coming after us?”
    I tug my hand from his at the mention of the Agenda, wondering if he’s referring to
     Dante, Jost, and Erik.
    “The problem isn’t on Earth, sir,” Hannox says, pausing to let this information sink
     in. “It’s Arras. There’s a blackout over the Eastern Sector.”

 
    TWO
     
    I ’VE ONLY EVER SEEN ONE BLACKOUT— when I was a child—but I’ve never forgotten it. The disappearance of the sky isn’t
     something to be taken lightly, and past instances had been highlighted on the Stream
     as part of cautionary programming. The message in those programs was clear: stay calm.
     Blackouts lasted minutes at the most. At least, they were