Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan Read Free Book Online

any adults here,” Felicity said, looking around the room, then she turned to Kieran. “Have you seen my parents?”
    Kieran opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t make himself say it. He didn’t need to. Felicity saw it all in his pained expression. She froze as the color seeped from her face.
    “I’m so sorry,” Kieran finally said.
    “I knew it,” Felicity said, swallowing as though she felt like throwing up. She pulled Kieran away from the little kids, who were watching her in fear, and whispered, “There’ve been rumors that most of the Empyrean adults were killed.”
    “They were sucked out the air-lock doors when Mather first attacked,” he whispered, relieved to have someone to confide in. “Hundreds of them, but we never knew which ones until we got the list of captives from Mather.”
    “But they don’t know yet,” Felicity said, looking at the young faces as children wandered between the refreshments table and the rows of chairs, unmoored and bewildered.
    More children from the Empyrean trickled in over the next few minutes. There were many tearful reunions between friends, little girls clasping hands, boys patting each other on the back, older kids wrapping littler ones in loving embraces. When Melissa Dickinson entered the room there was a general outcry, and she opened her arms to a wave of children. Barely taller than the kids she’d taken care of, Melissa had cared for the youngest children on the Empyrean, and they all adored her. She kissed each of them on the cheek, then herded them to the seats. The little ones still looked worried, but Melissa’s soft, sweet voice had calmed them.
    Waverly was one of the last to arrive, and with her was Kieran’s own mother, holding hands with Regina Marshall. They’d been friendly with each other on the Empyrean but never close. Now the two women strolled together, speaking softly like best friends. Waverly found Kieran in the crowd and held up a hand. He wove through the milling children to get to her.
    “Waverly.” He resisted the urge to hug her.
    “They’re all asking about their parents,” Waverly said. Her face looked drawn with lack of sleep, and her voice was throaty and weak.
    “What do we tell them?” he whispered.
    She shook her head, looking like a lost little girl.
    “Tell them the truth,” someone said, and Kieran turned to see Felicity next to him.
    Waverly rushed at her old friend, and the two girls held each other, their faces hidden in each other’s hair. “Why did you stay here?” Waverly asked her. “Why didn’t you come with us when we escaped?”
    “You know why. I didn’t want to go back,” Felicity whispered. Kieran wondered what she was talking about, but now was not the time to ask. “Oh, there’s Sarah!”
    Sarah Wheeler and Randy Ortega had just come in accompanied by two armed guards. Sarah spotted Felicity and wove through the crowd to give her a brief hug. “We all missed you,” she said, but her words were clipped.
    “Kieran!” yelled Jamie Peters, a blond little boy who had valiantly cared for his younger brother. “Where are the grown-ups!” His face twisted with intense anxiety, and he tore at his hair with his fingers. “Where’s my MOM?”
    All the kids turned to look at Kieran. They were in agony. He couldn’t make them wait any longer. He walked to the podium with leaden steps. The room quieted as he took his place at the podium and turned on the microphone. “Hello, everyone.”
    “Where’s my mommy!” shouted a little girl who, Kieran knew, had been orphaned. Several other children erupted into tears.
    Kieran stared into the audience of hopeful faces, wishing desperately that he could give them what they wanted.
    “Your mommy loves you,” he managed to say. “Like my dad still loves me.”
    “Where is she?” cried a little boy whose mother had been sucked into space along with Kieran’s father.
    “She’s with my dad,” Kieran choked out. “She’s watching down on