Nemesis by Emma L. Adams Read Free Book Online

in-depth statement on the events of the attack on Central. Start from the beginning, from your capture at the Alliance’s hands, and we’ll progress from there. I’ll need you to submit it in written form, of course, but I’m interested to hear your account now.”
    My heart sank. I didn’t want to relive the whole experience again. But I’d been a fool not to expect it. Of course the Alliance wanted my take on events, especially as Kay and I were the only witnesses, and only I knew some things. Ms Weston knew I was Royal, the reason for my unusual magic, but my blood chilled at the idea of word getting around Central. Not to mention the antimagic inside me. How to explain how I’d survived the attack without mentioning exactly what I’d done?
    Had Kay mentioned it?
    I swallowed. “All right,” I said. “But I’ll have to start with my family. Did Kay tell you what–what we used to do?”
    “Used to?”
    Her sharp question jabbed at the raw wound. “Before–before everything happened, Nell and I used to help refugees from other worlds come through the Passages and make new lives here on Earth. It’s what she did for me, so I started doing the same. When I was caught, we were–”
    “We? This Nell is your guardian, isn’t she?”
    As if you didn’t already know that. “Yes. And Alber and Jeth are my brothers. We were making a delivery in the Passages when a wyvern attacked us, and we ran into a patrol from Central. Kay arrested me. You know what happened after.”
    “There are several pieces missing. How, exactly, did you escape from Central?”
    “I thought Kay would have told you. I wore an invisible earpiece my brother Jeth designed. He’s working here now. Your tech team has one of them. I talked to Jeth through the earpiece, and he arranged for Nell and Skyla to meet me.” Damn. I bit my lip. Shouldn’t have said Skyla’s name.
    “Skyla,” she said, not missing a thing. “She was the one who infiltrated Central, I believe?”
    I nodded. “She fooled all of us. Anyway, they got in, and we escaped.”
    “Through attacking our guards.” Her tone was even, not accusatory, but I fidgeted all the same.
    “Uh… Skyla used magic, and it must have been amplified because the Balance was tipping.”
    Ms Weston reshuffled the papers. “Yes, I gathered. Skyla, or Ellen as she called herself, has caused us the most trouble of all, because she did the apparently impossible. Never has the Alliance been fooled in such a way. You might have noticed when you were checked on entry that we now include a scan for illegal magical materials. Even bloodrock solution would not fool the test. Nor your… devices.”
    Of course they knew about Jeth’s earpieces and Chameleon devices now. I’d been stripped down for weapons already and they’d used some scanning device. They knew me as a magic-wielder, of course, but bloodrock was a substance used externally and was nigh on impossible to spot even if you spent a lot of time in close proximity to people using it. Some offworlders used the bloodrock solution to appear like they were from Earth. Some wanted to blend in, some were afraid of being caught, and others just wanted a new face to go with their new life. But Nell had never ordered my brothers and me to do that. It had never really bothered me that I didn’t look like I was from anywhere on Earth, and only my eyes were covered out of necessity.
    “Naturally, we’ve scanned all our staffs’ backgrounds following the incident. If you become our employee, then you will be subject to the same. Your guardian will have to register as an offworlder, that would of course have already been taken care of if not for the circumstances–don’t look so alarmed, Ada. She is under our protection, as are you.”
    Somehow, I doubted Nell would be particularly thrilled to hear that.
    “We see it as our duty to helpless victims of violence.”
    I had to fight to keep my face straight. Had she even seen Nell? Helpless