CHAPTER 17
I SAT AT THE BASE of the tree, legs folded up to my chest, waiting. Mom always said that was what we were supposed to do when we were lost. It gave me time to think about what had happened.
How was it possible that rebels had gotten into the palace two days in a row?
My legs had a bunch of scratches on them, and now that I wasn’t hiding, I could finally feel the sting. There was also a small bruise halfway up my thigh that I wasn’t sure how I’d acquired. I was thirsty; and as I settled down, I felt worn-out from the emotional, mental, and physical strain of the day. I let my head rest against the tree, closing my eyes. I didn’t intend to fall asleep. But I did.
Sometime later, I heard the distinct sound of footsteps. My eyes flashed open, and the forest was darker than I remembered. How long had I been asleep?
My first instinct was to climb back up the tree, and I ran around to the other side, stepping on the torn remnants of the rebel girl’s bag. But then I heard people calling my name.
“Lady America!” someone said. “Where are you?”
“Lady America?” another voice called. Then, after a while, in a loud voice, a command came.
“Be sure to look everywhere. If they’ve killed her, they might have hung her or tried to bury her. Pay attention.”
“Yes, sir,” men chorused back.
I peeked around the tree, focusing on the sound. I squinted, trying to make out the figures moving through the shadows, unsure they could really be here to save me. But one guard, his slight limp not slowing him at all, made me finally sure that I was safe.
A small patch of fading sunlight fell across Aspen’s face, and I ran. “I’m here!” I yelled. “I’m over here!”
I ran straight into Aspen’s arms, for once not caring about who saw. “Thank goodness,” he breathed into my hair. Then, turning toward the other figures, “I’ve got her! She’s alive!”
Aspen bent down and picked me up, cradling me. “I was terrified we were going to find your body somewhere. Are you hurt?”
“My legs a little.”
A second later, several guards were surrounding us, congratulating Aspen on a job well done.
“Lady America,” the one in charge said, “are you injured at all?”
I shook my head. “Just some scratches on my legs.”
“Did they try to hurt you?”
“No. They never caught up to me.”
He looked a bit shocked. “None of the other girls could have outrun them, I don’t think.”
I smiled, finally at ease. “None of the other girls is a Five.”
Several of the guards chuckled, Aspen included.
“Good point. Let’s get you back.” He went in front of us and called out to the other guards, “Be on the lookout. They could still be lingering in the area.”
As we moved, Aspen talked to me quietly. “I know you’re fast and smart, but I was terrified.”
“I lied to the officer,” I whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“They did catch up with me, eventually.”
Aspen looked at me in horror.
“They didn’t do anything, but this one girl saw me. She curtsied and ran off.”
“Curtsied?”
“I was surprised, too. She didn’t look angry or threatening at all. In fact, she just looked like a normal girl.”
I thought over Maxon’s comparison of the two rebel groups and knew this girl must be a Northerner. There was absolutely no aggression in her, only a drive to do her task. And there was no doubt that the attack last night was from the Southern rebels. Did that mean something, that the attacks weren’t only back-to-back, but by different groups? Were the Northerners watching us, waiting for us to be this drained? Thinking about them spying on the palace so intently was a little frightening.
At the same time, the attack was almost funny. Did they simply walk in the front doors? How many hours were they in the palace collecting their treasures? Which reminded me.
“She had books, lots of them,” I said.
Aspen nodded. “That seems to happen a lot. No clue what they’re doing with them. My guess is kindling. I think it’s cold where they stay.”
“Hmm,” I replied, not really answering. If I needed kindling, I could think of much easier places to get it than the palace. And the way the girl was so desperate to gather up the books made me sure it was something more than that.
It took nearly an hour of slow, steady trekking to get back to the palace. Even though he was injured, Aspen never let his hold on me slip. In fact, he looked to be enjoying the walk despite the extra labor. I liked it, too.
“The next few days might be busy for me, but I’ll try to come see you soon,” Aspen whispered as we crossed the wide, grassy lawn leading up to the palace.
“Okay,” I answered quietly.
He smiled a little as he looked forward, and I joined him, taking in the view. The palace was glittering in the evening sun, with windows lit up on every story. I’d never seen it like this. It was beautiful.
For some reason I thought Maxon would be there, waiting by the back doors for me. He wasn’t.
No one was. Aspen was instructed to take me to the hospital wing so Dr. Ashlar could tend to my legs while another guard went off to tell the royal family I’d been found alive.
My homecoming was a nonevent. I was alone in a hospital bed with bandaged legs, and that was how I stayed until I fell asleep.
I heard someone sneeze.
I opened my eyes, confused for a second before remembering where I was. I blinked, looking around the room.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Maxon said in hushed tones. “You should go back to sleep.” He was propped up in a chair by my bed, so close he could rest his head by my elbow if he wanted to.
“What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes.
“Almost two.”
“In the morning?”
Maxon nodded. He watched me carefully, and I was suddenly very worried about how I looked.
I had washed my face and pulled my hair up when I came back, but I was pretty sure I had a pillow imprinted on my cheek.
“Don’t you ever sleep?” I asked.
“I do. I’m just on edge a lot.”
“Occupational hazard?” I sat up a bit more.
He gave me a thin smile. “Something like that.”
There was a long pause as we sat there, unsure of what to say next.
“I thought of something today, when I was in the woods,” I said casually.
He smiled a bit more at how easily I brushed off the incident. “Oh, really?”
“It was about you.”
He inched closer, his brown eyes focused on mine. “Do tell.”
“Well,” I started, “I was thinking about how you were last night when Elise and Kriss weren’t in the hall, how worried you were. And then today I saw you try to run after me when the rebels came.”
“I tried. I’m so sorry.” He shook his head, ashamed that he hadn’t done more.
“I’m not upset,” I explained. “That’s the thing. When I was out there alone, I thought about how worried you probably were, how worried you are about the others. And I can’t pretend to know how you feel about all of us,
