He’s grown, having left Askala a boy and returned a man. Still tall and still lean, but now his body’s lined with fine layers of tanned muscle. His dark hair has grown to hang around his shoulders and he’s walking with a kind of…swagger?
Mercy’s hand flies to her chest as she attempts to cool the flush she knows has spread to her cheeks.
She never thought she’d see Luca again. It’s been years, yet she’s thought of him. Every. Single. Day. If he’s back, then there’s no way she’s going to leave. He just made things a whole lot easier for her.
“You’re just in time,” Mercy’s father says, smiling as Luca pauses at the front of the crowd to hug Kian and Nova.
Still stuck to the stage, Mercy waits for Luca to take the stairs two at a time and join them.
Sam dashes to him in the exact way Mercy wishes she could and throws her arms around him.
“How are you, sis?” he asks, grinning. “You sure got beautiful while I was gone.”
Hawk is scowling, never having been much of a fan of someone as confident as Luca and Mercy squeezes his arm.
It’s then that Luca looks over at them and Mercy’s hand drops to her side, not wanting him to think she has anything going on with Hawk. Which is ridiculous given he’s her cousin.
But then again, so is Luca.
Sort of.
Luca blinks at her, not disguising the way his gaze sweeps her from head to toe.
“Mercy!” He says her name like he’s begging for help, and more heat rushes to her cheeks as she shoots him a smile. “You look—”
“Welcome back, Luca,” Mercy’s father interrupts, clearly not interested in what description Luca was going to use for his daughter. It’s a pity. Mercy had never been more interested in someone’s choice of words. And now she won’t get to find out.
“Thanks, Dex.” Luca goes to Mercy’s father and shakes his hand. “Did I miss the Announcement?”
He nods. “Sam got through.”
“Way to go, Sammy!” Luca turns to his younger sister. “Not that there was any doubt. Sorry I was late.”
“You’re always up for a challenge, aren’t you, Luca?” Mercy’s father asks. “Because you’re not really late at all. In fact, I think you’re just in time.”
“Hit me with it.” Luca dramatically raises his eyebrows at the crowd, reveling in their rapt attention.
“How would you like to become a Seeker?” Mercy’s father asks.
“Now that sounds interesting.” Luca flexes his biceps and laughs. “Sign me up.”
And just like that, Mercy’s impossible decision is made.
She’s in.
LUCA
Askala’s barely changed in five years. The isolated island is still a vital, thriving hub, feeling like everyone there is breathing in unison. Luca will never forget seeing the forests for the first time. After growing up in the Outlands, he’d been overwhelmed with the kaleidoscope of greens as he’d stood high on the cliffs. One word was stuck on repeat in his head.
Paradise.
It was quickly followed by another.
Home.
And yet, after being away for so long, it feels like everything’s changed.
As he stands on the stage, wondering what the hell he just agreed to, Luca takes in the faces around him. Sammy’s grown into a willowy young woman, looking like her beauty is going to match her brains. Luca doesn’t spend too much time on the hulk Hawk has grown into—they always had so little in common.
And Mercy…
Luca swallows. Since when did the chatterbox who stuck to him like sap become so…well rounded? Tearing his gaze away from her curves, Luca takes in the thick, black hair framing a face that draws the eye and doesn’t let go. She holds his gaze, something in there making Luca’s heart yank like it’s on a chain.
He quickly looks away, not liking where his thoughts are heading. Mercy’s like a sister to him. She’s Sam’s best friend. Wherever his brain’s trying to go, it’s not happening. It doesn’t matter that Mercy’s all levels of hot. Even a boundary pusher like himself knows she’s off limits.
Luca continues to scan. Kian and Nova are beaming at him, still two halves of a whole. Dex and Wren, his uncle and aunt in every way that counts. Flick and Phoenix, the man who taught Luca how to build. And Avis and Thea. They’re all there, welcoming him with their smiles.
And yet Luca left them all to go find the one thing he’s never had. A bond forged by blood.
It’s then that Luca notices some of the leaders are on the stage, and yet so many aren’t. After spending five years surviving in the Outlands, Luca’s muscles coil. This is unusual, and unusual is never a good thing.
In fact, as his parents’ smiles fade, he realizes they all look worried. Tense.
Luca turns to Dex, drawing up a grin. “So, what’s a Seeker?”
Sam slips her hand into his. “They’re holding more tests. For the people who will colonize the Newlands.”
Colonize the Newlands? Luca’s about to ask the sea of faces around him whether they’re crazy, but their unsmiling features tell him that’s exactly what they’re planning.
Dex steps forward. “We were just about to see who wanted to take part.” He winks. “You were the first to put your hand up.”
Holy heck, and Luca just agreed to it!
Except Luca never planned on staying. He was here to congratulate Sam on passing her Proving—because it was always a given that his book-devouring little sister was going to ace her tests—and then get back to finding the missing piece of his life.
Not to mention he has unfinished business in the Outlands…
Dex gazes at the people remaining on the stage. “Those who would like to take part in the second Proving, to represent Askala as we expand to the Newlands, please raise your hand.”
Hawk’s is the first to shoot in the air, but Luca expected that. Even though they didn’t see eye to eye as they grew up, the hunger for broader horizons has always burned hot in Hawk.
But when Sam’s hand rises, too, Luca has to stop his jaw from dropping. What is she thinking? Doesn’t she realize the Newlands are even more wild than the Outlands? Flashes of hungry nights and days spent looking over his shoulder rise in Luca’s mind.
Sam wouldn’t know the first thing about surviving in the Newlands. Heck, even flat ground isn’t a guarantee Sam won’t trip. Luca looks around as several other hands lift high and proud. None of these soft-hearted people know what they’re getting themselves into.
The last hand to go up is Mercy’s. Her dark gaze holds Luca’s, a quiet challenge in their depths.
For the second time, Luca breaks the inexplicable hold they have on him.
Not. Happening.
Dex turns to Luca, his eyes spilling over with sadness. “Now that you know what you’re agreeing to, would you like to officially nominate yourself?”
Another thing that hasn’t changed—Dex making sure this is fair. He’s got to be hurting knowing his only child just volunteered, but Luca agreed to do this without knowing what he was in for. And Dex knows Luca’s great at acting first, thinking later.
He’s giving Luca an out.