Tether by Anna Jarzab

completely remote,” he said. “Not in the middle of a major city, like the Citadel. From what I can tell from the rumors I hear and the news reports on the box, Columbia City is scary right now. There have been violent protests against the war with Farnham. It’s not as bad as the Tattered City, but it’s getting there. The royal family fled to Bethlehem House, and the General came up here.”
    “So the queen is safe? And Simon and Lillian?” The queen hadn’t always been kind to me, but I didn’t want anything to happen to her. And Juliana’s brother and sister—they were little children. They needed to be protected.
    “Yes,” Thomas said. “They left the king at the Citadel. He’s too fragile to be moved.”
    “But he’s—?”
    “He’s still alive.” Thomas kissed my forehead. “It’s nice of you to care.”
    “Of course I care.” I frowned. “So you’re KES again? After everything that happened?”
    “In a way,” he said evasively. “To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure where I stand. The General acts like nothinghas changed, like I never disobeyed orders, but we both know I did.”
    “Why would he trust you again?”
To trust other people is to surrender yourself to their will.
Why was Thomas the exception?
    “I keep asking myself that same question,” Thomas admitted. “Dr. Moss once told me that the General needed me, because he knew the day would come when there would be war with other worlds. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but then I found out about the unauthorized disruptions, and your analog, and it all started to make some kind of sense.”
    “What do you think he plans to do about it?”
    “I don’t know, but invading Farnham was only the first step,” Thomas said. “He claims he did it because we needed to be a united front against our new enemies, but the General never has only one motive for doing something. He’s been waiting a long time for this.”
    I ran my thumb over his KES ring. “What about this?” It was a symbol of belonging, the closest the KES could get to branding him. Was he wearing it for show, or was he really one of them again?
    “It was in my room when I got here. Sitting on the dresser, like some kind of test. So I put it on.” It wasn’t exactly the answer I was looking for, not an answer at all. I wished I could read his mind as Selene could read mine. Thomas was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
    He sounded so despondent; I couldn’t bear it. I wanted to erase the bad feelings and replace them with good. I pulled him in for a kiss. For a few seconds, all that had gone before, and all that was sure to come, vanished, and we sank into that bright, safe universe that only existed when we were together. Then reality rushed back in.
    “You’re in so much danger, Sasha,” Thomas murmured.The sound of him saying my name warmed me to my core, as it always had, since the very beginning. “I’m afraid for you.”
    “Don’t be afraid.”
    “Aren’t you?”
    “We’re together,” I reminded him. I was scared, of course I was, more for him than for myself. But I didn’t want him to know that. I wanted him to believe that I could withstand anything, that I was his equal in courage. I wanted to deserve him. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
    “Lots of things.” His hand drifted down my neck. I leaned in and closed my eyes. I was trapped, but when he held me I felt free. “The General, for one. He’s not going to cut you a deal this time. In his mind, you’re his indefinitely. You and your analog.”
    “Selene. Her name is Selene.”
    “Selene,” Thomas repeated. “I don’t trust her, Sasha. She knew you were coming. She told me you were on your way. How could she possibly have known that?”
    “The tether,” I told him. “She’s been using it to contact me. She says she needs my help.”
    “With what?”
    “To save her world. Whatever that means.” I grabbed him by the fabric of