Free Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) by Jayne Faith, Christine Castle

any of them grow up to be Obligates, someday sitting in my place with their mourning but brave-faced families?
    After an hour or two had passed and I hadn’t managed to eat a single bite from the plate in front of me, Lana leaned close to Mother. “Can we go home?”
    My twin looked as exhausted as I felt, and Mother’s face seemed to have aged a decade since yesterday morning. Mother nodded, and we rose from the table, one of many pulled from nearby houses into the small courtyard in our neighborhood.
    Just as we turned toward our end of the neighborhood, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. “I’ll be right back, I need to speak to someone,” I said to Mother and Lana, my eyes on the muscular young man who was walking alone. It was Orion.
    Without waiting for their responses, I left them at a quick walk, not wanting to lose Orion in the crowd.
    When I caught up to him and touched his arm, he started and whipped his head toward me, his piercing, pale blue eyes guarded. I didn’t realize he’d been so deep in thought, and I felt a twinge of guilt for disrupting him.
    I pulled my hand back and retreated half a step. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, Orion. I just wanted to tell you, well, I actually just wanted to say thank you.” I took a breath, trying to compose myself under his steady gaze. “You came to my aid during the Selection in a way that was kind and profoundly generous considering what you were going through yourself.”
    I fidgeted, tweaking the fabric of my dress between my fingers. I suddenly wanted an excuse to talk with Orion, or at least walk with him a bit. He was one of the only people on Earthenfell who understood what was going through my mind and heart. And he’d brought me a shred of comfort in what was the worst moment of my life. Even though we’d never really known each other, our situation gave us a connection, and I suddenly felt as if surviving the rest of the day depended on acknowledging it.
    “I’m pleased I could do something for you, though I think you’re giving me more credit than I’m due.” His eyes softened, the guarded look from a moment before fading. His voice was quiet but resonant, the type of voice that made people want to listen precisely because it didn’t demand attention. “How are your mother and sister coping?”
    I gave him a tiny, grateful smile for acknowledging how difficult the day was for my family. Then I shook my head and closed my eyes for a brief moment. “They’re being very brave. But . . .” I trailed off and shook my head again. “What about your family?”
    He drew a heavy breath. “My parents are quite devastated. I have no siblings,” he said simply.
    His frank way of speaking was such a relief, and it seemed to cut free some of the heaviness dragging at my heart.
    “And you?” I asked softly. “How are you doing?”
    He pressed his lips together and his eyes went distant for the briefest of moments, and then he focused back on me. “I will face what’s ahead, and I will throw myself into what I must do to survive. But I worry about my parents. I have something to focus on. But they face only the emptiness of my absence.”
    I stared at him in awed silence, my lips parted.
    They face only the emptiness of my absence.
    Orion was much too eloquent to have been stuck in machinery. Not that he had to worry about his job on Earthenfell anymore. “I’m sure your strength is giving them strength,” I said.
    His shoulders relaxed in a subtle shift. “Thank you for that.”
    I sensed that he needed to be on his way, probably to his family as I needed to get back to mine.
    “Would it be okay if I look for you later? At the Departure?” My stomach churned at the mere mention of leaving Earthenfell and also at making such a request of someone who was practically a stranger.
    His eyes warmed. “Yes, I would like that.” He said it as if we’d make plans to walk through the orchards together at dusk, and I tried to