[I am a terrible person and forgot to thank Marina Black1 for all the beta assistance on Chapter 38; since she has done such an amazing job with this chapter as well, I hope I am not too late! If you're looking for a great meaty read, pretty much any of her stories will do it for you.]

...

Julia and Emery glanced at each other nervously as the bell for first period rang. Grayson still hadn't arrived.

"I guess he really wasn't feeling well. Remember, he asked what we'd do if someone was absent?" Julia offered.

"Yeah, but he seemed okay," Emery answered with a thoughtful twist of the mouth. "Well, maybe he'll show up later."

They looked for him in between classes but he never materialized. By the time lunch rolled around, the group had to call a hasty meeting. Since Julia had reviewed everyone's notes already, she volunteered to take on Grayson's Q&A section.

"Unless you want to do it," She offered Teri in a querulous voice.

"Nope. I'm good." Teri had her own issues to deal with, and this assignment was not high on her priority list. Emery, alive and well and walking around looking at Roman like he belonged to her, now that ranked way up there. Maybe the havthra plant's poison was useless after it had been cooked? She didn't like baking, but it was the only way she had come up with to make Emery eat the poison, since they never shared meals together. But she was sure she remembered old stories of the plant being served in hot soups… Maybe Roman had suspected something, and stopped his human tramp from eating the cookies. She eyed him suspiciously as Julia rambled on, but he did not seem angry, which she would have expected if he had uncovered Teri's plans.

It was truly infuriating. She had slept so soundly last night, confident that Emery would not be in school today. And then, when she walked into class with that foolish boy Lukas and so clearly – so audaciously! – smiled her biggest, brightest smile right at Roman… well, it was enough to eat at anyone's soul, really.

Teri would just have to try harder. Fresh havthra next time. No more mistakes.

…

"Any questions?" Julia stepped forward as the polite applause ended. Roman and Emery were breathing more easily now that their part in the presentation was over. Teri seemed bored, but since that was her default emotion in school, Roman wasn't worried by it. He tried hard not to look at Emery, because he wanted to wait until they were alone to tell her what a fantastic job she had done. As Emery had spoken, Roman had tried not to picture her carrying his child, and failed miserably. It was one of the very few secrets he kept from Emery, but he knew it would be a mistake to tell her that he frequently imagined their future, complete with children. She was a teenager. Come to think of it, he was a teenager. On top of everything else he had forced on Emery, it just seemed cruel to add that kind of dream to the mix.

"I don't know, I mean, does that answer really make sense?" Roman heard Julia ask as he came out of his reverie. She was looking back at her teammates. Roman blushed to be caught unprepared, but Emery stepped in smoothly.

"Yes, I think you're right. While there could be cases where -" She was cut off by Gloria, who burst into the room in a state of severe agitation. Roman stepped forward immediately; Gloria was not easily ruffled, so something serious must have happened.

"Roman, I -" she began, and there was such sorrow on her face that without even knowing what came next, Roman began to feel lightheaded. Someone had died. An Atrian had died.

"It's Castor, and … and I'm afraid also your mother," Gloria finally managed. Her voice caught and she reached out for Roman's hand. Sophia stood up slowly then, and made her way toward her brother. "Roman, Sophia, I am so very sorry. I need you to come with me." Roman nodded, numb, and grabbed Sophia to him tightly. The pair followed Gloria silently out of the room.

Emery stepped forward without thinking. Of course she would go with them, too. Julia's hand whipped out and encircled her friend's wrist, and when Emery finally looked at her she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. The whole class was watching.

After a quiet minute, Ms. Benton cleared her throat to regain the class's attention.

"I think we will continue with presentations another day," she suggested quietly. "You may use the rest of this period as a study hall. You may talk quietly amongst yourselves, but I do mean quietly."

…

Roman and Sophia sat in Gloria's office, and for the second time in a year they grieved the loss of a parent. Sophia tried to emulate her brother's stoicism but failed miserably. He was glad, at least, for that. Sophia should never have to become as hardened as he. Her beauty lay in the purity of her emotions, in the way she felt everything so deeply and empathized so easily with those around her. Roman needed her, needed Sophia to feel and express the emotions he had to suppress. He knew he was barely above a parasite in this way, and it was one of many reasons he felt so protective of her.

The siblings listened to Gloria haltingly recount the incident as SEU understood it so far. Castor had been walking along one of the uppermost gangways of the Sector when he was shot. They had no idea who the shooter was, but preliminary information suggested the shot may have come from outside the Sector walls. Roman squirmed at this news, and Gloria shot him a sympathetic look.

"Roman, I know what you're thinking but as I said, it's all preliminary. We can't know for sure that it was a Redhawk."

"Cut the crap," Roman answered levelly. "You know our culture well enough. Do you really think any Atrian – even a Trag - would raise a hand against the Iksen?" He bore into her with his eyes, and she knew he was right.

Sophia cut in. "But… Mom?" she asked simply, pleading for more information.

Gloria sighed and sat down at her desk. Her brow furrowed in frustration, and she answered without thinking.

"That's the strangest part. She killed herself. It just makes -"

"Gloria!" Roman's angry shout brought her back to the present, and Gloria realized with horror how callous her words must have sounded to the children. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"Oh no, Sophia, I didn't mean to -" She floundered, watching Sophia gasp for air between great wracking sobs. Roman glared at her as he wrapped Sophia up in his arms protectively.

"What the hell was that?" He flared at her. "You're doing a pretty shit job of this so far, I've got to say."

Gloria let the cursing slide. She knew Roman needed a bad guy to hate, and since she also knew she had royally screwed the delivery of this news, she already felt like the bad guy anyway. So she sat back, accepting his anger, letting it wash over her, cleanse her.

After another minute Gloria opened a bottom drawer of her desk, pulled out a box of tissues, and handed them to Sophia without uttering a word. Then she left her office, so the siblings could have some time alone. She had another meeting to attend, anyway.

...

Most of the human members of the Atrian 7's homeroom had asked for permission to join them in the auditorium. Gloria was impressed by the turnout. She caught sight of Taylor, seated just in front of Drake, and offered her a small, sad smile before turning her attention to the group as a whole.

"Roman and Sophia will not be joining us for now," she began, "they are taking some time to themselves. I am sorry to have to share this news with all of you, but today Sophia and Roman's uncle Castor, the Atrians' interim Iksen, was killed by an unknown assailant." The entire class reacted to this news, but for the Atrian students it was a staggering blow. To lose two leaders in such a short amount of time, both in such violent ways... it felt surreal.

"In addition, Roman and Sophia will need your support as they deal with the additional personal loss of their mother, Maia, who died today in a separate incident." Teri scoffed loudly at this; she clearly didn't believe Maia's death was unrelated. Well, that was not Gloria's problem right now.

"I'm sorry to say that, given this news, we anticipate there will be a negative reaction on the part of the Atrian community," Gloria continued, but Drake cut her off.

"Hell yeah there'll be a negative reaction!" he stormed. Maia was as much a mother to him as his own, and he needed to be with Roman and Sophia right now.

"That is why, effective immediately, we are once again suspending visiting privileges. Atrians will not be permitted in Edendale, and those of you who had permission slips for access to the Sector, we will put that program on hold for now. We hope to resolve this issue quickly, but until then please bear with us."

Gloria excused herself and exited the auditorium with calm authority. Once she was safely in the stairwell that led back to her office, she leaned against the wall and let the tears flow. She cried for Nox, for the death of the dream they had once shared; she cried for his children and their fresh pain; she cried for the looks on the faces of those teenagers left stranded in the midst of political upheaval; and she cried for herself.

Integration - and her own child - had never seemed so distant.