In a fury of haze I could hear the others chatter of excitement and a few cheers. My eyes refused to move from Joshua’s as I kissed him once more.
Chancellor Collins cleared his throat, interrupting us, “Now that it’s settled, we’d like you to join our forces.”
I pulled back only slightly from Joshua, though my hand found its way entwined with his. “You want us to be a part of your military?” What did I know about fighting and battle?
Collins smiled, though I felt my stomach tense at the sight. “We’d like you to become a part of our community. It will entail Elsa training you in Combat. Jaxon will help you to develop fire, and Margo can prepare you with sheer strength. Cate will teach you–”
I interrupted, holding up my hand. “Does Cate really have to teach me anything?” I still hadn’t forgiven her for what she’d done in the shower that morning. She’d had absolutely no reason to have stolen my clothes from the stall.
“Perhaps you could teach Cate kindness and forgiveness,” the Chancellor remarked.
I tried my best not to roll my eyes. “Forgiveness? She ran off with my clothes!” It was hard to forgive and forget, especially when she’d acted intentionally cruel for her own purposes.
Margo nodded. “That was definitely not part of the plan, Chancellor.”
Chancellor Collins glared at Cate. “You, my dear, are more trouble than you’re often worth.” He shook his head and sighed, realizing he couldn’t ignore her behavior. “Maya, you will remind Cate about respect. Cate, I’ll decide your punishment for the month after this meeting is over.” He turned his attention back to Joshua and me. “From here on out, we expect no lies from either of you. We understand the sensitive nature of who you both are and respect that you had to lie to us to protect yourself.”
“I still don’t trust you.” I shook my head. “You lied to me as much as I lied to you.” It was a valid point.
Elsa sighed. “We couldn’t very well allow you to leave. You’d seen the town, and once we confiscated your vehicle we found the journal right away. Our only choice was to make sure you were who we hoped and to test your ability and eagerness to be one of us.”
Hazel piped in, “Plus Sydney told us about the knife wound on Joshua’s foot and how you were attacked. The fact you both survived out in the Gravelands on your own is a pretty big deal.”
“I’m still not sure I want to be one of you,” I muttered, staring down at the old cracks of wood in the table. I knew we didn’t have many other options.
Joshua spoke up. I wasn’t sure if it was the truth serum or not compelling him, but was there a difference? “I’m for it as long as you promise two things.”
The Chancellor nodded, “We’re listening.” Joshua had their full attention.
Joshua stared at the Chancellor refusing to let his gaze waver, “Promise to do no harm to Olivia or myself.”
Maya laughed softly. “We’ve never intended any harm on either of you.” She glanced at Aidan and then again at Joshua. “I can assure you, even when things seemed dire, they weren’t.”
Joshua nodded slowly. He reached for my hand on the table and gave it a squeeze. “The second request we have is if we choose to leave at any time, you will let us go.”
The Chancellor’s smile faded. “I can promise that after the war and the uprising, you may choose to live anywhere you wish. Until then,” he stared at us both seriously, “we need your help and you need our protection.” A part of me knew he was right. After what Haven had wanted of me, I couldn’t leave without pretending to be someone else wherever we disappeared to. I also wasn’t incredibly confident that another town would willingly take in two strangers. Roaming the open Gravelands was a death sentence. It was only a matter of time until another outlaw would find us on the open roads. With no food or shelter, we’d be lucky to survive a few months. The Chancellor’s eyes landed once again on Joshua. “I promise we intend no harm to either of you. We only ask that you allow us the chance to fix whatever has caused our world to become infertile.”
With a sideways glance at Joshua, I gave a faint nod. “I’ll do it.” I was more than slightly nervous they wouldn’t hold true to their word. As it was, all these recruits were council members of this town and had come from the five cities we knew nothing about. “The tests you want me to undergo, will they hurt?”
Elsa smiled reassuringly. “We have a few scanners that are completely painless. Joshua used one of them when we healed his foot.”
I waited for Joshua to tell me the truth. I knew he’d never lie to me.
Joshua turned towards me. “It didn’t hurt but it’s up to you, Olive.” As if we actually had a choice.
I nodded, slowly letting out an anxious breath. I wanted to believe her and I knew Joshua wouldn’t lie. “I don’t want to be a test subject,” I stared at them.
“You won’t,” Elsa assured me. “It’s a series of images, scans, maybe a little blood work. I assure you, Olivia, you are not the guinea pig. We merely want to understand what makes you different.”
I glanced from Elsa to Chancellor Collins. “What if I’m not different?” Everyone was betting on me to be something special.
The Chancellor folded his hands together on the table. “Then we’ve wasted nothing.” He stared at me. “We have to try.” I knew he was right. If I had any chance of being unique and I could conceive a child naturally, then I had to do something to help others.
“I have an idea,” I heard Joshua’s voice echo in the room and I shifted in my seat, waiting for him to continue. “You want change,” his eyes landed briefly on me. “The Governor’s Ball is always in the spring. I don’t know what weekend it will be -- we’ll need to know the date and time -- but if we can be ready by then, we can mount an attack.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, already hating the idea but knowing there was no other option. “I’ll go in as a house servant for Governor Craynor,” I ignored Joshua’s glare, “with red hair and a few other changes, I won’t be recognizable, and can get the information.”
Chancellor Collins met my stare, “I know someone that can vouch for you. We can get you into Genesis without too much commotion.”
Joshua glanced at me, “It’s risky. Send Margo or Cate,” he gestured towards the other recruits, “why can’t they go?” He insisted.
“It has to be me, Josh,” I reached towards him, taking his hands in mine. “If I get caught, Governor Craynor won’t hurt me. You know that. Everyone here knows that.” It was a reminder of what I meant to the cause.
Joshua sighed. “What if you’re wrong? He threw you in jail, why couldn’t he just kill you? It would take care of his problem.”
“He won’t do that,” I was adamant. “Besides there are other rebels within Genesis. I’ll be okay.” I assured him. I had to be okay. I couldn’t let myself consider any other alternative.
The Chancellor paused thinking the plan over, “We may have to take out one of the servants so you can replace him.”
“Take out, as in kill?” Joshua’s eyes widened as he shook his head vigorously. “Absolutely not! We’re not murdering people. That’s not why I suggested this.”
Jaxon sighed, listening to everyone’s argument before speaking up, “I’ll go with Olivia. We don’t have to kill the servant, just keep him away from his duties for awhile.” He countered, “then we bring Olivia in as a replacement. You know the Jobs Commissioner, don’t you?” Jaxon glanced at the Chancellor.
Joshua rubbed his forehead staring down at the table, “my father’s in charge of assigning jobs.” His cheeks flushed at the suggestion. “He won’t go for it. He’s not an idiot and he’s certainly not part of any rebel alliance.”