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  “Yes. Whatever you do, don’t go left.”

  “What’s left?” My heart thumped hard. “Eli?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m not doing this if you don’t tell me.” Even though my lamp provided plenty of illumination, darkness crept in, cloaking me in an inky terror.

  “You have to. You can’t go back. Forward only.”

  I didn’t doubt what he said, as I couldn’t even look back. “Am I going to die?”

  “No.”

  “Then what’s on the left.” I knew he’d confirm what my gut had already told me, and a second wave of nausea gripped me.

  “A sheer drop that goes…who knows how deep. The lamp is going to illuminate it, but I don’t want you to look. Okay?”

  Don’t look? I froze. Sweat beaded on my face and my headlamp felt worthless with the dark pressing down. “I can’t move.” Another fat drop slid off my forehead and plopped onto the end of my nose. I puffed up a breath of air and tried to blow it away. It clung there, as though letting go wasn’t an option. I scrunched my eyes shut. “Eli?”

  I don’t want to do this.

  Three years before

  “Please select page two-seventy in your programmer’s manual.”

  I slid my fingers over the virtual keyboard before me, not really into the section we were currently on. I’d already built an exact replica of the diagram on the holo-board at the front of the class and had taken it a step further by inserting it into a fully functional hive, moving ahead of my class when we were strictly prohibited to do so. My teacher had his back turned, making it easy to read and memorize upcoming projects, something I did all the time, since we were not allowed to take our readers with us.

  Alternate power sources. A whole section had been dedicated to fossil fuel and solar power, meant to encourage the comparison of modern net used in Sententia to the inferior forms of the past. What about the solar made them think it inferior? I furrowed my brow, reading the data they’d laid out in the chapter, finding holes everywhere, as though someone tried to buy the information. Solar power could be more remote than the Teslan net, not tethered by towers or wave range, and there wasn’t an inch of the planet the sun didn’t shine on at one time or the other.

  Sure we used a geothermal source to create the energy needed to operate our towers and generate power, but it didn’t mean solar couldn’t be effective. And it was much more portable. No, it didn’t give off as much energy as the geothermal plants, but it didn’t seem as useless as one might expect. What if the towers ever went down? “Why?” I asked out loud before I realized my mistake.

  “Apprentice Jaxson, I said page two-seventy.” Bang! My teacher’s hand came down on my desk.

  I blinked, lifted my hand from my project, and looked up at my professor.

  “We are building a hive processor, and if you want to pass this class, I suggest you pay attention and quit focusing on failed experiments of the past and, might I add, illegal technologies.”

  “Yes, sir.” I glided my finger along the screen until I came to page two-seventy and selected. As soon as the screen changed, my teacher returned to his place in the front of the class. I wanted to ask why they would put it in a book if they didn’t want anyone to know about it. Instead, I kept my mouth shut. There were questions you didn’t ask, and that was one of them.

  “As I was saying, it’s important to chain all the hives with an identical frequency so they operate as one.”

  I flipped back to the section of solar power. Why was it illegal? Why did everything have to operate on one unified system? It sure made the people dependent on it. Solar harnessed unlimited energy as well, but could be much more versatile. Ships could be built to travel outside the power net, perhaps as far as distant shores. I’d often wondered what lay outside our island chain—what sat out there for us to explore. I bit my lip and committed the diagram of a solar panel to memory, which I would create when I got back to my room. I’d hide the project in the vents as I did my others. What if I built an independent hive—not linked to others? Or a solar motor to power a boat or ship?

  “Apprentice Jaxson. Pack up your pad and supplies and report to the main office for disciplinary actions. If you cannot pay attention in my class, you will find your career path a bit grimy. I think a taste of it is in order.” My professor was back. He punched the power button on my digital pad, shutting down the forbidden chapter. “Now!”

