Blind the Stars (Rose of the Dawn Series Book 3) by Ily Maguire Read Free Book Online Page A

from
the waist down. I see her shallow breathing and know she’s asleep.
    Ezekiel
nods his head again. “I’m worried about Dory.” He looks at me. “Your sister has
changed.”

6
    “How
do you know her, Ezekiel?” I ask. We’ve been sitting around the kitchen for
almost an hour while Dory sleeps on the couch. We haven’t spoken in more than
whispers as not to disturb her.
    “What’s
happened to her?” he asks instead. There’s a sadness there I haven’t seen
before. He’s usually so gruff and rigid.
    “We
don’t know,” Pike answers. “She was like this when we got here.”
    “She
said everyone left and she stayed behind to wait for me,” I interrupt. “She
said she knew I’d be back. I can’t get any more out of her than my parents fled
in one direction and Evie is in the hospital. But I don’t understand, Ezekiel.
How do you know her?”
    There’s
a pause. I hop off the counter and move closer to Pike.
    Ezekiel
answers, “I met her on the web. It wasn’t anything at first, though she did ask
me to keep it all a secret. We never met in person, but we talked all the time.
We got to know each other. We liked each other. When I found my way to Aegis, I
wasn’t able to talk to her as often as I used to. I was making my life there,
so I had to cut off most of our transmissions, but I worried that she’d forget
about me so every once in a while I’d connect with her. Sometimes it would be
days, other times weeks. At one point, more than a month had gone by before I
was able to touch base. And then I found out she was set to be an experimental
AR. We started talking again every day. The night you caught me I was
transmitting out. I was sending her messages. Telling her you were okay.”
    “You
were keeping tabs on me.” I remember the night well. By the fountain.
    “I
knew she was your sister. I had feelings for her. She wanted to know nothing
happened to you and I wanted her to know you were alright.” He looks down.
    “I
didn’t know about this. That Dory was going to be ARd,” I admit, my voice
rising. Before I left, I had been content in my solitude. Books were what
mattered. Stories of other times and lives. And my teacher, Jenny, who I spend
so much time with. I loved her like I loved Dory, but Dory was older and we
didn’t need to learn the same things. Dory’s lessons were self-paced and we
only saw each other at dinner. If she were set for an artificial replacement, I
wouldn’t be informed of it. I wouldn’t have to be. So she informed Ezekiel.
    Dory
gets up from the couch and with the blanket around her shoulders, she shuffles
up to Ezekiel. She smiles up at him, almost two feet taller, before pulling out
a stool and sitting down.
    “How
come you never told me any of this?” I look at my sister.
    “You
didn’t need to know. I didn’t want you to know,” she answers.
    “But
you could’ve confided in me. You could’ve told me you were going to have a
replacement. Was it your choice?” I search her face, but her eyes show the same
sadness they did in the hospital over a year ago. Then her features turn sharp
and she isn’t sad. She’s angry. At me.
    “Dad
was going to sacrifice me for you.” She glares at me, the anger hot and red on
her face. I can’t tell if this is the crazy part of my sister talking or
sanity.
    “He
wouldn’t do that,” I say. I’m confused. Pike and Ezekiel tense and they both
straighten up. It’s uncomfortable.
    “You
didn’t know him, Rose. Just leave it alone. I hardly remember all of the
details and I don’t want to share them with you,” she says. Ezekiel’s arm reaches
over to touch her. She relaxes. Her face softens and her shoulders sag. She
takes a deep breath in through her nose and then out through her mouth,
controlling her breath. “I spent time – a lot of time - wiping them out, trying
to repress the bad memories of Dad choosing you over me. I had to come to terms
with that. I had to forgive him for that.”
    Her
words