by Kate L. Mary
“I saw it,” Asa whispered. “Lysander took me there. He made me search for your body. I thought for sure I’d find you there.”
Pain squeezed my insides as I tried to imagine what he had been through. Having to search the dead for me. I could not begin to fathom how much pain he must have been in.
I leaned my head back so it was resting on his shoulder and turned my face toward his. My lips were pressed against his neck when I whispered, “I am so sorry for everything you have been through.”
“It’s nothing.” His arms tightened around me. “Not anymore. Not now that we’re both safe.”
I chose not to remind him that we had not yet won the war.
Despite the darkness, we reached the caves with ease. I urged the horse to stop outside the entrance, and Asa slid off before reaching up to help me down as well. We stood face to face beside the opening for a moment, staring into one another’s eyes as if neither one of us could believe we were here right now.
“When I was in there,” he whispered, “you were the only thing that kept me going.”
“When I had to walk through the city once again, the memories of you gave me the strength I needed.”
Asa cupped my face between his hands. “As long as we’re together, I don’t need anything else.”
“As long as we are together,” I lifted myself up on my toes, “I will have the strength to endure anything.”
When I pressed my lips to his, the kiss was brief, but sweet. We were free. We were home. We were going to be okay.
It was the middle of the night, so it was no surprise to find the first chamber empty when Asa and I stepped inside. The fire we used to cook, located directly under the vent holes Bodhi had showed me the first time he brought me here, was little more than burning embers. The faint scent of roasted meat still hanging in the air told me someone had been here not that long ago.
It was not until the familiar walls of the cave were surrounding me that exhaustion hit. Less physical than emotional, I found myself leaning on Asa, clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping me from falling over.
He was back. We were only apart for two days, but I had still found myself wondering if I would ever see him alive again, and when I went into the city, I had felt certain I would never leave the walls. But we had made it out. We were in one piece and safe—at least for the time being.
“You’re tired,” he said as we moved to the tunnel that led into the largest chamber.
“No.” I shook my head, my fingers tightening on his arm. “I am…overwhelmed.”
Asa, as he so often did, only nodded in response.
We moved through the tunnel, him in front and me behind him since the opening was so narrow. I marveled at how he had to turn sideways, how he had to duck so his broad frame could fit through. He was so big, so broad and muscular. So opposite of me. Yet here we were, husband and wife, and I knew from exquisite experience how perfectly we fit together.
Despite the hour, the largest chamber was not empty the way the first one had been, and the sight of us sent an uproar rippling through the people gathered there that echoed off the walls.
“Indra!”
My sister’s was the first voice I registered, and a second later she had pushed her way through the crowd and was running toward me. Her arms were open, her eyes wide like she thought she might be seeing things.
Anja slammed into me, wrapping me in a hug. She was taller than me by a head, but the way her bony arms encircled me made it seem like more.
“You are alive,” she said, her body shaking with her sobs.
“I am alive,” I replied as I gently patted her back.
Others had moved forward as well. Mira, who patted my arm, tears shimmering on her cheeks. Xandra, who still looked rough and beaten, but more like her old self. Gaia was at her side, and beyond her stood Tris and Atreyu. I spied Isa and the child Emori had cast aside, as well as other Outliers and the dozens of former Fortis who had joined our tribe. Everyone gathered around us, throwing questions our way that were too numerous to count.
I extracted myself from my sister’s arms so I could face the group, lifting my hands. “Please. Calm down.”
The echo of voices died down, and around me people shifted. A face was visible, but only for a moment before the broad frame of a Fortis man blocked him again, but I knew I was not seeing things. Linc had returned to the caves.
“Linc,” I called before saying anything else.
At my words, the crowd in front of me parted, revealing the man who had left with Emori. His head was down and his body language contrite as he stepped closer to me.
“You have returned?”
He simply nodded.
“We did not know what to do,” Mira said, her voice almost apologetic. “He came back. He told us what happened with Emori. That she attacked you and dragged you to the gate.”
My gaze moved to Isa, whose eyes were swimming with questions. “She did. She was captured with me and taken back to Saffron’s house. We managed to escape by killing the Fortis guards,” I looked toward Mira, “and Saffron.”
My friend exhaled as if letting out a breath she had been holding for a very long time.
Again, my focus moved to Isa. “Emori would not leave with us. We tried, but she refused. She said she could not go anywhere until she knew Lysander was dead.” I gave Isa an apologetic smile. “We made amends before parting, however, and I believe she has seen the error of her ways.”
Linc’s head shot up. “You would forgive her for what she has done?”
“You have worked in the city, Linc, and you have witnessed the things our people endured at the hands of the Sovereign. I believe Emori suffered more than many of us, and the pain made it impossible for her to see the world clearly.” I looked around at the people standing in the cave. “Forgiveness is not easy, but sometimes it is the only thing that can heal us.”
A murmur moved through the crowd, and even though I could not distinguish any of the words, I saw several people nod in agreement.
“What are we to do now?” Mira asked, having to raise her voice to be heard.
