War Storm (Red Queen) - Victoria Aveyard Page 0,149

but I think it rests solely on one Silver prince and one Red lightning girl.

TWENTY-THREE

Cal

I shift, uncomfortable as the minutes wear on. Midnight comes and goes. Only her eyes move, skimming the page with blurring speed. She might have it memorized by now. Mare wanted no part of the message to Maven, remaining in my rooms while the rest of us crafted it. I expected her to be gone when I came back. But she stayed.

I still can’t believe what happened. And I still can’t believe she’s sitting here, on my bed, in the middle of the night. After all that’s passed between us.

She stayed.

I’ve given up focusing on the papers in front of me. Counts, mostly. Of soldiers, civilians, casualties, resources. Enough to make my head spin. Julian is better at deciphering all this, reducing everything to the most important details so I can see the larger picture. But I need the distraction, if only to keep me from the haunting little book in the desk drawer. I almost want to tell Julian to take it back. Keep his so-called gift until this war is won and I actually have the capacity to face what he wants me to face.

Norta’s situation requires my attention, not the book. And our situation is dire. Harbor Bay is ours, but it’s a poor capital. The city is too old, and vulnerable from all sides, and with Fort Patriot under repair, we’ll have to build up new defenses for the time being. At least the city is with us, if only in name. Rhambos surrendered, and the Reds of the Bay willingly follow their own leaders, the Red Watch, who are firmly allied to the Scarlet Guard. I tick off each group in my head, running down the endless list always racing through my brain. At this point, I think I even see it in my sleep.

With a sigh, I try to clear my mind. I focus on her instead. Strange that she is both the anchor against the storm and the storm itself.

Mare sits cross-legged on my bed, her head bent so her hair obscures half her face. The gray ends are creeping through the chocolate brown, dusting up against her collarbone. She keeps my night robe pulled tight around herself, the collar high enough to hide the brand on her skin. I shudder every time I see the mark burned into her and remember that my brother put it there. In the shifting candlelight, she looks like flame. Gold and red, with black shadows dancing at her edges. I watch quietly from my desk, one bare foot planted on the floor, the other on the desktop. My calf twinges, still aching from the battle, and I flex my toes, trying to work out some of the pain. I wish I hadn’t sent the healer away earlier, but it’s too late in the evening to call anyone back. I’ll just have to bear it until morning, along with the other small pains still cropping up whenever I move.

“How long has it been?” she murmurs again, still not looking away from the page.

I lean back in my chair a little and huff at the ornate ceiling. The electric chandelier above me is dark, unlit. It sparked out about an hour ago, when Mare decided to furiously pace the room. Her moods have a trembling effect.

“Twenty minutes since you last asked,” I reply. “I told you, Maven’s taking his time with a response. He wants to make us sweat.”

“But it won’t be much longer,” she says, unmoving. “He doesn’t have that kind of restraint. Not with us. He won’t be able to resist the chance of meeting us face-to-face.”

“Especially you,” I growl.

“And you,” she replies with equal fervor. “His mother poisoned him toward us both. Made the obsession he carries now.” Annoyed, she sighs. “The meeting will be pointless. A waste.”

I blink slowly. Her knowledge of my brother and how he thinks unsettles me. Mostly because I know what a high price she paid for it. And, if I’m being honest, because I know it’s rooted in emotions I don’t want to trace. But who am to judge what she feels? I still love Maven too, or at least I love the person I thought my brother was.

What a mess, both of us.

My knee cracks as I draw back my leg, an echoing snap. Wincing, I massage the joint, letting my hands warm to a soothing temperature. The heat sinks in, relaxing the muscles