Starcrossed

Chapter 14b: twilly (part 2)

Chapter 14 (part 2)

twilly: obnoxious person; jerk

Gwynne's short blond hair looked fine to me. And they did all look like nice people. "Are they still on Mars?"

"Yeah. Though Doranna's folks were talking about leaving if Faxon put many more rules on them. They're metallurgists and he was demanding more and more resources for his military buildup—the one he keeps officially denying." Sean snorted. "But they'd been pulled off their research enough times to do stuff for his engineers that they knew what was really going on."

"And Liam's older brother was drafted into Faxon's security force—which was getting to be more and more like an army," Molly added. "They hardly ever got to see him after that. He had to go live in Thiaraway, the capital city."

The scene looped around then, blinking Sean's friends back to where they'd started. Sean had apparently stopped recording just after Gwynne's complaint. I couldn't help wondering if she'd been his girlfriend. There was something about her expression . . .

"So nobody speaks English on Mars?" I asked then, wondering if I'd be expected to learn Nuathan.

"Oh, yeah, pretty much everyone does," Molly assured me. "It's all the media ever uses, in fact. We're just required to use Nuathan in school—though Faxon was threatening to change that, claiming English is more useful."

I grimaced. "Probably because he was planning to invade Earth and bring pretty much everyone here. Luckily, Rigel and I—"

"Here, I'll show you part of Thiaraway," Sean said before I could finish. "It's where you would have lived. I mean, if Faxon had never . . . you know."

I nodded, a sudden lump in my throat diverting my thoughts from last month's battle. If Faxon hadn't killed my whole family, Sean meant. For the hundredth time, I wondered what my life would have been like if Faxon had never existed, or if he'd been stopped before he got all that power.

The scene around us abruptly changed to a city scene, though it looked like no city I'd ever seen. The street was narrower than city streets on Earth and there were no cars, just wide walkways on either side and a metallic grid running down the middle.

A building that looked like it might be made out of rose quartz towered at least a dozen stories high on our left. Similar glassy skyscrapers were visible in the near distance, along with smaller buildings of brick, stone and metal. People hurried along the sidewalks on both sides, and a silver bullet-shaped train whizzed down the center track, making a whooshing sound as it passed.

"This is just an old promo vid," Sean explained. "It's not quite like this now, unfortunately. The trains hardly run anymore, except when Faxon needs someone or something moved quickly. And his troops are everywhere, keeping people from congregating on the streets. My dad says Thiaraway isn't as clean as it used to be, either. Guess that's not one of Faxon's priorities." His voice was scornful.

I was still gazing around, rapt. "So this is what it looked like when my . . . I mean, before Faxon? It's wonderful."

"Yeah, it really was," Molly agreed. "Look behind you."

I turned and caught my breath. It was a stunningly beautiful palace—a pink diamond palace, astonishingly like the one I used to imagine when I was little. Or had always assumed I'd imagined. "I remember this," I whispered disbelievingly. "How can I remember this? I was just a baby when I left."

"Most of us can remember things well into infancy," Sean told me. "And it's possible your parents showed you pictures after you came to Earth. Before—"

"Before they were killed," I finished, swallowing hard. Seeing the palace, so real and close it seemed I could walk right into it, suddenly made my shadowy past real in a way it had never been before. I had lived in that palace! For my first year of life, anyway.

"Once Faxon's finally overthrown, which he will be," Sean said confidently, "Thiaraway can be restored to what it used to be. Echtrans who want to can go home, and research on extending Nuath's habitability can resume. So much important work has stopped under Faxon. And so many people have had their lives ruined—or worse."

"Once he is overthrown, he'll be . . . punished, right?" I'd almost said "executed," but recalled what Shim had once told me about Mars' alternative to a death penalty. "They'll do that . . . that memory wipe thing?"

Sean nodded. "Yeah, the Scriosath, um, tabula rasa. Blank slate. That's the complete wipe, as opposed to the short term ones they use for lesser crimes. It hasn't been used in like a century, but if anyone deserves it, Faxon does." He gave a little huff. "Sorry. I get a little wound up about this stuff."

"No, it's okay," I said. "I get why. And I agree."

He smiled, but it was a serious sort of smile. "I'm glad. Because you really are our best hope for putting things right. I know it seems scary right now, but there are tons of people who'll help you. Once the government is reestablished, you can even live in that palace again. If you want to."

Such a weird thought! But . . . if not for Faxon, I'd have grown up in that beautiful pink diamond structure. In fact, I probably never would have come to Earth at all.

Or met Rigel.

"I really appreciate you showing me this stuff, but can we talk about something else for a minute?"

"Sure." Sean switched off the hologram and the living room reappeared.

I was startled by a pang of loss when the palace disappeared, but I didn't let it sidetrack me. "Earlier today, Molly and I had a talk. Did she tell you?"

**If you enjoyed this, please vote for it and share it with your friends--I'll be adding an update every week or so! :)

** If you just can't get enough Starstruck, all FIVE books in the series plus a novella are now available at all major online retailers (the fifth novel released June 13th). And the first book, STARSTRUCK, is currently FREE! For the most up-to-date news on upcoming books, special promotions and a FREE Starstruck short story (ONLY available to my newsletters subscribers), sign up at brendahiatt.com/subscribe.

Visit starstruckseries.com for lots of extra tidbits, news, bonus materials and more!

I also have a new Facebook reader group, "Brenda's Sparkling Readers," where I answer all kinds of questions about my books. I'd love to see you there! :)