I lifted my hand, and once again the voices died down. “First, we must send word to the other tribes that Asa and I have returned.” I looked toward Atreyu. “Can you gather a few people and deliver the message? I need to make sure Roan and Ontari know to stand down. At least until we can come up with another plan.”
“I will.” The way he bowed his head when he spoke made me uneasy, because it reminded me too much of how I had spoken to the Sovereign when I worked in the city, but I let it go. I would deal with it later. After I had gotten some rest.
“Thank you,” I said before looking around the room. “I will meet with the Heads tomorrow, but until then, we need sleep.” I took Asa’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “All of us.”
People began to move as my words faded away, passing by so they could pat me on the shoulder or whisper quiet greetings.
Once the crowd had faded, Xandra moved forward and clasped my hands in hers. “I did not think you would survive.”
“Just as I did not think you would when you were trapped inside those walls.” I looked her over, taking in her bruises and cuts. She was banged up, but now that she was clean, she looked more like herself. “You are okay?”
“Gaia has been a diligent healer,” Xandra said with a smile.
I squeezed her hands. “I am glad.”
“As am I,” Xandra said, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“Nyko,” Asa asked, breaking through the exchange.
Xandra did not release my hand when she glanced his way. “He is well. Mira has been looking after him.”
“Mira?” I asked.
Xandra’s gaze moved back to me. “She was concerned that some of the other Outliers might not be comfortable in the presence of a Fortis man. They are still adjusting, Indra.” Xandra exhaled. “It will take time.”
I only nodded in response.
&nbs
p; “I want to see him,” Asa said, looking toward Mira as she approached.
“He is resting now,” she said. “He is much stronger than he was, but it will take time to heal.”
I squeezed my husband’s hand. “We can visit him after we have gotten cleaned up and are rested.”
Asa’s hand tightened on mine, and like so many times before, his head bobbed.
I did the same to my friends when we took our leave of them, and then my husband and I walked hand in hand across the big chamber, following the small stream that ran from the large cave and into another tunnel.
On my first visit here I had been forced to rely on the light from a torch to see where I was going. Not anymore. Finding creatures that glowed saved my life that day, and they made it possible for us to live in this cave after our village was burned. We had lured them out of the furthest tunnel, using scraps leftover from our meals and the entrails of the animals we killed, and as a result the small bugs now covered the walls and ceiling of every alcove, chamber, and tunnel. They were only about the size of my hand, and scaly like fish, with eight legs and two front claws. It was their tails that gave off the light, though. The creatures flipped them up whenever they were approached, and the appendage fanned out, emitting a light twice as bright as what they normally gave off. With so much activity now in the caves, it seemed as if the little bugs were always being startled.
Like now. As Asa and I moved deeper into the caverns, the creatures flipped their tails in our direction, illuminating the stone floor and the ever-widening stream. Water dripped from the ceiling, and beneath us the floor was slick with moisture, but I had never felt as secure as I did with Asa at my side now.
Before long, the tunnel opened up to a room that was smaller than the main chamber. Here the stream doubled in size, whooshing through the space before disappearing under the rocks where it went outside, eventually creating the river and Sovereign Lake. Before it escaped its rocky home, however, it was joined by another stream, only this one came from a pool on the other side of the room.
I had discovered the little hot spring on my first day here. Back then it saved my life, but now we used it for bathing. It was yet another thing that made living in these caves possible.
When we reached the side of the little pool, I turned to face Asa. He was already staring at me, his brown eyes telling me a dozen things at once. That he loved me; needed me. That like me he had begun to believe we would never be together again.
We were silent as we undressed, the whoosh of the rushing water loud enough to cover up the rustling of our clothes as they fell to the floor. Taking Asa’s hand, I led him into the pool where the warm water rose around us, coming up to just past my waist.
Once we were in, my husband pulled me flush against him. He crushed his lips on mine, lowering his body as he did so the pool engulfed more of us. On the walls at our sides the little bugs fanned out their tails, and the light they gave off intensified. I barely noticed it, too focused on Asa. On memorizing the way his body felt against mine, on how his hands caressed me. How his mouth moved as if wanting to consume me.
In his arms, everything else faded away. There was no Lysander and no Sovereign, no city that wanted to see us destroyed. It was just Asa and me. Forever.
23
Asa
I slept as I never had before, waking from a dreamless slumber. My body was sore from what I’d endured in the city, but I barely noticed the pain with Indra curled up against me.
Voices from other parts of the cave bounced off the walls, making their way to our little alcove. Above me, one of the glowing creatures spread its tail as if sensing I was awake, and the light it gave off increased, casting shadows across my wife’s face.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at her. In sleep, Indra was totally relaxed, the worry lines gone from her forehead, her jaw not as tight as it usually was. This was what she would look like if the Sovereign were gone. It was a jarring thought, realizing for the first time just how much this world weighed on the woman I loved. I had always known, of course, but seeing proof of the tension she carried wasn’t something I had been prepared for.
