didn’t appreciate her seeing any of Micah’s points, but I felt guilty for making her uncomfortable.
“Hey,” I said, running my hand to the back of her neck. “They said you sewed up the kids Micah killed.”
She nodded, her fingers closing over the collar of her shirt. I tried not to look. I didn’t want to tell her that by not showingme her scars, she’d made me even more curious about them. But I couldn’t come up with a way to ask about them that didn’t sound like
“I really want to see your boobs,”
so I kept my mouth shut.
“That was a nice thing to do,” I said, gently removing her fingers from her shirt and taking her hand.
She shrugged. “I would have liked someone to do that for me.”
I nodded, giving her an understanding look when she met my eyes. I leaned down and brushed my lips across hers, holding her tighter.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
..................................................................
TEN
WREN
I MET MICAH OUTSIDE THE RESERVATION THE NEXT DAY, IN THE grass near the lake. Most of the reservation was already there, milling around as they waited. Micah had explained to me that everyone capable of fighting participated in sparring/training sessions several times a week. I’d volunteered right away when he mentioned it, and I was happy for the distraction this morning.
My heart took a dip as I found Callum in the crowd. He stood next to Isaac, arms crossed over his chest, and when his eyes met mine he smiled. I returned the smile, trying to push last night’s conversation out of my head. I kept seeing his face after I told him Micah was logical, like he was horrified I could ever think that.
I’d known it was a mistake the moment I said it. But what was I supposed to do? Lie? Micah wasn’t insane; he was strategic. He was making decisions based on logic and experience and he wasn’t letting emotions get in the way. The results were kind of horrifying, and I hadn’t lied when I said I wouldn’t have made the same decisions, but to dismiss him as insane wasn’t smart.
“You all right?”
I jumped, quickly turning away from Callum to find Addie next to me, a concerned expression on her face.
“Fine.”
She frowned and made a face like she was going to say something, but Micah was strolling in my direction, Riley next to him. Addie squeezed my arm gently and I shook her off, not wanting to encourage her to talk to me. I didn’t want another person looking at me like I was crazy.
“Good morning.” Micah smiled at me as Addie walked away. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like for you to take whoever seems like they need the most help. I’m thinking only a couple weeks until we go in to the cities, at most. We need to kick it into high gear.”
I swallowed. That was soon. I expected more time to figure out what to do. Leaving was risky, given what happened to the group that split off. Staying meant going along with Micah’s plan, and dealing with Callum trying to recruit the reservationReboots to help the humans. Staying also meant training with the reservation Reboots, many of whom would turn around and use those skills to kill humans.
My eyes darted over the crowd I was supposed to train. So many of them looked young. Many were around eleven, twelve years old.
“They look young,” I said, pointing.
“Everyone twelve and up is participating,” he said.
By “participating” he meant “ordered.” Twelve was also the HARC age for training. I glanced at Riley, who also seemed uncomfortable.
I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about this one.
“Sixteen,” I said.
Micah raised his eyebrows. “Sorry?”
“Sixteen and up, not twelve.”
“I think twelve is fine.”
“I died when I was twelve and was put into HARC training right away. I don’t think you realize what that’s like,” I said, realizing too late that of course he understood. I wasn’t used to dealing with an authority figure so similar to
“Hey,” I said, running my hand to the back of her neck. “They said you sewed up the kids Micah killed.”
She nodded, her fingers closing over the collar of her shirt. I tried not to look. I didn’t want to tell her that by not showingme her scars, she’d made me even more curious about them. But I couldn’t come up with a way to ask about them that didn’t sound like
“I really want to see your boobs,”
so I kept my mouth shut.
“That was a nice thing to do,” I said, gently removing her fingers from her shirt and taking her hand.
She shrugged. “I would have liked someone to do that for me.”
I nodded, giving her an understanding look when she met my eyes. I leaned down and brushed my lips across hers, holding her tighter.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
..................................................................
TEN
WREN
I MET MICAH OUTSIDE THE RESERVATION THE NEXT DAY, IN THE grass near the lake. Most of the reservation was already there, milling around as they waited. Micah had explained to me that everyone capable of fighting participated in sparring/training sessions several times a week. I’d volunteered right away when he mentioned it, and I was happy for the distraction this morning.
My heart took a dip as I found Callum in the crowd. He stood next to Isaac, arms crossed over his chest, and when his eyes met mine he smiled. I returned the smile, trying to push last night’s conversation out of my head. I kept seeing his face after I told him Micah was logical, like he was horrified I could ever think that.
I’d known it was a mistake the moment I said it. But what was I supposed to do? Lie? Micah wasn’t insane; he was strategic. He was making decisions based on logic and experience and he wasn’t letting emotions get in the way. The results were kind of horrifying, and I hadn’t lied when I said I wouldn’t have made the same decisions, but to dismiss him as insane wasn’t smart.
“You all right?”
I jumped, quickly turning away from Callum to find Addie next to me, a concerned expression on her face.
“Fine.”
She frowned and made a face like she was going to say something, but Micah was strolling in my direction, Riley next to him. Addie squeezed my arm gently and I shook her off, not wanting to encourage her to talk to me. I didn’t want another person looking at me like I was crazy.
“Good morning.” Micah smiled at me as Addie walked away. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like for you to take whoever seems like they need the most help. I’m thinking only a couple weeks until we go in to the cities, at most. We need to kick it into high gear.”
I swallowed. That was soon. I expected more time to figure out what to do. Leaving was risky, given what happened to the group that split off. Staying meant going along with Micah’s plan, and dealing with Callum trying to recruit the reservationReboots to help the humans. Staying also meant training with the reservation Reboots, many of whom would turn around and use those skills to kill humans.
My eyes darted over the crowd I was supposed to train. So many of them looked young. Many were around eleven, twelve years old.
“They look young,” I said, pointing.
“Everyone twelve and up is participating,” he said.
By “participating” he meant “ordered.” Twelve was also the HARC age for training. I glanced at Riley, who also seemed uncomfortable.
I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about this one.
“Sixteen,” I said.
Micah raised his eyebrows. “Sorry?”
“Sixteen and up, not twelve.”
“I think twelve is fine.”
“I died when I was twelve and was put into HARC training right away. I don’t think you realize what that’s like,” I said, realizing too late that of course he understood. I wasn’t used to dealing with an authority figure so similar to
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