I’ve been dreaming for years of waking up next to you naked. I just thought it’d be in a bed, in a house, or something. Where are we anyway?”
“An old structure, somewhere,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I don’t really know. Yesterday was kind of a blur.” I was high on elixir for most of the day, I realized. It gave me a strange sense of focus; like I remembered the smallest details but none of the context.
“Why are you wearing a dress?” he asked. “And is that makeup?”
“Yesterday was the trials,” I said, rubbing a hand across my face, wiping off a dash of dark eyeshadow and purple glitter.
“Did you win?” he smirked.
“Not exactly,” I said, frowning. Technically, I wasn’t sure how the trials worked. They were always broadcast live to all the compounds, and they wanted the chosen to look fierce and prove themselves loyal and worthy of their elite lords.
I had grabbed the golden trophy first, if only to use it as a weapon against Jessica, and with my foot, not my hand. Though that was before I’d refused to kill Trevor and revealed myself to the king. I wondered what kind of spin he was putting on my escape.
“We should go meet the others,” I said, looking across the valley at the lightening sky. In the daytime, I could barely see the citadel, but I knew where to look and could just make out the shining tips of the highest towers, pointing into the clouds like knives.
In other portions of the surrounding horizon, I made out what might have been black smoke, though it was hard to tell against the gray clouds and flurry of white ash that obscured the view.
“Here,” I said, taking off my jacket. “Maybe put this on.”
“Somehow I don’t think it’s going to fit,” he said, eyeing the garment.
“Cover whatever you can,” I said, gesturing vaguely. He held it in front of him and quirked his eyebrow. He tied the arms around his waist, which barely covered his crotch area and left his butt exposed.
“After you,” he said, gesturing towards the crooked entrance. I smiled and went in first. Without the lamp, it was difficult to see my way forward. I heard Trev stumble and curse a few times as we ducked through the crevices towards the secret hideout. Then I heard the sound of a gun being cocked and froze.
“Who’s there?” a voice called.
“It’s me,” I said, “Emily. And Trev.”
Someone rekindled the fire, and a flashlight shone in our eyes, then lingered on Trev’s nearly naked body.
“Well, hello there,” I heard Jazmine say.
“I’ll be damned,” Frank said, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.
He clasped Trevor in a tight hug. Beatrice kissed him on the cheek, and he nodded towards Luke, who was still leaning against the wall of the cave.
“So, we’re all friends then are we?” I said. But I was glad to see how they greeted him. I couldn’t understand how Trevor, who’d grown up like me and barely left Algrave, could be this close to strangers I’d never met.
“Sorry I wasn’t around to make introductions,” Trevor said. Frank found an extra pair of boxers in his bag, and a black T-shirt. After Trevor was at least partially dressed, we ate a cold breakfast – the remains of some dried meat and nuts, washed down with bitter root tea.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked.
“We should get to my supplies by noon,” Beatrice said. “Until then we keep low and quiet. With any luck the trick at the falls will keep them looking in the wrong direction.”
“Can someone tell me what exactly happened yesterday?” Trevor asked. “And why my ass hurts so much?”
“I might have shot you a few times,” I said. “What do you remember?”
“We were in Algrave then—we got attacked. Soldiers, and elite guards. They moved so quickly. We had elixir, but there were too many. Oh shit, your mom! Em I’m so sorry.” His face twisted into an expression of pain and I squeezed his hand.
“What happened after you were caught?” Frank prodded.
“They took us back to the citadel,” Trevor continued. “Hooked us up to some kind of machine, forcing us to breathe ash. I thought I was dying. I could feel my organs failing, changing. My teeth, my fingers. The hair. Then they let us out. I remember, the air, the smells, the noise. I remember,” he said, his eyes widening. “It’s not clear, just – weapons, smoke, people trying to hurt me, pain, chaos. I