Legacy (The Biodome Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page A

close. The shadowed outline of her brother stood and lowered onto the bed. Her body swayed with the depression, and she bumped into his shoulder as the ticking adjusted to his weight.
    “I no longer know who I am able to trust, nor what my future is inside New Eden. If father’s secret proves true, then I have your and Laurel’s futures to consider as well. Especially as the Second Phase will begin within the year.”
    “Leaf, that is madness,” Oaklee hissed. “Nothing has to change. Father unfairly burdened us with something that could very well destroy our happiness. How could he expect you to take on so much?” Tears brimmed as she thought of her father’s other request when confessing the family secret, one that implied an unspoken danger. “Personally, I enjoy my life in New Eden, and I am ready to forget his confession. We do not even know if it is true. What if he lost his mind as he neared passing?”
    “I was apparently wrong. There is no one I am able to trust.” Leaf stood, a bit unsteady on his feet, and placed a hand over his chest as he cleared his throat, trying to mask the sorrow.
    This had shifted into something more personal between them, and Oaklee groaned as she grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back onto the bed with force. “That is unfair. You know you can trust me, but that does not mean I have to agree with what I believe you are suggesting. You honestly believe we should leave New Eden?”
    “Please, just come and see with your own eyes, and then decide what to believe.”             
    She glanced at the shadows on the wall to decipher the time, her sleepy mind unable to interpret the angles quite yet. “What is the present hour?”
    “Two o’clock morning time.”
    “Do we leave Laurel here alone?”
    “Yes, she shall be fine.”
    Oaklee pulled her knees up to her chest, luxuriating in the warmth as her chemise draped over her toes. Leaf returned his head to his hands, and she knew the weight of his thoughts were heavy indeed. Tree limbs from outside her window continued to cast shadowed fingers through her room, scraping across her brother’s forehead, and her pulse quickened as her mind groped for a decision. The forest was calling them, beckoning with each bio-wind breeze as the darkness absorbed their fears. Neither one moved, she noticed—as if doing so would break the reservoir holding back their swelling anxieties.
    Oaklee drew in a fortifying breath. “I shall accompany you. What may I bring?”
    In an uncommon moment of affection, Leaf pulled her into a hug and kissed the hair atop her head. Oaklee startled and pushed him off as she came to a full stand. “I did not realize it meant that much to you, My Lord .”
    “Yes, it really does,” he said soberly upon hearing his courtesy title, a formality the community gave him upon turning sixteen three years ago. Some in the second generation relished the esteem while others, such as Leaf, found it awkward and against their earthy nature. Oaklee was required to use formalities in public per The Code, but she wielded Leaf’s as a weapon privately.
    “I brought candles to light upon reaching the hatch.” Leaf placed a taper and a small wrought iron holder in her hands.
    “A hatch?”
    “Yes, a well-concealed one. Wear a garment you find appropriate for climbing, bring your cloak, and then meet me by the entry door.”
    In the dimness, Oaklee noted that her brother wore his work clothes. The linen breeches reached his lower calves rather than down to the ankle, an adjustment she had made to keep the pants cleaner and from fraying while working the gardens. She would don her garden work garments as well, keeping her full-length linen day dress clean for the morrow.
    A short time later, she tiptoed down the hallway. Thoughts circled around endlessly of sneaking around the biodome at night as well as entering a secret room. She lightly chewed on her bottom lip as hesitation slowed her steps, the arguments in