  I jumped and stuffed everything in my bag but the digital reader we were forbidden to take outside the classroom, certain I’d earned a place on the school cleaning crew for the night. I had only a few marks left before I landed where my teacher promised. I’d heard the threat a million times, but now, it didn’t seem so impossible, even if I was his star student. Instead of working on the hives, I would be reassigned to sewage, one of the worst jobs on the islands. If he knew I’d jumped ahead of the class and already completed my projects, it would buy me a one-way ticket to the processing plant.

  “You can.” Eli’s voice pulled me out of the past. “You’ve come this far. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  So easy to forget the independent young woman I’d once been, one not afraid to take chances, well until those risks I’d indulged in boomeranged back on me. Never would I have hesitated before, but I’d bought into the constant barrage of speeches about what I couldn’t do. It had filtered down to every part of my life. I could do this—would do this. I opened my eyes and let the small crawl space come into focus. “To the right? I don’t see a right ahead, Eli.”

  “It’s a very sharp turn. You have to wrap your body around it and spoon the wall. You got this. Scoot forward about five feet to where the tunnel widens a bit. Shift onto your left side and keep your focus on the curve and the ledge.”

  I moved forward, pulling myself along with my arms until the tunnel opened up a bit, allowing me to turn as Eli instructed.

  “You on your side?”

  “Yes.”

  “Reach ahead of you and grab the edge of the wall and pull toward me, keeping your belly to the rocks. As you move along the curve, I want you to twist to your back and grab the rocks sticking out on the ceiling and pull yourself deeper into the tunnel. When you see it open up above you, sit up and draw your knees to your chest. There’s plenty of room.”

  “Sit up?”

  “Yes. And then stand. The tunnel has this ‘s’ curve. You’re going to need to go up, turn to face the other direction, and climb into the crawlspace. You’ll move forward about four feet, toward the light. Once you do that, stop and extend your hands. I’ll pull you out.”

  “It sounds impossible.”

  “I’m standing in the first open chamber. If I can do it, you can. I’m right here, Iia. Close your eyes and listen to my voice.”

  I followed his instructions, and the next thing I knew, Eli grabbed my wrists and pulled me from the hole and into an open chamber, onto my feet. I swayed and reached out, bracing against a warm, hard chest. Every place our bodies touched felt as though energy crackled at contact. I swallowed, hyper aware of how well built my captor was, and enjoying it may be a bit more than I should.

  “Hi,” he said, and my heart skipped a beat.

  Part of me wanted to take a step back, another part wanted to lean closer. I did neither, staying still, willing time to wind backward. When I opened my eyes, he still stood facing me, but grinning from ear to ear. I smiled back, unable to help myself. At this rate, I’d have no resistance to him within a few hours, and my thoughts of escape would vaporize. From scary kidnapper to a you’re-not-so-bad-and-really-cute-guy, helping me to navigate dangerous caves and conquer my greatest fears.

  “Hi.”

  “You did it—navigated the squeeze.”

  “You sound surprised.” My girly side took notice at the compliment and all but preened under his praise. I had done it.

  “I thought for a second I’d have to come back and pull you out. It would have been
hard going in reverse.”

  I frowned and glanced at the hole in the ground. “I can’t believe I did that.”

  “There’s a lot you can do if you put your mind to it. Come on, there’s a natural spring over here. We’ll grab a drink and rest. The rest of my team should be here tonight. He slid his palm against mine and laced our fingers, tugging me across the cave toward an area the light seemed to bounce off of. A jolt shot up my arm, and I had the urge to yank away, but restrained. How could a man so wrong for me be so attractive?

  “The water seeps through one of the crevices after traveling through miles of sand and bedrock. You won’t find cleaner water anywhere on the islands. Plus the algae on the side of the cave walls is very helpful.”

  “It cleans the water too?”

  “No, but…” He released my hand and shut his head lamp off, turning to look at me. “You can conserve the charge in your lamp now. There’s plenty of light in here.”

