my own. But I didn’t look away. I wouldn’t look away.
“What is it that you want?” Mother Morevna asked.
I couldn’t believe it. She was willing to listen, to go back on one of her decisions.
“All we want is to be welcomed back inside the walls and be treated as equals,” I said. “All eight of us. We want a place to live, food, a place to train, and as much scrap metal as you can spare. Then we’ll help, as we said.”
“It can be done,” said Mother Morevna. “But I am wary of offerings of horses in this walled city. This will not be Troy. I will not accept this gift on simple trust when my city is at risk. You will be relieved of your weapons when you are not training, including spell components belts, and when the Dust Soldiers come, you will lead your attack from the front lines. Do we have a deal?”
“One last thing,” Olivia said, her voice fierce, her eyes flashing. “I know Rosa is alive. Give her back to me!”
A rumble went up among the guards. “Rosa? Rosa Rosales?” “I thought she was dead.” But Olivia stared straight at Mother Morevna. Mother Morevna’s mouth was set in a thin, straight line. Olivia’s eyes narrowed. It was a battle of wills, two wills, each made of steel. But to my surprise, Mother Morevna was the first to look away.
“All right,” Mother Morevna said. “She will be returned to you. But you must lead the attack against the Dust Soldiers, should it come to that. You must be on the front lines, ready to give your life for this last-ditch plan.”
“Done,” Olivia said. She turned to me, and I nodded, though the thought of being on the front lines made me a little queasy. If that was what we had to do, so be it.
“Open the door!” Mother Morevna said.
With a great, ear-rending groan, the steel door slowly opened. Up on the horse, Asa looked tense, his yellowish eyes darting to and fro. The other girls and I exchanged glances. Mowse peeked out from behind Susanah. Then Olivia and I climbed back onto our horses and led the girls through the gates of Elysium.
The feeling of Elysium, a shocking feeling of relief, rushed over me. The weight of watchfulness that I’d carried in the desert was lifted from me as soon as I passed behind the walls. I felt the familiarity of it change my stance, make my movements looser. Elysium was far from perfect, but it was home. One by one, the people of Elysium came out of their houses and stood in their doorways to watch. Every disbelieving eye was on us and our skeletal mechanical steeds. All around, I heard whispers of confusion, fear, distrust… and amazement. People simply didn’t know what to believe as we passed through the streets, the only three people to ever be admitted back into Elysium. But this time, with all of us there together, I didn’t feel alone.
“Oh, now she’s letting murderers back in,” an old white man said loudly as we went by. “Really is the end, isn’t it?”
“Don’t listen to them,” I heard Zo whisper to Olivia.
“Don’t worry, chica,” she said, her eyes forward, her back straight. “I’ve been at this for a long time. All I want out of this hellhole is my sister.”
“People of Elysium,” Mother Morevna’s voice suddenly boomed over the city. Up on the wall, she looked down at us. “There has been a change of plans. As a final attempt to save ourselves, I have permitted reentry to Elysium to three formerly exiled members of our community and their friends. I urge you to welcome them, for as I reassemble the Sacrifice, they will be fighting to defend us against the Dust Soldiers in the event that my attempts are unsuccessful.”
Asa smiled the brightest, most forced of smiles and gave a little wave to a woman in the middle of drying her laundry. She did not return it, but she gave him a somber nod of her head. All was not forgotten, but it was momentarily forgiven. I turned and exchanged nervous glances with the girls, and, wordlessly, one thought beat through all of us. We’re here now. And there’s no turning back.
From the shadows behind the water tower, Lucy Arbor watched as the doors were opened.
A jolt went through her. Sal’s back! She started to run forward, to embrace Sal, to tell her how she’d missed her, how none