Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis Read Free Book Online

shredding a new Igara skirt.”
    “The Jantzen boys are all off-Point and reportedly unavailable for comment. We contacted Reb Vester to see if he had news on his girlfriend, and even
he
doesn’t know
what’s going on.”
    I hold back a growl at that last bit—Reb only wishes we were dating, because gorgeous or not, he’s been hit in the head by too many laserballs for my liking. I point at the display
as it switches to vids of me at various parties and raise my eyebrows at Minali.
    “Ah, you think your sudden silence will tip off the media? Liddi, after all these years, surely you know how easy it is to spin. With your brothers attending to pressing matters off-Point,
you’re finally taking a more serious, substantial role in the company. You’re ignoring the media because they’re a distraction.”
    This passes beyond madness. I want to explode, to scream, or at least to break Minali’s neck, but I can’t. Not without endangering my brothers further. Instead, I mime stabbing
myself and shrug.
    “Why not just kill you?”
    I nod.
    “Your brothers will serve their purpose alive or dead—the simulation results just look better if they’re alive. Killing
you
, however, isn’t an option. I
can’t have those useless thinkers on Tarix getting control of the company.”
    Oh, right, the implant I got when my parents died. I didn’t understand until years later when the boys explained. A safety measure for an inheritor not yet of age, just a simple thing that
does nothing but monitor my vital signs and send a signal to Tarix if they cease.
    But I remember something else, too. My brothers have similar implants. Not with my priority level, but they have them. Maybe I can use that. Maybe I can find the monitoring codes for them. Maybe
a lot of things, but none of it while I stand here listening to this null-skull who’s attacked my family.
    “Liddi, stop,” she says warningly. “I see the plotting in your eyes. This
has
to be done to save the Seven Points. I know you don’t understand what we’re
facing, and that’s not your fault. Your parents put a check on your genes to ensure you wouldn’t be as smart as your brothers, so you would still need their help. If you ask me, it was
cruel of them, but there’s nothing for it now, is there?”
    Checked genes. Not as smart.
The words echo and ricochet in my head, leaving dents and gouges in their wake, trailing down into my lungs so I can’t breathe. But my parents
couldn’t have done that. They wouldn’t have.
    Then again…All these years with no debut at the Tech Reveal, never meeting my family’s standard, hitting a thousand walls with every attempt…
    I miss Minali saying something, but it’s not to me. One of the company drivers is at the door to take me home.
    I look to Minali, but she spares me the barest glance before returning her attention to the console. Like I’m beneath her notice now that I have no way to threaten her. There’s
nothing I can do.
    “Officer Svarta cleared the grounds and tightened security measures on the perimeter of the country estate, so you won’t need that noisy security-cam anymore. You’ll be safe
there now.”
    I bet. I bet I’ll be as safe as a caged dog. Those men weren’t meant to kill me, after all. Just to hold me hostage until it was too late to save my brothers, until they were locked
in as a permanent part of the conduit infrastructure. Maybe Minali even had elaborate plans for “rescuing” me, and I’d have been too grateful to question whatever tragic story she
gave for my brothers’ demise. Even the botched kidnapping didn’t matter, though. I came running straight to her with my theories about my brothers, full of naive trust.
    I’m an idiot. Checked genes is right.
    The driver either knows I can’t talk or isn’t inclined to make conversation. Whatever the reason, the ride home is silent except for the faint hum of the car’s
hover-struts.
    Tears don’t make much