The hover-car dropped David back at his apartment building three hours later and the crowd was still there.
Actually, it was worse than before. The mob had grown from hundreds to what looked like thousands, spilling across multiple blocks, forcing complete road closures. Someone had set up food stalls at the perimeter, clearly capitalizing on the situation, and David spotted at least three different merchandise vendors selling shirts with his face on them.
"Are those people selling my face?" he asked, pressing against the window.
Becca leaned over to look and her lips twitched. "They're selling shirts with your face. Different thing."
"How is that different?"
"Shirts are wearable. Your actual face isn't." She settled back in her seat. "The car can't get any closer. We'll have to land on the roof."
David looked up. His building had a roof, technically, but it was mostly storage for old hover-unit parts and a few illegally maintained garden plots belonging to the elderly woman on the top floor. He'd never actually been up there.
The car lifted, cleared the surrounding buildings, and settled onto the roof with a soft thump. David climbed out, Becca following, and they stood for a moment looking down at the sea of people far below.
"How are you going to get out of here?" he asked.
Becca pulled out her phone and typed something. "Another car's coming. I'll wait." She glanced at him. "You should go inside. Lucas is probably up there."
David nodded, hesitated, then said what he'd been thinking since they left the estate. "Thank you. For today. For... all of it."
Becca met his eyes and for once there was no calculation in her gaze, just something tired and honest. "You're welcome. Now go before I say something embarrassing."
David almost smiled and headed for the roof access door.
Lucas was, in fact, in his apartment. He'd let himself in somehow, David's key hidden under the mat wasn't exactly secure, and he'd made himself comfortable on the couch with a bag of chips and the holographic display tuned to non-stop Ashborn coverage.
"—experts continue to debate the implications of dual S-rank abilities," the anchor was saying as David walked in. "Some believe David Ashborn could be the key to humanity's next evolutionary leap, while others warn that concentrating too much power in one individual—"
Lucas muted it as soon as he saw David. "Dude! You're back! How was the assassin mansion? Did they try to kill you? Did you try to kill them? Did you see any cool weapons? Becca's family has to have cool weapons, right, they're assassins, that's basically their whole thing."
David collapsed onto the couch beside him. "They offered me an alliance. Possibly marriage later if things work out."
Lucas choked on his chip. "Marriage? They want you to marry Becca? Already? You've known her for like two days!"
"Not immediately. Just... consideration. It's complicated."
"Complicated," Lucas repeated. "Yeah, I'd say marriage is complicated. What did you tell them?"
"That I'd think about it."
Lucas stared at him. "You'd think about it. About marrying Becca Moon, the shadow assassin girl with the silver eyes and the whole mysterious vibe. You'd think about it."
David shrugged. "She's not terrible."
"Not terrible. He says not terrible." Lucas threw his hands up. "I can't with you, I absolutely cannot, you're impossible, you're the most impossible person I've ever met, and I've met myself so that's saying something."
Despite everything, David laughed. It felt good, normal, like the world hadn't completely flipped upside down in the past forty-eight hours.
Lucas grinned and tossed him a chip. "So what now? You gonna hide up here forever while the world loses its mind?"
"Maybe. Sounds peaceful."
"It sounds boring. Also unsustainable, because eventually you'll run out of food and have to face the mob." Lucas stretched out on the couch, taking up most of it. "My mom wants you to come for dinner, by the way. She's worried about you eating properly and also she wants to meet the famous David Ashborn in person instead of just seeing you on TV."
David felt that tightness in his throat again. "Your mom's already done enough."
"She'd disagree. She's very opinionated about feeding people." Lucas sat up, suddenly serious. "Look, I know this is a lot. The powers, the attention, the clans making offers, all of it. But you're not alone in it, okay? You've got me, you've got Erica watching everyone's backs, you've got Becca doing whatever it is Becca does. We're here."
David nodded, not trusting his voice.
His phone buzzed and he glanced at it automatically. Another message from an unknown number, but this one was different. No offer, no threat, no interview request.
Just a symbol.
A sunburst.
The same symbol etched into his necklace.
David's blood went cold.
"What?" Lucas asked, noticing his expression. "What is it?"
David showed him the phone. Lucas stared at the symbol, then at David, then back at the symbol.
"Is that...?"
"I don't know." David's mind raced. "It could be nothing. Could be someone who saw the necklace in the news footage, trying to get my attention."
"Or it could be something." Lucas handed the phone back. "You gonna reply?"
David typed a single word.
*Who is this?*
The response came instantly.
*Someone who knew your parents.*
David's heart stopped.
Lucas read over his shoulder and went very still. "Okay. Okay, that's... that's a lot. That's a really big deal, David."
Another message arrived.
*I can't talk here. Too many ears. Meet me tomorrow. The old market in District Seven. Come alone. Tell no one.*
*If you want answers, be there.*
The messages stopped.
David stared at the screen, his mind churning. His parents. Someone who knew his parents. After eighteen years of nothing, of silence, of wondering, suddenly there was someone who claimed to have answers.
Lucas was watching him carefully. "You're not actually considering going alone, right? Because that's exactly how people get murdered in stories. 'Come alone, tell no one' is basically a death sentence."
"I know."
"But you're still considering it."
David looked at his friend, at the concern in his eyes, at the loyalty that had never wavered. "I have to know, Lucas. You understand that, right? I have to know."
Lucas was quiet for a long moment. Then he sighed heavily. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it. But you're not going alone. I don't care what the message says, you're not walking into some mysterious meeting by yourself."
"The message said—"
"I know what it said. But messages don't get to make decisions about my best friend's safety." Lucas pulled out his own phone. "I'm telling Erica. She'll know how to handle this, tail you without being seen, make sure nothing happens. Becca too, probably, she's got the whole assassin thing going for her."
David opened his mouth to argue but Lucas held up a hand.
"Tell no one doesn't include us. We're not no one. We're your people. And your people don't let you walk into danger alone." His voice was firm, final, no room for argument.
David looked at him, at this ridiculous loyal impossible friend who'd stuck with him through everything, and felt something crack open in his chest.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay."
Lucas grinned and started typing furiously. "Excellent. Now let's figure out how we're going to keep you alive tomorrow so you can finally find out who you actually are."
The phone buzzed again, just once, but when David looked it was just the symbol again.
A sunburst.
Waiting.