Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1)

by Amie Kaufman

Know the way. Show the way. Go the way.

Blue for the leadership corps. White for Cat and her fellow Aces. Green for the Brains in the Science Division. Purple for the Gearheads. Red for the Tanks. And lucky me, a bright, sunny yellow for the diplomatic corps to match my bright, sunny disposition.

Oblivious in their righteousness. Firmly convinced that any problem can be solved with enough faith or good hard work or, when all else fails, bullets.

“There is a gravity to everything, Aurora,” I finally say. “Not just planets. Not just stars. Every cell in our bodies, every cell in creation exerts a gravity on the objects and people around it. And…that is what I am feeling. For you.”

What can you say when there are no words for what you’re feeling? What can you do when there is nothing left to be done?

“I’m sorry,” I finally say. “That you don’t get to choose for yourself.” He glances up to the sky briefly, sunlight glinting in those violet eyes. “Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than any constellation in the sky?” I look at this strange boy beside me. It would be so easy to simply see him as a weapon. A beautiful one, sure. But

But now, I realize, he’s something else too. He’s mine.