"They're here."
Adrian's words cut through the morning bustle of breakfast. The evolved children immediately stop eating, their collective awareness rippling with tension.
"How many?" I ask, setting down Hope, who immediately floats toward the ceiling.
"Fifty. Maybe more. They're calling it a 'peaceful protest,' but they're armed."
Through the windows, I can see them—men and women in black uniforms, carrying signs that read "Preserve Human Purity" and "Evolution Cannot Be Forced." But it's the suppressor devices on their belts that make my blood cold.
"Get the children to the safe rooms," I order, but Devon shakes his head.
"No. If we hide, they win. We need to show them we're not afraid."
"Devon, you're seven—"
"And I'm the bridge. They need to see that we're not monsters. That we're just children who didn't choose what was done to us."
Dr. Sarah Blackwood enters, her medical bag in hand. "They've sent a representative. She wants to speak with you."
I follow her to the main entrance, where a woman waits. She's perhaps thirty-five, severe-looking, with the kind of conviction in her eyes that makes fanatics dangerous.
"Ms. Johnson. I'm Director Eliza Cray of the Pure Architecture Movement."
"Director of what? A hate group?"
"A preservation society. We believe human evolution should occur naturally, not through scientific manipulation."
"Tell that to the children who were experimented on without consent."
"Those children are victims, yes. But they're also weapons. Living weapons that could destroy normal humans."
"They're children," I say through gritted teeth. "Seven-year-olds who glow in the dark. Toddlers who float. Teenagers who can feel others' emotions. They're not weapons—they're kids trying to understand themselves."
"They're abominations," she says flatly. "And this school is teaching them to embrace their corruption instead of seeking a cure."
"There is no cure because they're not sick."
"We'll see about that." She pulls out a device—a modified suppressor. "This doesn't just block their abilities. It reverses the evolution entirely. Permanently."
Horror washes over me. "You want to destroy what they are."
"We want to restore what they were. Human. Pure. Natural."
"There's nothing natural about forcing change on children who've already suffered enough."
"And there's nothing natural about what they've become."
Before I can respond, Devon appears beside me. I didn't hear him approach—he rarely makes sound when he moves now.
"You're afraid of us," he says to Director Cray. "Not because we're dangerous, but because we're different. Because we represent change you can't control."
"You're an abomination, child. Your very existence is—"
She stops mid-sentence because Devon is glowing—not his usual soft phosphorescence but something brighter, more intense. Every evolved child in Blackwood is suddenly there, surrounding us, their combined light making the morning sun seem dim.
"We didn't ask for this," Clara says, stepping forward. "But it's who we are now."
"And we won't let you take it away," another child adds.
Director Cray reaches for her suppressor, but Genesis is faster, knocking it from her hand. "Touch any of these children, and you'll face more than their light."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise," Julia says, appearing with several of the Seminary teachers. "We've fought the Architects. We can fight you too."
The Pure Architecture members are advancing now, suppressors raised. The evolved children's light fluctuates—fear mixing with defiance.
"Stop."
The voice carries absolute authority. We all turn to see Adrian Dickenson standing with a group of people I don't recognize—lawyers, by their formal appearance.
"Eliza Cray, you're served," one says, handing her papers. "Restraining order. You and your followers are banned from coming within five hundred yards of Blackwood Academy."
"You can't—"
"We can and we have. Senator Morse expedited it this morning." Adrian's smile is sharp. "Did you think we'd let you threaten children without consequences?"
"This isn't over," Director Cray says. "The world won't accept these abominations. Parents won't let their normal children near them. You're building a school for freaks that society will reject."
"Then we'll change society," I say. "One mind at a time."
She leaves with her followers, but the threat lingers like smoke. The evolved children disperse slowly, their light dimming back to normal levels.
"She'll be back," Julia says.
"Let her come," Devon replies, but I hear exhaustion in his voice. Channeling that much energy cost him.
That afternoon, Genesis finds me in my office. "We should postpone the wedding."
"No. That's what they want—for us to hide, to act like we're ashamed. Your wedding happens as planned."
"But if they attack—"
"Then they show the world who the real monsters are."
She nods, understanding. "Richard's parents arrive tomorrow. They don't know I'm modified."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"I have to. If we're building a world where evolved and normal humans coexist, it has to start with honesty."
That evening, I'm reading Vlad's letters when Devon enters, holding something I don't recognize—a communication device of some kind.
"Dad sent it through Marcus's contacts. It's secure, encrypted. He wants to talk to you."
My hands shake as I take it. Devon leaves, giving me privacy, and I activate the device.
"Jasmine?"
"Vlad." His name comes out as a sob.
"I heard about the Pure Architecture Movement. I'm coming back."
"No. We handled it. Adrian got a restraining order—"
"That won't stop them. These people are fanatics, Jasmine. They'll find ways around legal barriers."
"Then we'll face them. Together, but with you still in hiding. The school needs you alive and free, not imprisoned."
"The school needs protection."
"Devon protected us today. All the evolved children did. They're stronger than we knew."
"Devon's still just a child."
"Our child. Who inherited stubbornness from both parents."
He laughs, the sound making my chest ache. "How's Hope?"
"Floating constantly. Dr. Sarah says it's her way of staying close to everyone—she can reach us all from the air."
"And you?"
"Counting days until spring."
"Seventy-three days," he says immediately. "I'm counting too."
"Leo told Marcus you're close to finding Carmichael."
"Very close. He's in Moscow, building something called the Architecture Purification Center. We think it's a massive suppressor facility."
"To cure evolved children?"
"To destroy them. The technology would kill them, not cure them."
"Then stop him."
"We will. But Jasmine—when this is over, when I come home—"
"Yes."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"Whatever it is, yes. Marriage, more children, growing old in this madness together—yes to all of it."
"I was going to suggest we rebuild the astronomical tower completely. But marriage sounds better."
I laugh through tears. "I love you."
"I love you too. Kiss our children for me."
The device goes dark, and I clutch it like a lifeline.