“Maybe a little. What are you doing here?”
Astra removed her fingers from her mouth and dried them on the sleeve of her coat. “I’m supposed to come get you and bring you to the cérémonie.”
Chatine shook her head. “Actually, I think I’m just going to stay here. I don’t feel very good.”
“He said you would say that, and he said to tell you that it’s a lie.”
“He?” Chatine cocked an eyebrow. “Let me guess, did Etienne send you to fetch me?”
Astra popped her fingers back into her mouth and nodded. Her face looked pretty adorable peeking out from her puffy, silver hood. Chatine had no doubt this was all part of Etienne’s plan. Send the cutest one of the bunch, who was almost impossible to say no to.
“Uh-huh,” Chatine said warily. “And what other excuses did he say I would give you?”
Astra tilted her head, as though trying to remember. She removed her fingers from her mouth again so she could count on them. “Your leg hurts. You have a headache. You ate too much bread at dinner. You have mensly cramps—no, men-sta-rally cramps.” She huffed in frustration. “Men-stu—”
“Okay.” Chatine stopped her. “I get it. Fine. I’ll come. But only for a few minutes.”
Astra beamed triumphantly before scampering to the door and standing on her tiptoes to pull down Chatine’s coat from the nearby hook.
“Merci,” Chatine said, sliding her arms into the sleeves.
She followed the little girl out of the chalet and in the direction of the noise, which was still going full force. Although Chatine could walk without her crutches, she was still slow moving. But with the girl’s tiny stride, they turned out to be well matched. The light was dim in the sky, the Sols setting somewhere above the covered walkways, beyond the clouds. As they walked, she could hear Astra quietly slurping on her fingers, despite the cold outside.
“Why do you do that?” Chatine asked, glancing over at her.
“What?” Astra garbled.
“Suck on your fingers like that?”
Astra shrugged and pulled her hand down. “Because they taste good.”
Chatine smiled. She couldn’t think of a better answer.
As they passed through a cluster of chalets, the banging and clamoring seemed to reach a peak. Then they turned a corner, and Chatine froze when she saw the spectacle in front of her.
Every single Défecteur in the camp was here, and every single one of them was in motion. Working, chattering, hammering, digging, and most of them singing as they did it. They were gathered around a patch of muddied ground that had been dug into a neat square and bore a partially built metal frame. Men and women were carrying buckets of earth away from the site, while others shared the weight of long beams that were carried in and bolted into place. Some of the older children were hard at work too, digging and sifting over the ground, removing pebbles and stones from the site.
Chatine wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting, but she knew it wasn’t this. She stood frozen on the walkway, taking it all in. She was certain her mouth must have been hanging open, because she could feel a gust of cold air rush to the back of her throat.
“Don’t just stand there like a sot, come on.” Astra grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to the construction zone.
“What are they doing?” Chatine whispered, although she wasn’t sure why. There was no way anyone else would be able to hear her over all this noise.
“They’re building a new chalet!” Astra explained with great pride and enthusiasm. “For Saros and Castor.”
“Who?” Chatine asked.
“Saros and Castor.” Astra pointed to two men sitting on the sidelines of the construction zone. They were holding metal cups full of some steaming hot liquid and singing at the top of their lungs. Chatine watched, mesmerized, as one turned toward the other and they shared a long, passionate kiss.
“They’re getting linked,” Astra explained.
Chatine glanced between the half-finished chalet and the two men, trying to piece this all together in her mind. “So, the whole camp is building them a chalet?”
“Of course,” Astra said, as though this were the most obvious conclusion to the chaos that ensued around them. “Whenever two people get linked, everyone helps build their chalet. Except Saros and Castor, obviously, since it’s a gift for them. And us, little kids. We have to watch until we’re old enough to help. But this time, I get to put on the connecteur at the end!”
“But why?” As soon as the question