Unable to hold back, I ran my hand down her cheek, over the passage markings that signified the people she had lost. She stirred but didn’t wake, instead twisting so the fur covering her body fell away. My gaze moved to her back, to the scars marring her skin, and my gut clenched. Saffron was dead now, but she alone hadn’t been responsible for my wife’s suffering. Not by a long shot.
Lysander.
Emori swore she wouldn’t leave the city until the man was dead, but I knew how many obstacles stood in her way. The Sovereign and their technology, the Fortis and their brute strength. She was alone in there, one woman against an entire city, and the chances of her succeeding were small.
We had to figure out a way to help her. Had to figure out a way to get our entire army inside.
Indra moved again, this time rolling onto her back, and a second later her eyes fluttered open. They met mine, and a small smile pulled up her lips. It was a rare sight, seeing her smile, and it felt like she had reached out and squeezed my heart.
I found myself moving toward her, covering her body with mine as our lips met. Like me, she seemed to need the contact, and in seconds her arms were wrapped around me, her hands on my head, then moving down my back as we kissed. I had been with women before—in the Fortis village monogamous relationships were rare—but it had never felt like this. I had never felt like I needed the woman in my bed the way I did now.
“How did you sleep?” she asked when she pulled away from the kiss, her hand staying on my cheek.
“Better than ever before.”
She smiled again, but it was sad. “As did I, but with morning comes reality.”
Reality. It was a harsh thing, but with any luck life would improve soon.
Indra slid closer so she could rest her head on my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her, my gaze moving around the small room. There were few comforts here, just the bed we were spread out on and the furs from the animals Indra had killed. Still, it was cozy. Comfortable, even.
My gaze landed on my discarded clothes and the electroprod sticking out from under them. Memories of what we had gone through in the city came rushing back, bringing with them heat and anger, but something else, too. Now that I was no longer in danger of being shocked by the small weapon, I found myself studying it, thinking about what it could do. Technology was something I didn’t understand, but I knew someone who did, and this little thing, this tiny weapon, could prove useful. It could even be a turning point for us.
Extracting myself from Indra’s arms, I climbed to my feet, hating that I was leaving the comfort of her embrace but knowing I had to. “I need to see Nyko, and then I need to go to the tower.”
Indra rolled onto her side, her eyes following my progress as I dressed. “To see Elora?”
“Yes.” I pulled my pants on, fastening them as I stared at the electroprod. Once I was dressed, I swiped it up. “And because of this.”
“The electroprod?” Her eyebrows lifted in a questioning gesture, pushing up the passage markings on her forehead.
“There’s a man, Egon, who might be interested in this. He understands a lot more of the city’s technology than he should.” I tapped my finger against my temple. “He’s very smart.”
Indra sat up, allowing the fur to fall to her waist. “You think this might help in some way?”
“I do.” I forced myself to turn away from her, worried her naked body might distract me from my thoughts. “I can’t say how since I don’t really understand much of what he says, but I have a feeling about this.”
The rustle at my back told me Indra had gotten up, and I ventured a look back to find her pulling on her own clothes. The softness that had fallen over her features in sleep was gone, and the woman I was used to seeing had returned. The lines she wore on her forehead and between her eyes deepened as she moved
, indicating she was thinking something through, the contours at the corners of her mouth making her frown seem exaggerated. If only I had a way to wipe the worry from her life so she could find a reason to smile more often.
When we were dressed, we left her alcove. Indra led the way since I had never been to Mira’s corner of the cave before, and for the first time I found myself trying to picture what we would find there. Nyko had been shocked over and over, and beaten. He must have been in bad shape if Mira felt he needed constant observation.
It only took only a few minutes for us to reach the other alcove. Through the opening I spotted Mira, sitting on the edge of a bed of furs as she worked to weave a few strips of leather together.
We stopped outside, not stepping in until Mira herself had turned our way. “He is awake.”
Inside, Nyko was stretched out on the same bed of furs, his back against the wall and his chest bare. He looked better than he had the last time I saw him, although a lot of that was probably because he was clean and rested, but the damage on his body made it difficult to take a step closer.
When Nyko saw me, his face broke out in a grin. “I was wondering when you’d drag your sorry ass here.”
I forced myself to move further into the room, which was only slightly bigger than Indra’s, and knelt at his side. “You couldn’t give me time to rest?”
“Rest.” Nyko chuckled as his blue eyes moved past me to Indra. “Sure, that’s what you were doing.”
I looked back to find my wife’s cheeks tinged with pink, but she was smiling yet again. It made her green eyes brighter. Made the lines on her face soften the way they had when she was a asleep.
Turning back to Nyko, I gave him a once over. Blood vessels had broken in both eyes, decorating the whites with bright red spots. The swelling had gone down, though. That was good. His nose was dark purple, but straighter than it had been the last time I saw him, and the cut on his lip had scabbed over.
It was his chest and arms that really gave away what he’d endured inside the city, though. Red marks just like the ones on my own chest marked his skin where he had been hit by the electroprod—he had more than I did, too many to count—and a deep purple bruise spread across his lower abdomen.