  I reached up and snapped off my unit, surveying the room. All along the walls and ceiling a soft light emitted, reminding me of a candlelit room. The illumination, tempered down to a peaceful glow, had a way of drawing the stress away.

  Eli turned and cupped his hands together, holding them under the small waterfall to gather a drink. Instead of sipping from his palms, he offered the water to me. Without thinking, I leaned forward and drank.

  No water had ever tasted as good.

  “Come on, sit and let me look at your knees.”

  I paused, wondering how he knew my knees were raw under the rebel pants, but didn’t resist when Eli grasped my wrist and tugged me toward an edge of a pool and the sandy floor. “Here is good.” He sank down, drawing me with him and turned his headlight back on. Carefully, he worked the fabric up to expose my knees. His fingers brushed an abrasion on one knee. I flinched, but not from pain. A fluttering stirred in my belly, and I eyed the top of his head as he continued to examine me, trying not to think about a man touching me or the way my body reacted to the simplest contact.

  “The first time I crawled through these caves, I had bloody knees after. Eventually it didn’t bother me anymore, but the first few times you do it, your knees can be quite sore.” He looked up. “Yours are not too bad, but they will be tender for a few days.”

  “Why am I not surprised you’ve crawled around here enough to be immune?”

  Eli sighed and went back to studying my knees. “When they burn your chip, you do what you have to in order to survive. This place provided somewhere safe to rest.”

  “On islands this small—we can’t run forever. Eventually they will find us. What happens when we run out of places to go?”

  “Let’s hope we’ve shut down the grid by then, because we’re going to have to fight.” He lifted his chin and caught my gaze. Bolts of energy shot through my core.

  I looked away. I’d never wanted to run and really saw nothing wrong with the life I’d lived before Eli came into my world. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why shut down the grid? What about life on these islands is so bad?”

  “This fight isn’t just about the bees. The grid makes it possible for the government to control us. We are on the wrong side of a power struggle without a way to defend ourselves.” Eli scooped water up and poured it over my knee. “I once thought I could live to the end of my days the way I once did.” He looked up and held my gaze. “And then I learned the hard way it’s not as great as I thought.”

  “What happened?”

  “I had a wife—an unsanctioned marriage.”

  I couldn’t stop the shock from widening my eyes, nor prevent the gasp which escaped my lips.

  “It doesn’t make me a bad person, Iia. Love isn’t a crime.”

  “You married against regulations. That’s a crime.”

  “Yeah? Tell my heart it was illegal.” He gave me a soft smile but stared off at something in the distance, as though he couldn’t bear to look me in the eyes. “You sound surprised.”

  “I am.” I reached out and touched his shoulder. He turned back to face me, so much sorrow in his eyes. My heart fractured into pieces. I could almost hear it hit the ground.

  “You don’t want to believe everything the people in charge say, Iia. They don’t care about us. They only care about control and power.”

  “What happened to your wife?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “Yes, it is. Please, tell me.”

  “She was a doctor, a significant reach outside my class. I met her when she treated me for an injury I sustained from riot control.”

  “And…?” I’d heard through the rumor mill that the soldiers had gotten into some bloody confrontations and had written it off as conspiracy. From his grim expression, I’d no doubt now the citizens and the military had clashed. For him to have married a doctor, he would have angered a lot of those in power. The government didn’t want the sub-classes to even fraternize with the more elite. To even do that resulted in stiff penalties, but to break the law and marry…I had an idea his answer before he said a thing. A chill raced across my skin.

  “She’s dead. She conceived, even though we were careful. At first we considered terminating the pregnancy, but couldn’t. The baby she carried was our child, created from love. We’d been foolish to think we could get away with it. We thought we did a good job hiding her pregnancy.

  “Karly picked up night shifts where she worked alone and wore baggy scrubs. But we didn’t keep the secret as well as we thought. Someone noticed. Her boss at the hospital reported her unsanctioned baby, but didn’t say anything to her so they could find the father—me. We didn’t know at first we were being watched, went about our business, until soldiers broke down her front door when I was there. They dragged us before a judge in the early morning hours to answer for our crimes. We couldn’t deny it. They had a record of every time we had sex. Holo recordings of me coming and going from her apartment.”

