Page 86 of The Tenets of Man

She sighs wistfully. “Somehow I suspected as much.”

Ican’t believe I haven’t even kissed her.I want nothing more than to grab her by the back of her neck and crush her lips to mine. “Delilah,” I say, maybe just because I can.

“Maverick,” she mimics, her smile still firmly in place.

I take a deep breath, trying to figure out how to express everything I’m feeling. I want to tell her that she’s it for me—that to me, we’re endgame. But I don’t want to scare her, and I especially don’t want to distract her while she’s about to go back into enemy territory. I’m still wildly uncomfortable with this plan—with her being so far away from me—but I know there’s no changing her mind at this point. So, instead of pouring my heart out, I just say, “Thank you. For helping me. For helping the Resistance.”

She studies me for a moment, as if she can sense there’s more I want to say. “It’s the right thing to do,” she answers.

I chuckle softly. “If only everyone had that same conviction. Most people, even when they see injustice with their own eyes, turn the other way—pretend it’s not happening just because it’s not happening to them.”

Her brows furrow. “Maybe they’re just scared.”

I nod. “Probably.”

Her eyes scan my face before she reaches out and cups my face, running her thumb over my stubble. “But not you.”

“I’m scared of plenty,” I say, melting into her touch.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Her voice is soft, breathy. She leans forward slightly, wetting her lips.

I can smell her sweet breath, feel its warmth as I lean in closer, ready to sayfuck itand claim her mouth as mine.

“Hey, Mav!” someone yells from outside the tent. “You in there?”

Delilah and I both jump apart like high schoolers caught making out in the supply closet. Only then do I remember that we’re both basically still naked and there’s a whole camp full of people who depend on me. She crosses her arms over her bare chest and I give her what I hope is an apologetic look before standing and dressing quickly. Once we’re both dressed, I give her one final glance.

She jerks her chin toward the door. “Go. I’ve been selfish, keeping you all to myself.”

“I’ll see you later?”

I sound like a lovesick fool.But who am I kidding? I am one.

She rolls her eyes playfully. “Obviously. Where else am I gonna go?”

I leave the tent, acutely aware of the fact that shewon’tbe here in just a few days.

Delilah

Present Day

“Outsiders are a threat unless otherwise proven an ally.”— THE ARTICLES OF BROTHERHOOD, N.A.L. 1 § 46

I’ve barely seen Maverick since our time in the tent. The last two days have been full of preparations for the meetup, which, to my dismay, is tomorrow. When I’m not training with Cam or working with Benji to familiarize myself with the technology, I’m spending time with Bec or Liv, both of whom seem to be completely ignoring the fact that I leave tomorrow. And even though my body is completely exhausted, sleep evades me. Either because my anxious thoughts keep me up at night, or vivid nightmares disrupt any rest I could be getting.

Visions and memories of Gabriel—of my time in New Athens—are constantly playing in my mind, igniting this fiery anger within me. I’m so angry, so hungry for justice, I’m afraid I won’t be able to act appropriately. The woman I was before, the submissive wife who was more an obedient pet than an actual person, is gone. In her stead is a woman reborn, awake and alive with the primal need for revenge.

But if I let this new woman out to play, it could be the death of me. The death of the Resistance. My very life—and the lives of countless women—are dependent on my ability to pretend, to be who I was before as if my entire perspective hasn’t changed.

As ifI’munchanged.

As much as I want to believe that I’ll succeed, that everything will go right and the Brotherhood will fall, I know there are endless ways our plan could go south. So, before I leave tomorrow, I’m working with Benji to record a video. Ironically, Gabriel gave me the idea, and if worse comes to worst, it’s our failsafe. If I’m killed or if the Brotherhood goes back on their word and anything happens to Arcadia, Benji will release the video, broadcasting it worldwide.

I sit outside with the lush greenery of the forest as my backdrop, Benji’s small camcorder set up on a tripod a few feet in front of me. “Whenever you’re ready,” he tells me, as the little red light blinks in a rhythm that seems to match my frantic heartbeat.

I take a deep breath, looking straight into the camera. “My name is Delilah Clark. At ten years old, I was taken away from my family, kidnapped in the middle of the night by the radical extremists known as the Brotherhood. For several years, I stayed at an institute with other young girls, where they trained us like animals to be submissive and obedient. They shaped us, molded our young, impressionable minds into their perfect versions of women. They prepared us to become wives for the men of New Athens, and at the age of fifteen, that’s exactly what I became. I wasmarried to Gabriel Sinclair—a man eight years my senior—thus beginning my time as a wife.”

I push the nausea away at the memories flooding my mind, forcing my shoulders back and my chin high. “I was raped by my husband daily, with the goal of conceiving a child. I was mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually abused, though I believed all of this to be normal at the time. It wasn’t until I was rescued by the Resistance that I realized the horrors that had been committed against me. Maverick Stetson—the man who the Brotherhood painted as a dangerous terrorist—is no such threat. He and the Resistance saved me, and countless other women, from the oppression and abuse of the Brotherhood. New Athens is the true enemy. They are a threat to women, to democracy, and to the very future of the Western world.