Hayden broke away reluctantly, easing down on his back. He stared up through the branches, his expression oddly pensive.

“Are you okay? Did… did I hurt you?”

“No,” he said quickly, finding my hand and squeezing it. “Do you want to know why I trust my father so much? Why I know he could never do anything to hurt you?”

Not the conversation I really wanted to have right now, but I nodded. “Okay.”

A brief smile pulled at his lips. “When I say he saved my life, I’m not exaggerating. Not just once, but twice. The first time was when he found me in foster care. If he hadn’t found me, I don’t think I would’ve survived.”

I sat back, still holding his hand. I didn’t dare speak, giving him the opportunity to continue.

“Things were bad. There were days when I didn’t get to eat. And if I was caught sneaking food? The beatings were… intense. And at first, things were betterso much betterat the Facility. Then they started this thing called the Assimilation Program, and I was a candidate for it. At first, Cromwell didn’t know all that the program entailed. It was headed up by Doctor Ishtar.” He paused, eyes squinting. “They used every possible method you can think of, Ember. Exposure therapy at its finest.”

“Exposure therapy?”

He nodded. “Because kids like me were having trouble controlling our gifts when we were, well, just about any time, the doctors would create high-stress scenarios that would provoke our gifts over and over until we became desensitized to the triggers. Some of the things they did would blow your mind.”

I wanted to ask what. Maybe it was just morbid fascination, but somehow common sense prevailed. “How long were you in the program?”

“Long enough,” he answered, sliding his hand out of mine. “When my father saw what it was doing to meliterally driving me crazyhe pulled me out and we came here. Since then, the Facility and Dr. Ishtar swear they’ve changed the program. I know he said he’d send you there, but, Ember, he never would. Even though the Assimilation Program works, it’s horrible. The things I had to do… “ He trailed off for several long moments. “Anyway, he would never do that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Hayden tipped his head toward me and smiled. “Because he knows if that happened to you, it would hurt me.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, Hayden. It doesn’t seem right.”

“Well, it’s over now.” His smile slipped away and he reached for me. “How much time do we have until dinner?”

“About two and half hours.”

“Hmm.” Then he tugged on my sweater, pulling me down so his mouth could reach mine. “Not enough time at all.”

Chapter 25

Chapter 25