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“What time is it?”
“Late. Or Early. Sun’s not up yet though.”
“The others are here?” I asked.
“Almost.”
I sat up suddenly. I didn’t remember getting back to the mayor’s house. Was it all a dream? I lifted my palms, which were covered in dirt, my fingernails red and swollen. In the dim light, Damien’s ring sparkled from my thumb.
Tobias caught my wrist, his eyes widening. I told him what happened, and what I’d found. He turned away and punched a hole in the wall, baring his fangs in an expression of fury.
“That snake,” he said. I gathered the ruined sheets off the bed, feeling like a graceless guest. As if I’d confirmed every prejudice against me; that I was a rabid animal. The reflection from the small mirror over the desk seemed to confirm it.
My nightgown was torn and muddied, my bare legs scratched, my eyes and hair wild, with a mark of ash on my forehead and smears of elite blood across my cheeks.
But I had no idea where to bring dirty laundry and didn’t want to search for a hamper in this state, so finally I just set the bundle down again. Tobias was watching me carefully from one corner. I was sure he was going to ask how I was feeling, or lecture me about my appearance, but he did neither.
“You going to watch me dress?” I asked.
“I’d recommend a shower first,” he smirked. “If you don’t mind the cold water.”
“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I grew up on cold showers.”
“We’ll get him back,” Tobias said suddenly. “We have to.”
I nodded, touching his arm.
“Promise me something,” I said. “If it goes wrong, if we can’t take power. Just get him out. Take him somewhere safe.”
“You know he’d make me swear the same for you,” Tobias said softly. “What if I can’t save you both?”
“Choose him.”
I knew it wasn’t fair to ask. He had to look out for Penelope. But secretly I wasn’t sure how many of my allies cared at all for Damien. One elite was as good as any other, besides maybe a dead one. I needed to make sure. To confirm. That he meant something to someone else. That someone cared.
There was a strange glint in his eyes, and I wondered what he’d been doing in my bedroom, watching over me as I slept. No doubt consumed with dark thoughts. I had a feeling he’d been preparing to ask me for a similar favor, but he stepped outside while I got changed. I didn’t feel like a cold shower after the warm bed, but filled a bucket in the bathroom and used it to scrub my body with scented soap, lavender and rosemary, before rinsing myself off. My underwear and shirt were dirty after the long journey, so I found some loose clothes in another bedroom that seemed to fit. They were fancier than I was used to, at least for Algrave, but also sturdy, practical garments.
Tobias nodded approvingly when I found him again downstairs. I realized, he needed me to clean up, to present myself properly. This was the first time my allies would be in the same place, held together by nothing more than tenuous, hasty promises and poorly-made plans.
“Today might be more important than the battle ahead,” he said, as if reading my thoughts. I wondered how much else he could see, with his gifts. There were secrets I wasn’t ready to share, even with him. He straightened my jacket and brushed off my shoulders, as Penelope came in, her hands and face dirty.
“You should have left them,” Tobias said. “A reminder of why we're doing all this.”
“They deserved their rest,” Penelope said, washing her hands in the sink. “It was the right thing to do.”
“You buried them?” I asked, remembering the open grave near the entrance. I’d spent the night feeling sorry for myself, while Penelope buried the bodies of people she didn’t even know. Guilt turned in my stomach. I’d grown so used to death in our travels, that it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Still, I was glad she’d done it.
“Thank you,” I said.
“It might have been more for me, than them,” she said. “The stench of death is, difficult for an elite to handle. And I was human, remember?” she said. “And not long ago. In Crollust, we’d send them into the waves, on a floating pyre. Maybe I needed to do something, to remind myself who I am, what’s important to me.”
“Still,” I said. “Elite are supposed to get a royal welcome in the compounds. I could have tried harder.”
“You needed your sleep,” Penelope said. “Besides, it was a lot faster for me than it would have been for you.”
Just before dawn, Tobias and Penelope shut themselves into a storage area behind the basement. I watched the sunrise from the porch with a glass of strong black tea, waiting for the others as the sky changed colors.
Luke and April arrived first, a few hours later. My heart dropped when I saw that they were alone, but I wasn’t surprised Sam hadn’t volunteered more of his people. April’s backpack was nearly larger than her, and they carried a trunk between them. It took me a moment to realize it was the same one we’d dug up in Quondam. The one my grandfather had buried.
