Prodigy

me of someone.”
    Once this would have made Day laugh, but now he just glares at me. “I saw a boy in Lamar,” he continues. “He was my brother’s age. For a minute, I thought he
was
Eden. He was being shipped around in a giant glass tube, like some sort of science experiment. I tried to get him out, but I couldn’t. The boy’s blood is being used as a bioweapon that they’re trying to launch into the Colonies.” Day throws his fork into the sink. “
That’s
what your pretty Elector’s doing to my brother. Now, you still think he released him?”
    I reach over and put my hand over his. “Congress had sent Eden to the warfront before Anden was Elector. Anden just released him the other day. He’s—”
    Day shrugs me off, his expression a mix of frustration and confusion. He readjusts the sleeves of his collar shirt back up to his elbows. “Why do you believe in this guy so much?”
    “What do you mean?”
    He gets angrier as he goes. “I mean, the only reason I didn’t smash your Elector’s car window and put a knife through his throat was because of
you.
Because I knew
you
must’ve had a good reason. But now it seems like you just take his words on faith. What happened to all that logic of yours?”
    I don’t like the way he calls Anden
my
Elector, as if Day and I were still on opposing sides. “I’m telling you the truth,” I say quietly. “Besides, last time I checked, you’re not a murderer.”
    Day turns away from me and mutters something under his breath that I can’t quite catch. I cross my arms. “Do you remember when I trusted
you,
even though everything I’d ever known told me that you were an enemy? I gave you the benefit of the doubt, and I sacrificed everything for what I believed. I can tell you right now that assassinating Anden will solve nothing. He’s the one person the Republic actually needs—someone inside the system with enough power to change things. How could you live with yourself after killing a person like that? Anden is
good.
”
    “
So what
if he is?” Day says coldly. He’s gripping the countertop so tightly that his knuckles have turned white. “Good, bad—what does it matter? He’s the
Elector.
”
    I narrow my eyes. “Do you
really
believe that?”
    Day shakes his head and laughs mirthlessly. “The Patriots are trying to start a revolution. That’s what this country needs—not a
new
Elector, but
no
Elector. The Republic is broken beyond repair. Let the Colonies take over.”
    “You don’t even know what the Colonies are like.”
    “I know they’ve got to be better than this hellhole,” Day snaps.
    I can tell that he’s not angry at just me, but he’s starting to sound childish and it rubs me the wrong way. “You know why I agreed to help the Patriots?” I put a hand on his upper arm, feeling the faint outline of a scar under the fabric. Day tenses up at my touch. “Because I wanted to help
you.
You think everything’s my fault, don’t you? It’s my fault that your brother’s being experimented on. It’s my fault that you had to leave the Patriots. It’s my fault that Tess refused to come.”
    “No . . .”
Day trails off as he wrings his hands in frustration. “It’s not all your fault. And Tess . . . Tess is definitely my fault.” There’s genuine pain on his face—at this point, I can’t tell who it’s for. So much has happened. I feel a curious pang of resentment that makes blood rush in my ears even as it shames me. It’s not fair for me to be jealous. After all, Day has known Tess for years, much longer than he’s known me, so why shouldn’t he feel attached to her? Besides, Tess is sweet, selfless, healing. I am not. Of course I know why Tess had abandoned him. It
is
because of me.
    I study his face. “What happened between you and Tess?”
    Day stares at the wall across from us, lost in thought, and I have to tap his foot with mine to snap him out of it. “Tess kissed me,” he mutters. “And she feels like I betrayed her . . . for you.”
    My cheeks redden. I close my eyes, forcing the image of them kissing out of my thoughts.
This is so stupid. Isn’t it?
Tess has known Day for years—she has every right to kiss him. And hadn’t the Elector kissed me too? Hadn’t I liked it? Anden suddenly feels a million miles away, like he doesn’t matter at all. The only thing I can see is Day and Tess together. It’s like a punch to the stomach.
We’re in the middle of a war. Don’t be pathetic.
“Why would