This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada

Author:Emily Suvada
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

CHAPTER 21

THE ROOM SEEMS TO FALL silent—the gurgling of the water running down the walls, the screeching of the birds in their cages all dissolve in the wake of Regina’s words, echoing through me.

I left to protect you.

The ocean in my mind pitches against the wall as I scan her face, tracing out the lines of her features through the onyx and emerald scales that cover her skin. High cheekbones, straight, elegant eyebrows. I can see an echo of Jun Bei’s face in hers—but there’s more than that. The curve of her shoulders, the intelligence in her dark eyes as she watches me. There’s not a shred of Regina’s DNA left inside my cells, but I can still feel it. A low, insistent tug.

“You’re my mother?”

She doesn’t answer, but steps closer to me instead, her fingers sliding over my shoulder, pulling me against her. I stand, stiff with shock, then let myself lean into her, my head turning so her smooth, scaled cheek presses against mine.

“You’re home now,” she says.

The ocean whips higher. There’s something familiar in the smell of Regina’s hair, the press of her cheek. I step away, blinking. “Did—did I come to you before?”

“Yes, you came here. You matched your DNA to mine in a Cartaxus file. When you escaped, you made your way to Entropia and tracked me down. You stayed here for six months. You didn’t live in the city, but you came in to see me regularly.”

I turn and brace my hands against the lab counter, my head spinning. I have a mother. I’m a clone, created as leverage against one of the world’s greatest coders. The thought leaves me reeling, but there’s more than that. This is proof that Mato was right—I left the others and ran away. I spent the missing six months of my life here. Coding, working. Living freely, away from Lachlan’s control.

“I’ve lost you twice now,” Regina says, her voice thick. “I left you in that lab, and then I let Lachlan take you while you were here. I couldn’t save you either time, but I’m going to try now. I don’t want to lose you again.”

I turn to her, pushing my hand back through my hair. There’s a locked cage of memories inside me, a virus spreading across the world, and a vanishingly small amount of time to stop Cartaxus from launching flood protocol, but for the first time in weeks, part of me feels like I have something to stand on. Solid ground.

“I don’t want you to answer me now,” she says, “but I want you to consider staying here at Entropia. Your friends will have a place here too, and I can protect you inside this city. As long as you’re within my borders, Cartaxus can’t touch you. I have enough records of the things they’ve done to destroy their reputation forever. You can have a home here, and so much more than that. I can teach you how to control the implant and your memories. We can unravel the mysteries of your DNA together.

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