She was a little surprised when she saw Warren.
They hadn't talked at all in the two months since everything had happened.
"Those look good," he said.
"Thanks," she said, going back to weaving the net. It still made her uncomfortable, being in his presence, despite everything Lex had said. Some days she still felt surprised by his decision.
"Look, I know-" he began. But he stopped to sigh. He sat down across from her and grabbed the other side of the net to work on it.
"I know that what we did...what I did is unforgivable. I don't blame you for hating me," he said.
"Good," Aria said.
"But I'm trying, okay? I'm not trying to justify my actions. I did what I did. And now I have to live with it. I'm not asking for your forgiveness," he said.
"Then what are you asking for?"
"Nothing. I just wanted you to know that," he said.
"Lex, let you stay. That's more than any of you deserve. Saying sorry doesn't change anything," she said, thinking about all the things she'd never get to apologize for. "The only thing we can do now is move forward and try to be better than we were yesterday."
He nodded, and after that, they stopped talking and made four more nets.
The anger at Warren, at Edwards, at Brent's mother, and all those people who followed them had dwindled in the two months that had passed.
There were still nights where arguments and sometimes even fights would break out in the throne room or down at the other village. Aria had thought they would never end. But every single week, there were less than the week before. She had to believe that they would all end, eventually. But she understood that it would take time to get there.
Lex had kept control of the anger that lingered underneath his calm exterior. She'd get a glimpse of it sometimes, like when he'd go on a rant in the middle of a conversation or grip her hips tighter than usual when they went to bed.
But every morning, he'd get up and do what he could to help. He got to know the people he'd taken under his wing, and they got to know him. To Aria's surprise, he talked to Warren. And one night, she was pretty sure she saw the two of them laughing about something.
And every time she asked about it, he always said the same thing.
"Someone once told me that we do what we must to survive, and the enemy does the same. That it isn't personal," he'd say.
"And who told you that? An enemy?" she asked.
"Not exactly," he said, a smile on his face.
However, not everyone agreed. A few people were still uncomfortable with the whole situation, understandably so. Grace was at the top of that list.
No words from Lex or Mara could convince the girl otherwise.
Sometimes Aria would see her watching one of the new people with such anger, such hatred in her eyes that Aria would start to feel a little uneasy. But no matter how many times Grace reached for her sword....she never pulled it from its sheath.
Ben had left.
Aria hadn't talked to him since their conversation in her room. She heard from Mara that he went back to the village Lex had sent him to the first time. He said it was because he didn't belong with them anymore.
She was grateful for it for not having to look at him anymore. Because every time she did, she'd think about how much he had changed. How he had gone from an adventurer to a selfish coward.
She thought about how much coming here had changed the people around her. The way it made some of them better, like Hunt and Adrian and Mara. And how it made others worse, like Ben and Warren and maybe even her.
She still wasn't sure if she liked the person she was, but she was learning and growing every day. Below the ground, everything was black and white. You were either a criminal or not. Alive or dead. That was it.
Things were different up here.
Aria looked around, watching her people and Lex’s people work together. It made people nicer, she thought, trying to achieve a common goal. It brought people together.
It was more than she could have hoped for.
Aria left earlier than usual. She was tired. But more importantly, Lex was coming home.
"Hey," Grace said, walking up beside her. "Leaving so soon?"
"Lex's coming home tonight, right?" Mara asked from Aria's other side.
"Wanna get all nice and pretty? Is that it?" Grace teased.
Aria rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.
"Yeah, that's it. Isn't it? Gotta get cute for your husband?" Mara said.
"Shut up," Aria said. "Why are you two leaving?"
"We have plans tonight," Mara said.
"Do I even want to know what that means?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, shut up," Mara said, punching Aria in the arm.
"Ow!"
"There's going to be a meteor shower," Grace said. "A big one. We're going to watch it along with a few others."
"Thanks for inviting me," Aria said.
"We just figured that you and Lex had....other things in mind. He has been gone for like a week, right?" Mara said.
This time, Aria punched her.
"What?" Mara exclaimed in between bursts of laughter.
"Well, you're invited. We're gonna leave just before the sun sets," Grace said.
They joked about sex and stars on their way back to the palace.
Once in her room, Aria decided to take a bath to wash off the sweat and dirt from the day.
And since all she had to do was wait, after scrubbing her skin and hair, she filled the tub back up with freshwater and some of the sweet-smelling bath soap she'd gotten. She searched through Lex's things until she found a book she wanted to read and
