"...And now your caught up." Luna concluded and I try to stay awake.
Two hours worth of staying up to hear her story was worth it even though I was tired.
You two will live and fight through it. Oliver's words helped Luna rescue me, but I'm not a fighter. I am a frightened shadow of a boy. I am a fractured mind and a trembling body. I am a prisoner- formerly that is.
What will the King do when he sees me gone? The thought should terrify me, but instead, I feel nothing. I suppose I have nothing left for him to take now.
"Are…are you all right?" I asked. My voice sounds strained, and I wonder when I last talked to a girl. Or talked to anyone but the King and his soldiers.
Her hands begin to shake violently until she straightens out, "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get to bed and head out first thing. We'll sort it out tomorrow."
I wrapped myself around the warm blanket and slept next to the fire. I haven't been more calm in my life. In the dungeon, three men -Ron, Conner, and Gen- used to spy on me from afar in case I wanted to pick the lock with a nail or a sharp item. The only time they would leave me alone was when I sleep.
They must be angry now. My escape with a Labian woman who was told to kill a rebel! Which of them will get the honor of telling the King that story? None of them, more than likely. Silas will tell it himself and the Kaiser will know of my weakness in minutes. He will only try harder to beat that weakness out of me. This time, he might succeed, and then what will be left of me?
Before the siege, I had an Sozzarian maid named Felicity, who was fifteen years older than me. I thought of her as a sister, and when she was tasked to get me out of the castle, I followed her without question, so sure that I would be safe. I even believed my family escaped too, and I would see them again.
I was wrong.
We were caught on the way to the escape route, just as Silas wanted it to be. A soldier hit me several times, and then Silas slit Felicity's throat, telling me she got in the way. He said it was to teach me a lesson that would last longer than my welts, and I suppose it did. I learned to trust no one.
I feel like I'm going to be sick, but I force myself to take deep breaths until it passes. The eyes of the soldiers weigh heavy on me, waiting for me to fall apart so they can report it to the King.
Sky Newton. The name whispers through me again, followed by my mother's dying words.
Would they forgive Luna for killing Oliver? Would they understand why she did it? Or do they turn their backs on her from their place in the After?
He's with her now, I have to believe that. He's with her because he gave his life to spare me, though that isn't fair. He risked everything for Sozzaria, while I have done nothing but try to appease the monster who destroyed us.
I can't play the King's game anymore. I can't follow his rules and keep him amused while my people wear chains. I can't let Luna get drafted into the army like her father was. I can't speak in their hard, ugly language. I can't respond to a name that isn't the one my Family gave me.
Oliver was the last person I thought could rescue me, my last hope that this nightmare could end one day. I thought Luna had killed that hope when she killed him, but I realize now that she didn't. The hope inside me is not smothered yet. It is dying, yes, with only a few embers left. But I've seen fires rekindled with less.
Something in me is waking up. This is not my home. I am not their prize. I am not content with the life they have so kindly spared.
Oliver can't save me anymore, but I won't let his sacrifice be in vain. I have to figure out how to save myself.