  I sucked in a breath. “The baby?”

  “My son lives. My wife went into labor while we were imprisoned, but they took him the moment he came into this world. I’ve recently learned where he is and who is raising him, but it will be almost impossible to get to him with the towers up. The compound is too heavily guarded.”

  “Where is he?”

  “The fourth sector’s senator has him. His wife couldn’t conceive and wanted a baby, so they took my son. They fucking named him Julian after the Senator’s wife, Julia. Who would name their kid that? He doesn’t even look like a Julian. By law, once one of the baby’s parents is dead, he should remain with the other. But they wanted him—so they took him.”

  I reached up and touched Eli’s shoulder. He shrugged away. “Doesn’t matter. I’m getting him back, and I’ll change his name to what my wife wanted it to be.”

  “What did she name him?”

  “Miles.”

  “That’s a nice name.”

  “It’s what she wanted. She wasn’t supposed to die.”

  “So they executed her?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She killed herself. They were going to execute me, since I served in a lesser occupation—a lowly soldier and disposable. She was a doctor and much more valuable. They burned my chip and dragged me into the square in front of the government building on the main island. Senator Jarvis was there to oversee the proceedings. How convenient, since he had my son.” Eli snorted.

  “You told me you burned your chip.”

  “I wanted you to think I had made the choice so you didn’t think we were all forced to, and I guess I did choose the moment I fell in love with Karly. I knew we were forbidden to love, but some things you can’t convince your heart or mind to accept. I couldn’t live without her. I still can’t. I eat. I breathe. I exist. But I don’t live, not here.” He patted over his heart. “Here, I’m dead.”

  I couldn’t imagine being loved so deeply. I ached for him, and
for the first time since I’d met him, I understood his drives. “So they took your son and released her?”

  “Yes. She’d gone right back to work, her punishment served, but she’d grabbed a tranq gun full of a powerful heart medicine and brought it to the square for my pending execution. She told me she planned to slip it to me somehow so I wouldn’t suffer. I didn’t know what she truly meant to do and figured she hadn’t been able to talk them into a final visit to pass the drug to me. Just as they were about to shoot me, to pay for my crime of loving a woman outside my class and producing an unsanctioned child, she ran in front of the firing squad and yelled out ‘you don’t get to choose,’ injecting the drug right into her jugular. The doctor at the scene sent there to pronounce me dead said Karly died before she hit the ground.”

  I swallowed a hard knot in my throat. “That’s awful.”

  “They released me from the execution pole, and I ran over to her, begging them to save her. They refused. She’d defied them by coming to the square, stealing the drug, executing herself, and dying a rebel to her last breath.”

  “I am so sorry.” I couldn’t imagine losing both my child and spouse as he had.

  “Don’t feel sorry for me. Wake up, Iia. Look around. Just like you, I thought the life I lived before I met Karly and just after was a pretty good existence, but now my eyes are wide open.”

  “So, after she died, did they throw you in a cell?”

  “No, they wanted me to suffer, live on the streets, beg for scraps. Since they’d burnt my chip, I had no access to shelter or food, anything to ensure survival. Or at least I thought that, until I broke into a forest preserve and found the caves and all the food growing wild. Here, I met the others, people like me.” He nodded over to another section of the chamber. “Around that corner is a smaller chamber. It vents up. I have a bedroll and supplies. It’s one of the places we hide people the government is looking for until we can get them to safety.”

  “You live here?”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes. More often than not, I live on what most think are uninhabited islands outside the Net. Many of us sent into exile do, as well as a few who wanted to escape the grasp of Sententia’s leaders. The soldiers have been searching for us and expanding their perimeter. Eventually they will discover our locations.”