Free United: An Alienated Novel by Melissa Landers Page B

her. Her parents tended to become … physical … during times of stress, and the way they clung to each other told Cara she’d better claim the bedroom farthest from theirs before it was too late.
    Some noises couldn’t be unheard.
    “I’m more interested in the weapon he used,” Larish said, wrist-deep in a bag of pork rinds. It was an odd contrast to see someone of his generation—stiff and unemotional, not a hair of his graying ponytail out of place—munching on fried pigskins. Cara wondered if he knew what he was eating. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    Aelyx rubbed the knot on the back of his head. “Wait until you hear who gave it to him—our ‘mutual friend’ Zane.”
    At that information, Larish posed a question Cara had already asked herself: Why had the Aribol sent Jaxen to do their dirty work? More than that, she thought Jaxen had seemed … off , for lack of a better word. A few months ago, he’d been so obsessed with her that he’d stolen her DNA and asked her to rule by his side. Today he’d barely looked at her. Not that she was complaining; it just didn’t make sense.
    Nothing about this did.
    “I studied the probes that landed on Earth,” Larish said. “They’re identical to the others, so that’s no help.” He paused with a pork rind suspended an inch from his lips. “When was the last time Jaxen and Aisly were seen on Earth?”
    “The day of the alliance signing,” Cara told him. “Why?”
    “I’m curious how the staff came into Jaxen’s possession. Was it sent to him? Or did he travel to the Aribols’ home planet? Because if the latter is the case, then—”
    Aelyx gasped. “Then the planet’s location would be stored inside his ship’s navigational system. We could tell the Voyagers where to go.”
    “Down to the exact coordinates.”
    Cara had never considered that. It could also explain Jaxen’s odd behavior. Maybe the Aribol had altered his mind. “Jaxen and Aisly went totally off the grid. They could’ve been with the Aribol the whole time.”
    Larish crunched away, deep in thought. “But how did they find the planet to begin with?”
    “Too bad we didn’t think to ask,” muttered Troy, who was sporting a wicked goose egg of his own, not to mention a black eye and two scraped elbows. His injuries reminded Cara that they had an expert medic at their disposal, but when she glanced around the room, she realized Elle wasn’t there, and neither was Syrine.
    “Where’s Elle?”
    At the mention of her name, Troy perked up and sucked in his stomach.
    Mom pointed at the ceiling. “Checking on her friend.” She added with a sympathetic shake of her head, “Whatever was in that box really upset the girl.”
    Aelyx furrowed his brow and glanced at the stairs. Cara told him, “Go ahead and check on Syrine. I have to contact Alona anyway.” Standing on tiptoe, she whispered, “And while you’re up there, call dibs on a room for us—one far away from wherever my parents are sleeping.”
    Aelyx’s cheeks colored, and he glanced at her dad. When he returned his gaze to hers, he shared a stream of consciousness that made her smile. Memories flitted through his mind of the day her father had caught them making out in her bedroom. The trauma had obviously left a mark, because Aelyx was terrified to touch her with Dad under the same roof.
    Not for that , she told him. If we want to be alone, we’ll have to sneak into the woods like normal teenagers .
    And with that settled, they went their separate ways.
    She slipped out the back door and found a quiet spot at the rear of the yard, where the grass thinned and gave way to fallen pine needles. The sun had nearly disappeared from the summer sky, bathing the landscape in its gentle glow. But the illumination was more than enough to reveal the strain in Alona’s clasped hands when her hologram appeared.
    “You have news,” Alona said. It wasn’t a question. “Disturbing news, according to the lines above