Page 18 of Land of Shadow

“Like I said, you’d have to ask him. As forme, I want to change the world.” She meets my gaze again. “And I want to do it with you at my side. I know we can do it. Iknowit.” Her eyes light with fervor. “I believe in you. In us.”

I let my hands drop to my lap, my skin cold. “Juno, what have you promised them in return?”

She sighs, her body sagging a little. “Nothing that isn’t worth it. Curing the plague—that’s what matters.”

“That isn’t an answer.” I feel hollow, like someone scooped me out and left me in the sun to dry.

“I know it isn’t, but it’s all I can give you right now. I’m bound by my agreement with them. I have to …”

“Have to what?”

She rises, her steps heavy as she retreats to her closet and strips off her jacket. Her cream-colored shirt underneath has sweat marks at the armpits. For all her pretending to be unaffected, hopeful even, the stress is there. This isn’t Juno—she doesn’t back down, doesn’t let fear rule her. At least, that’s what I’d come to believe. Now … Now I’m not so sure.

“Georgia, the terms of all this are my burden to carry, not yours. All you have to do is sit tight until we’re in the White House. But you can’t take blood from me or Valen. You can’t do anything to jeopardize our relationship with them. In exchange, you’ll lead the team in DC that will work on finding a cure from their blood. That’s what I can give you right now.”

“I’m not someone for you to cut a deal with. I’m yoursister.” I follow her and take her wrist, smoothing my palm down her arm again, looking for some evidence of the wound. “I just want to know you aren’t in over your head. I want to know you’re going to be okay.”

“Weare going to be okay as long as you trust me.”

I sigh. “I don’t believe in this superhuman crap.”

“Do you believe in me?” She pulls on her light pink robe and ties it perfunctorily at her waist.

I rub my temples. Nothing makes sense. This whole conversation seems like something I imagined or found in a fever-dream. But in my gut, I know Juno isn’t crazy. Thereissomething special about Valen, something that doesn’t add up. A different species? I don’t know. “Do you?” she asks again, more softly, her eyes searching mine.

Even if it’s nuts, and even if I don’t know what any of this means, I know Juno. I know her better than anyone else in the entire world. “Yes, I believe in you.”

She shrugs, her eyes shining. “Then that has to be enough.”

5

The inauguration is a subdued affair. I stand behind my sister in the cloudy light, a flurry falling silently around us as she pledges her oath of office on a Bible.

It’s the first time I’ve seen her in weeks. Ever since the press conference, she’s been in meetings or somehow unavailable whenever I ventured to her office or her room. She, Vince, and Fatima have been on the move or otherwise occupied while Candice and I grumble with each other, or I spend time in my lab.

With the entire world buzzing about “Juno’s Miracle” as it’s been styled, she never has a moment for anything else. It’s always the campaign. Solidifying her lead. Touting her plans to save the country.

At least she hasn’t mentioned superhumans again—not to me or the media. There have been questions, of course, plenty of them. But Fatima keeps tight control on any press interactions, ensuring Juno is insulated from any truly probing questions.

My unease has grown more each day that she’s been absent, so much so that I had a panic attack on the train that took us from Austin to DC. I’d curled into a ball, my breathing coming too fast and blood rushing in my ears. This inauguration was a foregone conclusion, Juno’s victory decisive despite myriad voting problems and the thinning populace.

All the noise from the campaign is silent now, the world finally still. The worries that’ve been eating at me seem small under the wide expanse of cloudy sky overhead, the National Monument pointing out just how insignificant we are in the face of everything.

The Mall is empty, no one risking the plague or the rows of razor wire to show up for the event. Most of the DC monuments have been closed to the public for months, and not even an inauguration is a good enough reason to open them up again. Without all the pomp and cheering spectators, the whole thing seems like a phoned-in exercise, children playing at democracy or a dry-run before the real event. Even so, it must be done. Juno isn’t the type of person to miss any detail or leave any opening for someone to challenge her term in office.

Unused to wearing heels, my feet ache from standing, and the borrowed dress I’m wearing does nothing against the cold. I pull my coat tighter and wish Juno would focus on speaking faster, not clearer with that determined tilt to her inflection. I suppose my discomfort is nothing in the face of unifying the nation and reassuring the world that the United States is still united. All the same, I can’t wait to get inside and out of these clothes.

I’m certain I’m not the only miserable one out here. Glancing to my right, I see Valen standing across the aisle from me, his eyes forward, his stillness almost preternatural. The snow doesn’t seem to bother him. Neither does the sun. I suppose the vampire theory is out the window. Even so, after his feat with the blood, I have to admit he’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Months have passed since the demonstration in front of the press, but I know just as little now as I did then. That doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about him, asked around and even tried searching what’s left of the Internet for any data on him. Nothing. He’s a ghost, someone who didn’t exist until he showed up at my sister’s office. And now he’s embedded, a part of Juno like some sort of deadly parasite. He turns his head just enough to meet my gaze, his eyes a deep blue in the filtered light. As if he knew I was watching him. My heart thumps harder against my ribs, and I look away.

Juno’s promised me answers, promised me the best lab in the country, and most importantly—promised me access to Valen’s blood. Now that she’s being sworn in, those promises are about to come to fruition. A pit yawns in my stomach, a place where I put all my self-doubt and worry.What if I can’t work out a vaccine? What if I have every tool at my disposal and still fail? What if I’m not good enough?It’s a never-ending litany, a minefield that I dance through anytime my brain gets the least bit quiet. There’s also another dark place my thoughts go. Valen. His people. I can’t help but wonder what Juno promisedhim. Something tells me Valen isn’t offering his precious blood for nothing in return.

I force myself to focus on the pomp and the ritual. Changing of the guard. Even so, I’m aware of every movement Valen makes, though he makes very few—simply turning his head minutely, like a hawk scanning for prey far beneath him. Once Juno’s finished with her oath, a small military band plays from a platform below us as a few dozen dignitaries, her Cabinet, and a handful of members of the Supreme Court stand and applaud.

I can’t keep myself from glancing at Valen, though he doesn’t look my way again.

Front row seats at the inauguration are usually reserved for former presidents or high-ranking senators. But now it’s only him, the seat beside him empty and the next one taken by the Speaker of the House. He’s made it to the most powerful spot in the country—right behind my sister. The thought sends a fresh chill down my spine that has nothing to do with the freezing temperatures.

Her vice presidential pick, an older senator from out west, is nothing more than a placeholder a few seats down. Vince said he’s some sort of political favor owed and paid by Juno. He already looks half asleep, his gray head nodding forward a bit.

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