For Darkness Shows the Stars

screaming it. He was right. If Ro wanted him here, if Gill wanted him to fix the machines, there was little Elliot could do to stop it. And it would be petty of her to try. Her argument was not theirs. Unlike Kai, she didn’t require that all her friends hate him on her behalf. After all, she couldn’t even muster up hatred for him herself. She pushed herself to her feet. “Ro, I’ll come back another time.”
    Ro’s face crumpled. “No . . . El . . .”
    Kai was also standing. On a normal man, it might have been a scramble, but with him, it just happened. He went from sitting on the floor to blocking her path to the door in a blink. “Don’t leave. You’re upsetting her.”
    She’d upset Ro if she burst into tears, too.
    “Please,” said Kai. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    She gave a rueful laugh. “That’s new.”
    “It is.” The words brought her up short, and he pressed his advantage. “You know what is happening in this cottage, don’t you? On this estate? Why keep it a secret from me?”
    She stiffened. “I can’t believe you’re asking that question after your behavior to me since you returned. I do not trust you, as you have told me time and again that you do not trust me.”
    “I trust you now. I’m trusting you with my life. With the lives of everyone I love.”
    “Oh, please!” Elliot exclaimed, fighting to keep her voice steady. Everyone he loves . . . Everyone was the Fleet. No one else. No one here, and yet he wanted to know all her most dangerous secrets. Her family took advantage of her. She was unlikely to give Malakai Wentforth the same leverage. “You say that as if you willingly took me into your confidence, and now I owe you the same exchange. We both know that’s not the case.”
    Ro now stood between them, wringing her hands.
    When Kai spoke again, his voice was kind. It had to be for Ro’s benefit. “What would I have to gain by ruining whatever they are doing here?”
    “Supremacy over the North estate when you become a Grove?” Elliot suggested.
    His eyes narrowed. “I have no wish to—to live on the Grove estate.” He sighed in exasperation. “And I certainly have no wish to triumph at the expense of the Posts I grew up with.”
    Not like he wished to triumph over her. She stood there, almost shaking her head in pity at what had become of them. Once she’d thought there were no two people in the world who had more to talk about. They could say anything to each other—they had —and their affection had only grown stronger. But it had all come to nothing.
    If only she could speak to him as she once had. If only he had been willing to be honest with her from the start. It didn’t need to be the same between them for it to be worthwhile. For it to be something.
    Elliot took a deep, shuddering breath. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, all she saw was Kai. “There are no Posts on the North estate doing experiments,” she repeated.
    And this time, he understood.

Thirty-one
     
    JUST THEN, ELLIOT HEARD the sound of sun-cart wheels on the gravel outside. With one last, incredulous look at her, Kai left the cottage. Elliot followed him, remaining behind the door. “What is it?” she heard Kai ask in a low voice.
    “Olivia.” It was Donovan’s voice. “She’s awake.”
    “Just now? This is wonderful news!” Kai sounded ecstatic. Elliot wanted to be just as happy for the poor girl, but a small part of her wondered if Kai would sound as excited if the news was about her.
    “That’s Elliot in there with Ro?”
    “Who else?”
    Elliot’s eyes widened for a moment. How? Had he heard her breathing? Were the enhancements that good?
    She opened the door and Ro crowded behind her. “Hello, Donovan.”
    The Post waved. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Horatio thought Wentforth would want to know right away.”
    “Of course he did,” said Kai with a brusque nod. He looked back at Elliot. She thought she saw something familiar in his expression. He appeared as torn as she felt.
    Then he got in the cart with Donovan and departed, leaving Ro to her muddy pots and Elliot to her even muddier thoughts. He’d admitted he’d been trying to hurt her since he’d arrived, and as good as admitted he didn’t want to anymore. And the repairs he’d done to the equipment—he’d claimed they were for the workers on the estate, but it had been Elliot who’d been parading around these last few days feeling like she’d finally fixed