Cousins Esther and Tempest have been separated by cities, countries, and continents all their lives; but now, when both girls need each other the most, they are separated by lightyears.
Tempest is stuck on a vessel to Janus, forced into keeping the...
"I never wanted to see the list of DNA pairings again after I found them in Gunther's hidden office. I saw Esther's pairing and that was it. The rest of the Perfects—the genetically engineered children... I hate the term 'Perfects'—are a mystery to me. Others want to see the list, but not me. I never want to be reminded of Gunther again. But I know that's impossible. He, unfortunately, is one of the ghosts that refuses to leave me be. I'll never escape what he did to me. What he did to us." -Isla Blume-Crowley
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ESTHER
Graduation is tomorrow, and though it's supposed to be a huge celebration, all I can feel is dread. The ceremony means nothing for me—I'll be staying in Hicksmon to apprentice under Uncle Julian in programming—but for Milo, graduation means moving to Petra to study diplomacy at the World Alliance Headquarters. I hate the idea that another one of my loved ones will be across the world from me. First Aunt Ava, Uncle Ian, and Tempest. Now my boyfriend.
I spin my fingers through the wet curls of my golden hair to help it set without product. Aunt Celia made an amazing curl balm, but it makes my hair look too shiny, too perfected; and as a 'Perfect,' I'm wary of anything that would associate me with that adjective. Especially before going to a party with Perfects and Normals.
My graduating class is a mix of both, though most of us are Perfects like me and Milo. Eighteen years ago, the Deathless won a war against a group called Roberts and Cooper. We've been taught about it in school, but I am... well, I wouldn't say lucky, I think as I rub some tinted salve on my lips. I'm different. That's it. I'm different, because my family—both my family by blood and my family through love—actually lived through the war.
My mom Eleanor Crowley was a Carrier at George Cooper's estate. My brother Daniel was one of the leaders alongside Gunther Quail, though he dissented. My sister-in-law Isla Blume was one of the leaders of the rebellion after the first attack on Roberts and Cooper's government bunker. The war isn't just part of Hicksmon's history, it's part of my personal history too. Especially since my biological father died in the attack against the bunker. That's another reason why I'm different: I'm the only Perfect who knows who their biological parents are. Mom told me when I was ten. I'm a mixture of her—which is also different, because from what we've been told, usually Carriers didn't carry their own biological children—and Aunt Ava's cousin. His name was Nathan Ward, and from what Isla has told me, I look just like him. From the round face, to the light brown eyes, to the golden hair.
But even my family by love lived through the war. Aunt Celia was a Comforter like Isla and Aunt Ava. Uncle Julian was an Original, one of the people who survived the apocalypse in the Hoover Dam. Aunt Beatrice, who also happens to be our small nations' president (another reason I'm different) and Uncle Todd survived the apocalypse here in Hicksmon with Mom, back when it was still a place called Lancaster. Back before we re-claimed it.
Yes, the war and all that came out of it is part of our history here in Hicksmon—hell, here in the world—but it's part of my blood too. I was created by war and I was an infant through its end. It's as much part of my DNA as anything else.
