him. What was he implying? He didn't answer.
He gripped my arm and led me further from the tower and back into the main city
center. “Where are we going?” I demanded.
“You're leaving, right now,” he stated. “The longer you stay
in Spade the more danger you pose to my people.”
I didn’t want to argue or fight with him. He was right. As
much as I denied wanting to leave it was my responsibility. I would not be the
cause of hundreds of innocents dying, including Adelaide. “Take care of her for
me,” I whispered thinking of the young girl I'd rescued just a short time ago.
“You'll be back.” He smiled, though I suspected he was
reassuring himself.
I didn't answer. “Protect her.” It wasn't a question but a
request. He led me down through the tunnels, an all too familiar place I'd
traveled once before. “Henry?”
“Follow the underground system. It'll take you to Torv in
two days' time, if you always head south, and don't stop. About thirty clicks
south there's a storage facility with bottled water and rationed food to get
you the rest of the way. We've always planned for war. I just never thought it
would happen like this,” he admitted.
I leaned towards Henry, resting my forehead against his. “I
can't do this.”
“Yes, you can.” He pulled back. “Joshua would want you to do
the same thing,” he reminded me. “You need to go now.”
“No.” I pulled back slightly. “You should go. You, Adelaide,
Rane, Cate and anyone else of importance. I'll stay. I'll fight. I'm who Isaura
wants.” I stared at him. “I'm not a coward, Henry.”
He sighed, pulling me into his arms. “I never implied as
much. Running doesn't make you a coward. It makes you human. Having the will to
survive is what we all have. I just, I want you alive, Olivia. Even if it means
you're on the run.”
“I've been on the run.” I stared at him, growing upset. I
was frustrated with the world, with what it had become. I'd been on the run for
over a year, trying to make a new system, trying to fix the damage that had
been created. Most of it had worked out in our favor, but Isaura had been born
from it and I couldn't take the chance she'd destroy everything we'd fought
for. “My friends in Shadow died because of Isaura. I won't let her hurt anyone
else,” I said. “You go. I'm staying here to fight.”
“Let me help you,” he pleaded with me. “Let me stand with
you, at your side.”
“No.” My voice was sharp and intent. “You and Cate protect
Adelaide. I need to know she will survive, no matter what happens with Isaura,”
I acknowledged. “You and Cate can teach her and help guide her through this.”
She needed people who understood what she was going through.
Henry accepted what I wanted. He didn't argue. There was
nothing he could say to convince me otherwise. Cate didn't try to stop me. She
knew the damage Isaura had caused once and how easily she could do the same
thing to Spade. I turned and walked back up the steps towards the bright light
of the outside world. Though still within Spade's walls, soon I'd face Isaura,
whether I was ready to or not.
CHAPTER 14
There was never any other choice. Life had been that way all
along. I was born. I didn't have the choice to be born, it just happened. Again
I didn't have the choice who I would marry. The government had demanded I marry
Joshua. Although I eventually had been given the choice, it wasn't without
consequences and costs. Friends had died and I would always carry the burden
with me.
Isaura stood outside Spade's stone walls. “Where are you
going?” A guard shouted at me as I motioned for him to open the gate. I wasn't
dressed for battle. I was wearing a gown, the same one I'd put on that morning
with a mix of red and blue, the waistline cinched in white and fanned out. It
reminded me of a book I'd read in the library about a fallen country, and it
had inspired me to be so much more than I felt capable.
“I'm going outside. Open the gate.”
He gripped my arm and led me further from the tower and back into the main city
center. “Where are we going?” I demanded.
“You're leaving, right now,” he stated. “The longer you stay
in Spade the more danger you pose to my people.”
I didn’t want to argue or fight with him. He was right. As
much as I denied wanting to leave it was my responsibility. I would not be the
cause of hundreds of innocents dying, including Adelaide. “Take care of her for
me,” I whispered thinking of the young girl I'd rescued just a short time ago.
“You'll be back.” He smiled, though I suspected he was
reassuring himself.
I didn't answer. “Protect her.” It wasn't a question but a
request. He led me down through the tunnels, an all too familiar place I'd
traveled once before. “Henry?”
“Follow the underground system. It'll take you to Torv in
two days' time, if you always head south, and don't stop. About thirty clicks
south there's a storage facility with bottled water and rationed food to get
you the rest of the way. We've always planned for war. I just never thought it
would happen like this,” he admitted.
I leaned towards Henry, resting my forehead against his. “I
can't do this.”
“Yes, you can.” He pulled back. “Joshua would want you to do
the same thing,” he reminded me. “You need to go now.”
“No.” I pulled back slightly. “You should go. You, Adelaide,
Rane, Cate and anyone else of importance. I'll stay. I'll fight. I'm who Isaura
wants.” I stared at him. “I'm not a coward, Henry.”
He sighed, pulling me into his arms. “I never implied as
much. Running doesn't make you a coward. It makes you human. Having the will to
survive is what we all have. I just, I want you alive, Olivia. Even if it means
you're on the run.”
“I've been on the run.” I stared at him, growing upset. I
was frustrated with the world, with what it had become. I'd been on the run for
over a year, trying to make a new system, trying to fix the damage that had
been created. Most of it had worked out in our favor, but Isaura had been born
from it and I couldn't take the chance she'd destroy everything we'd fought
for. “My friends in Shadow died because of Isaura. I won't let her hurt anyone
else,” I said. “You go. I'm staying here to fight.”
“Let me help you,” he pleaded with me. “Let me stand with
you, at your side.”
“No.” My voice was sharp and intent. “You and Cate protect
Adelaide. I need to know she will survive, no matter what happens with Isaura,”
I acknowledged. “You and Cate can teach her and help guide her through this.”
She needed people who understood what she was going through.
Henry accepted what I wanted. He didn't argue. There was
nothing he could say to convince me otherwise. Cate didn't try to stop me. She
knew the damage Isaura had caused once and how easily she could do the same
thing to Spade. I turned and walked back up the steps towards the bright light
of the outside world. Though still within Spade's walls, soon I'd face Isaura,
whether I was ready to or not.
CHAPTER 14
There was never any other choice. Life had been that way all
along. I was born. I didn't have the choice to be born, it just happened. Again
I didn't have the choice who I would marry. The government had demanded I marry
Joshua. Although I eventually had been given the choice, it wasn't without
consequences and costs. Friends had died and I would always carry the burden
with me.
Isaura stood outside Spade's stone walls. “Where are you
going?” A guard shouted at me as I motioned for him to open the gate. I wasn't
dressed for battle. I was wearing a gown, the same one I'd put on that morning
with a mix of red and blue, the waistline cinched in white and fanned out. It
reminded me of a book I'd read in the library about a fallen country, and it
had inspired me to be so much more than I felt capable.
“I'm going outside. Open the gate.”
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