Free When Copper Suns Fall by Kasonndra Leigh Page A

They’d given me
five detention marks to match what I’d done: assault, three damaged
pieces of property, and working as an unqualified guide (oh come on
with that one). The only brightness in all of this was my Swordfest
sponsor could end up being the governor herself if I managed to
beat her champion at the costing evaluations.
    “Now do you understand, girls? You must be
home before curfew. You must follow the rules. These are troubled
times. Children disappearing. Outcasts walking the streets and
blending in with girls like you,” he said to Audrina and me. He
cleared his throat. “There is even a rumor claiming exiles may have
caused the Cradleshack’s ceiling border to collapse last
night.”
    A cold, dull feeling rushed through me when I
heard the word exiles.
    “I hope you’re joking with me,” I said to
Father. “You can’t let them do this.” His shoulders slumped, his
face squinted into a frown. He was more worried than he was letting
me see. I’d lost this battle. Father always stood firm in his
beliefs about the Tribunal’s right to decide what’s best for peace
breakers. He wouldn’t dare go against them, not even if it meant
sacrificing his daughter, or even saving his son. Nobody was brave
enough to challenge the Tribunal.
    Especially when it came to the rules.
    “Please, Bessi. Let me speak to my daughter
about some things.” In a softer voice, he said, “If you don’t
mind.” Bess turned, spun Audrina around, and left the room with a
slam that knocked two books out of the cases beside my door. And
here I was on trial for damaging the house, go figure.
    “Why do I have to do all this? Can’t you pull
rank and use your Historian charm?”
    “You’ve trained for years. I have no doubt
you can handle this.” His idea of training was me fooling around in
our backyard with Jalen, and me entering a few local contests.
    “Swordfest maybe. But Minders Camp?” I said,
feeling my neck tighten with worry. “Kids disappear in those woods
around the camp. It doesn’t matter, though. I’ll just play my harp
for all those wild animals in the woods. Then maybe they won’t
attack me.”
    “You received five marks in one day. One of
them was because a contender made you angry, and you marked the boy
as unclassifiable. Be thankful you’re only assigned to the opening
act, and thank the Falling Lights they didn’t have you arrested.
Which they could have done and with justifiable reason,” he said in
a firm tone.
    “Oh no. We can’t let them do that. Then you’d
have two kids to be ashamed of.” I lowered my eyes to avoid the
look on his face.
    In an even voice, he said, “I’ve always said
you had a purpose. You’re special.” Moving closer, he cupped my
face and lifted it.
    He meant that I didn’t have the enhanced
chromosome gene, the same one that made Lucia a genius and Jalen
super stealthy. Instead, I was a distant relative to the seraphim
class of angels like my mother. They weren’t slayers like the
Caduceans or masters of dark alchemy like the Tainted, but a
different kind, a mysterious class. Somehow, they’d managed to
avoid being recorded in the Essential Archives, but still
classified as illegal.
    Mother’s people formed a balance between the
two celestial groups. At some point, the Memories would come to
either Micah or me, and we needed to be ready. That was all she
ever told Father. We had no idea what the Memories were, or would
do. She was as much a mystery to him as she was to me.
    My true identity was our secret, and I loved
having Father to myself this way. Until last night, I had never
understood the things he told me.
    Now I understood the Tribunal wasn’t the only
thing that posed a threat to the world’s angel-bloods, the few of
us left in hiding.
    “Helena was also rambunctious when she began
her pre-career. She also had to learn the art of control. Even with
all her feistiness, her name was on top of the most requested
suitable list. She was certainly