Intermix Nation by M.P. Attardo Read Free Book Online Page A

in the
eyes.
    They are blindingly green.
    If he is surprised to see her, he doesn’t
show it. He stares at her expressionlessly. Nazirah realizes in
embarrassment that he has probably been watching her all along,
waiting for her to finish assessing him. Waiting for her to be
ready.
    She is startled by how young he looks.
Shouldn’t murderers be gruesome and scarred and … older? She
searches for the guilt and torment that should have aged his face.
She finds none of it. All she sees is a boy her age, maybe a few
years older.
    Not just any boy.
    Every emotion flickers across Nazirah’s
face. Fear, embarrassment, hate, guilt, loathing … she feels it all
and it all shows. But Adamek’s face is a mask, undecipherable,
impenetrable. She has never seen someone so controlled in her life.
Nazirah, who has never been particularly good at hiding
particularly anything, feels completely uncomfortable. She breaks
eye contact with him, breathing through her nose. She needs to get
out of here, fast. All of her feelings are rapidly being overtaken
by one consuming emotion … rage.
    What is Niko talking about? This is not the
face of a reformed man! This is a monster, who obviously feels no
remorse at all. And she hopes he sees it written all over her face.
Adamek may fool Nikolaus, but he is not fooling her.
    Nazirah pulls the amnesty pendant and a
folded piece of paper, stamped with the rebellion’s wax seal, from
her pocket. She admired the pendant on the train ride to Rubiyat.
It is simple, just a gold ring on a chain, with Nikolaus and
Adamek’s names inscribed into it. Nazirah knows Adamek will have to
wear it for the rest of his life. It saddens her that something so
beautiful will forever be a part of someone so ugly.
    Nazirah feels his stare, but she will not
look up again. She is not sure she can handle it, and feels ashamed
that her one chance to confront him is slipping through her
trembling fingers. Right now, all she wants to do is leave. She
wants to run – like usual, Nazirah is letting everyone she loves
down. She hates him for it, but she hates herself more.
    Nazirah sets the chain down on the table,
within Adamek’s reach. Give him the chain, read the short contract,
get him to sign on the line. Niko had made her repeat the steps
several times over before the train left the station in Krush.
Nazirah recites the short list in her head, finding that the set
directions calm her nerves. She deftly breaks the seal, opens the
contract, and begins to speak.
    “Adamek Morgen,” she reads, “son of Gabirel
and Victoria Morgen, you have entered into a binding amnesty
agreement on this day, at your own behest, willingly and
honorably.” Nazirah resists the urge to snort. Sarcasm is
unfortunately not on Niko’s checklist. “The terms of this contract
have been previously negotiated and agreed upon and I, Nikolaus
Nation, son of” – Nazirah’s voice cracks – “Kasimir and Riva Martel
Nation, pledge to you that I will honor our conditions from this
day, until my last day, should you agree. In trust, let there be
truth.”
    Nazirah finishes reading the short
paragraph, which is followed by the date and Nikolaus’s signature
in red ink. There is a blank line under Nikolaus’s name, indicating
where Adamek should sign. Nazirah sets the contract down on the
table, realizing that she doesn’t have a pen for him to use.
Flustered, she searches her pockets. She feels his eyes trained on
her the whole time, almost amused. Nazirah is about to go ask Olag
to bring her one from the control room when Adamek speaks for the
first time, halting her thoughts in their tracks.
    “That’s not how this works.”
    Nazirah looks at him in surprise and
confusion. His tone is clipped, but there is something else there
as well. Curiosity. And as Adamek stares at her, Nazirah comes to
the unnerving realization that he is curious about her. Like she is
some puzzle he can’t quite solve. Nazirah watches as Adamek grabs
the chain and