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Titus and Valdys grab the other soldier, restraining him, as he growls and squirms in their grasp. Like Szolen, his eyes are bloody and black.

Rhys drags Szolen to his feet and forces him to stand beside Wren.

All of us look on, faces plastered in confusion. I glance to Valdys and back, wondering if I should step forward, wondering if perhaps Rhys has lost his mind. Maybe he was bitten by one of them.

Szolen claws and snaps his teeth at Rhys, while the Alpha clutches him like a kitten by its scruff.

“You’re infected now, and you’re gonna die. But we won’t. We’ll take over this community. We’ll live in your houses. Eat your food. Some will die trying to fight us on it. And others will learn what we’ve been trying to tell you all along.” Pushing down on Szolen’s shoulder, he forces him to his knees with one hand, while reaching behind Wren, where her arms are held back behind the chair. “Evolution is the only means of survival in this world.”

The moment her hands are free, she tugs the gag out of her mouth and kicks back in her chair. “Six? What are you doing?”

He flicks his fingers for her hand.

Shaking her head, Wren frowns at him. “No, a bite is …. It’s dangerous. I could turn.”

“Please trust me, Wren.” Once again, he flicks his wrist, and after a lengthy pause, she rests her hand in his palm. Arm straining, he guides Szolen’s face to her arm, and Wren squeezes her eyes shut, looking away, as the man sinks his teeth into her.

She cries out, but Rhys pries his jaw loose, and all that’s left is a bloody imprint of his teeth. Arm trembling, she opens her eyes, staring down at the wound.

Rhys throws Szolen against the wall, and as the man, whose face has begun to blister, charges forward, growling, Valdys snatches the back of his crisp collar and yanks him backward, holding him captive.

Lowering to his knee, Rhys tears away a piece of his shirt and wraps her wound up in the fabric, while we wait to see if she exhibits the same symptoms as the other two men. Seconds turn to minutes, and Rhys tucks her hair behind her ear. “It’s gonna be okay, Little Bird.” His palm rests against her belly. “We’re gonna be okay now.”

Chapter 33

Wren

The burn flares beneath my palm, as I hold the wrapped wound. Papa once told me that bites were an immediate inoculation, and that I’d probably turn into a Rager, if I ever sustained one. Apparently, once inside the body, it multiplies, dividing rapidly, making it far more potent than the measured injections. My whole life, I’ve avoided being bitten, and now, with only a small bit of hesitation, I allowed myself to be victim to a relatively unknown contagion. One that’s been lost for decades.

One we know nothing about, really.

I’d have only considered something so foolish because of Six. I know he’d never place me in harm’s way, so when he insisted that I give him my arm, I had no reason to resist.

I can feel the contagion stirring illness inside of me, but nothing more than some fatigue and sinus pressure, which is how it begins. How it’ll end remains a mystery, but then, it has been since I learned I would die, anyway, from carrying Six’s baby. At least now there’s a glimmer of hope, a small piece of possibility that I might live to watch this baby grow, alongside Six.

We exit Gregor’s house, where Legion stands gathered in the yard, their guns trained on all of us. The one I’m guessing is Valdys guides Szolen by the back of his neck, while Titus guides the soldier. Their faces have begun to swell, the puffy skin swallowing their eyes and noses, skin cracking over the pus that gathers beneath the lesions pocked across their flesh. The two growl and snap their jaws, as we wait on the doorstep.

Upon seeing them, the Legion soldiers step back and Arty takes a step forward.

“What is this, Wren? What have you done?”

“He inoculated himself, Arty. We didn’t do any of this.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave, Wren. Not now.”

“We can set them free, and watch them tear through this community and infect all of you. Or you can step aside and let us dispose of him outside of the gates.” Given the rarity of the contagion, and the possibilities it may hold, it seems a shame to kill the only remaining evidence of it, but it’s not worth the risk.

“Just fuckin’ kill him off? He built this place. This whole goddamn community exists because of him.”

“That’s exactly right. It does exist because of him.” I glance over my shoulder at Six, who stands behind me. “It’s evolution, Arty. Take note. Most beyond the wall are carriers of Dredge. We’ve had to evolve with it.” I glance down at the bandaged wound on my arm and nod toward Szolen. “He’s an example of what happens when you’ve effectively sealed yourself off from the rest of the world.”

Lips tight, he shakes his head, and rubs his hand across his jaw. “Just doesn’t seem right to take him out like that. He’s done so much.”

“He’s the reason you’re afraid to go beyond the wall. He created something that was too big for him. Too powerful.” I know Arty enough that trying to convince him of Szolen’s involvement in the outbreak will only discredit my argument, in his eyes. Unfortunately, men like Arty bought into the lie a long time ago. Into the idea that Szolen was some magnificent savior. “He can’t stay imprisoned here.” I step down from the porch and feel a tight grip of my hand, but with a squeeze, Six releases me. “It’s likely you don’t have the immunity to keep from turning, if he bites you. Who knows if any of you do. You’ve confined yourself for too long behind these walls, and you grow more vulnerable every day. Diversity is the key to your survival. Open those gates to the savages you’ve kept out. Learn to evolve with this contagion, or I swear to you, it won’t be long before every one of you becomes the very thing you fear most.” It’s almost poetic watching the man who murdered so many now fallen victim to the very weapon he used to exact his ruthlessness. “It’s your choice.”

Arty crosses his arms, looking around at the awaiting Legion officers. Even as the head of security here, his command over Legion is limited but respected. One wave of his hand, and we could all be executed where we stand.

“It’s over, Arty. This battle of Legion and rebels. The pure and the savage. It has to stop. Our species is dwindling, and at this rate, we’ll be extinct.”