Read Online The Last City by Nina D'Aleo - Free Book Online

exhaled and his rigidly held shoulders sagged. ‘Nothing changes without action,’ he said. ‘Action by braver men than me.’ He lowered his head and his tinted glasses slipped a little down his nose, showing a hint of electric blue – the eye colour of an Ar Antarian noble. Silho couldn’t help but stare. Jude was not just one of the upper-level Ar Antarians, but had obviously come from one of the few noble-blood families. It was difficult even to imagine why someone like him would want to go from being nobility to military – especially considering the two groups were mutually exclusive. Jude must have left everything behind to become a soldier. Silho was lost for words and desperately searched for a different topic.
    ‘I’ve never seen an Ar Antarian with a companion robot before,’ she said. ‘Did you . . . did you make him?’
    After a moment Jude replied with a more composed tone, ‘I found him.’
    ‘Really? Where?’
    The spider robot shone his gaze down on her, his eyes moving over her face.
    ‘Sirenseron,’ Jude said.
    Silho raised her eyebrows. She didn’t personally know anyone who had been inside the king’s palace – or even anywhere near the fortified grounds on the very top level of the city.
    Jude noticed her surprise. ‘I worked there – before I joined the Regiment. SevenM was a serving robot in the kitchen. He malfunctioned and they dropped him down the rubbish chute to be compressed.’
    ‘You felt sorry for him.’
    Jude nodded. ‘I went to find him and remade him. We became friends. People laugh at that, a man making friends with a machine.’
    ‘I don’t think it’s funny,’ Silho said.
    ‘You’re different,’ Jude said. He looked deeply into her eyes. ‘I can see that.’
    Silho swallowed and dropped her gaze to the ground, avoiding the intensity of his stare. ‘You seem very close . . . like brothers,’ she said in an attempt to divert his attention.
    Jude didn’t reply for so long Silho began to wonder if he’d actually heard. She glanced up to find he was still looking at her. His expression had shifted slightly. There was clarity in his gaze.
    ‘Silho, you’re right,’ he said softly. ‘We are brothers. I take care of him and protect him from being enslaved by people like that woman out there. He takes care of me and gives me the gift of seeing through his eyes. I see the world as he sees it. It is a beautiful world, but it’s also twisted and cruel.’
    ‘Yes,’ Silho agreed with more feeling than she had intended. Jude’s sincerity and warmth invited her trust, but she knew that confiding in anyone about her past was a mistake that could see her dead. So, as always, she held her silence. She looked out into the night and sensed Jude still studying her.
    ‘You’re beautiful, you know,’ he said unexpectedly.
    She froze, his words sending her mind spinning. No one had called her beautiful before and she had no idea how to respond. Thank you sounded vain, No I’m not seemed desperate and saying nothing at all might come across as cold. An embarrassed heat seared her face as the silence stretched out between them. She felt so awkward that she couldn’t even raise her eyes. Thankfully the moment broke as the door handle rattled and the door slid open, scuffing over the thick carpet. Eli popped his head around the corner and said, ‘Forensics are here. B.L. is baying for us to leave and the commander is ready to fly. See you guys outside.’ He grinned and vanished.
    Jude smiled and spoke to Silho, his tone back to conversational. ‘B.L. Jenkins is the lead forensic investigator and he hates the commander – a lot. We’d better get out of here before he comes in and accuses us of compromising his scene.’ He brushed a hand over her back as he left the room.
    Silho stayed where she was, looking out the window, trying to gain some control over her thoughts. Her gaze zoomed in on a white smudge on the windowsill, partially hidden by the curtain. It