have to remind myself that the cameras are rolling.
Bloom is well aware. He doesn’t look at us, but right at the camera when he says gravely, “We suspect magicians may actually be responsible for kidnapping the City’s children and smuggling them up the Mountain.”
“That’s not true!” I protest, but my voice is drowned out by the aggressive crowd. They need a cause to unite around, a common enemy to rally against.
And this time, we’re the enemy.
I feel arms tugging at my ankles. We should’ve gone higher , I think, but it’s too late. People are pressing in from all sides, grabbing at us, and I start to freak.
The strong emotion makes my M go haywire, and I can’t help heating up defensively. No , I think. Not now. But the people grabbing my legs are already shrieking as their hands blister.
I stop my magic abruptly and crash to the ground. I have to fix this , I think. I have to explain.
But the roiling panic of the crowd has boiled over, and the conference is collapsing into a hate rally of antimagic slurs.
“Dark demon!” a woman spits at me. “Child killer!”
No one seems to care that this is all based on the claims of one man. They’re afraid. And fear makes people very dangerous.
I look around for the most dangerous coward of them all, but he’s slipped out of sight.
“General Bloom,” I yell. This isn’t over yet. “Speaker Bloom!”
One of Bloom’s lackeys leans into the microphone. “No further questions,” he says, and all I can do is gape at the chaos Bloom left in his wake.
He just crucified us on TV—with lies!
Chapter 29
Wisty
AS WE PUSH through the sea of reporters shouting angry questions, I wish I could stay and answer them—grab each microphone and erase the poison of Bloom’s lies with truth.
But right now, we just have to get out of here.
In my rush to escape the frenzied crowd, I trip in my stupid heels and fly forward down the last few steps of the Capitol building, my face nearly smashing into the stones of the square.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Heath pulls me up and hugs me against him. I bury my face in his neck, trying not to sob. I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life. I’m thankful that Janine’s here, too. “This is madness,” she says with wide eyes as she corrals us down a side street, away from the cameras. I see other Resistance kids farther up the block—Sasha and Emmett, and…
“Mama May?” I ask, barely recognizing the disheveled woman calling my name.
It’s Mrs. Neederman, all right—the woman who once sheltered me and Whit when we were wanted criminals. Even in the darkest days of the New Order, her bright voice kept everyone’s spirits up. I remember her whole body shaking with laughter as she hugged me, her huge arms swallowing me up.
Now, her face is thinner and drawn, and her eyes have given up.
“We saw you on the news,” she tells us as we walk. “What the Speaker said, about you being involved with the kidnappers—”
“He’s lying!” I grasp her hands desperately, needing her to believe me even if no one else does. “Everything Bloom said was a lie!”
“We would never do something like that,” Whit reassures her.
“I know you wouldn’t, honey,” Mama May says. She looks from me to Whit, her big chin quivering. “I know because my baby Pearl Marie is one of those kids.”
It’s like another punch in the gut.
“Pearl?” My brother gapes, anguish written all over his face. “We didn’t even know she was missing….”
“The Watch investigated every kid,” Sasha says, distraught. He pulls a notebook from his pocket and starts thumbing through it. “I swear, she wasn’t on the list!”
Mama May worries her apron in her hands, looking ashamed. “We were afraid to report her. The One used lists….” She shrugs helplessly. “And Pearl was so smart. She knew the streets so well. We thought she would come back, but she…”
Her eyes overflow with tears, and this time I’m
Bloom is well aware. He doesn’t look at us, but right at the camera when he says gravely, “We suspect magicians may actually be responsible for kidnapping the City’s children and smuggling them up the Mountain.”
“That’s not true!” I protest, but my voice is drowned out by the aggressive crowd. They need a cause to unite around, a common enemy to rally against.
And this time, we’re the enemy.
I feel arms tugging at my ankles. We should’ve gone higher , I think, but it’s too late. People are pressing in from all sides, grabbing at us, and I start to freak.
The strong emotion makes my M go haywire, and I can’t help heating up defensively. No , I think. Not now. But the people grabbing my legs are already shrieking as their hands blister.
I stop my magic abruptly and crash to the ground. I have to fix this , I think. I have to explain.
But the roiling panic of the crowd has boiled over, and the conference is collapsing into a hate rally of antimagic slurs.
“Dark demon!” a woman spits at me. “Child killer!”
No one seems to care that this is all based on the claims of one man. They’re afraid. And fear makes people very dangerous.
I look around for the most dangerous coward of them all, but he’s slipped out of sight.
“General Bloom,” I yell. This isn’t over yet. “Speaker Bloom!”
One of Bloom’s lackeys leans into the microphone. “No further questions,” he says, and all I can do is gape at the chaos Bloom left in his wake.
He just crucified us on TV—with lies!
Chapter 29
Wisty
AS WE PUSH through the sea of reporters shouting angry questions, I wish I could stay and answer them—grab each microphone and erase the poison of Bloom’s lies with truth.
But right now, we just have to get out of here.
In my rush to escape the frenzied crowd, I trip in my stupid heels and fly forward down the last few steps of the Capitol building, my face nearly smashing into the stones of the square.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Heath pulls me up and hugs me against him. I bury my face in his neck, trying not to sob. I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life. I’m thankful that Janine’s here, too. “This is madness,” she says with wide eyes as she corrals us down a side street, away from the cameras. I see other Resistance kids farther up the block—Sasha and Emmett, and…
“Mama May?” I ask, barely recognizing the disheveled woman calling my name.
It’s Mrs. Neederman, all right—the woman who once sheltered me and Whit when we were wanted criminals. Even in the darkest days of the New Order, her bright voice kept everyone’s spirits up. I remember her whole body shaking with laughter as she hugged me, her huge arms swallowing me up.
Now, her face is thinner and drawn, and her eyes have given up.
“We saw you on the news,” she tells us as we walk. “What the Speaker said, about you being involved with the kidnappers—”
“He’s lying!” I grasp her hands desperately, needing her to believe me even if no one else does. “Everything Bloom said was a lie!”
“We would never do something like that,” Whit reassures her.
“I know you wouldn’t, honey,” Mama May says. She looks from me to Whit, her big chin quivering. “I know because my baby Pearl Marie is one of those kids.”
It’s like another punch in the gut.
“Pearl?” My brother gapes, anguish written all over his face. “We didn’t even know she was missing….”
“The Watch investigated every kid,” Sasha says, distraught. He pulls a notebook from his pocket and starts thumbing through it. “I swear, she wasn’t on the list!”
Mama May worries her apron in her hands, looking ashamed. “We were afraid to report her. The One used lists….” She shrugs helplessly. “And Pearl was so smart. She knew the streets so well. We thought she would come back, but she…”
Her eyes overflow with tears, and this time I’m
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