After the Walls

Chapter 7

Soot coats my fingertips and I grimace at the bruises and burns cascading up my arms as I emerge from the tunnels and into the ghostly light of the moon. I stash my weapons back in the Tranq headquarters, but not before washing the blood from the blades under a faucet. Then I make my way around the palace, hugging the shadows like the light may turn me to smoke. Images of the Red Movement beasts flash across my mind. A kaleidoscope of terror and my insides churn. I shake my head as I arrive at the marble bricks far below my bedroom. After gathering my wits, and dregs of strength, I hoist myself bodily up onto the first brick, wedging my toes onto the brick as I grip the one above my head. I blow out my cheeks, pin my gaze upwards, and climb. The ground falls away as I pick my way up the wall of the palace, refusing the urge to look down. I haul myself over the rails of the terraces and scale the walls until I grapple the window ledge of my bedroom and pull myself inside, tumbling to the floor in a heap of grunts and groans.

Darkness blankets the room. I scurry into the bathroom and light a candle, peering into the mirror. A small gasp falls from my lips at the sight of the now-dried blood dribbling down my face, smearing into my eyebrows and threatening to trickle into my mouth. I wash my face with warm water. But as soon as I close my eyes, I see my knife burying itself into the man's skull. My mouth tastes bitter and I swish water around, willing the images to the recesses of my mind.

As I traipse back into the room, the darkness feels like it might swallow me whole. I light a candle in the room's corner. A yelp and a curse fly from my mouth. Edward sits on my bed, glaring at me. He leans against the pillows, with his legs stretched out and his hands clasped on his lap.

I clutch my chest, feeling my racing heart beneath, and a bubble of anger billows in my veins. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I should ask you the same thing," he hisses. His eyes glint with the distrust of a snake.

My lips curl and heat creeps up my neck. "You should thank me, Edward." My voice is low and laced with danger. "I just saved your life. The Red Movement had infiltrated the city via the underground and they were going to sneak into the palace and kill you in your sleep."

He quirks a brow, swinging his legs from the bed and prowling up to me. "Thanks for the save, sweetheart." Edward licks his smirking lips. "Am I meant to believe that you snuck out of the palace to prove your loyalty to me? How did you know they were underground, Elle?"

I stiffen, sticking my chin into the air. "They sent a Mercuree to me."

He blows a breath out of his nose. "Where is the note?"

"I burned it." I gesture to the ashy, dusty hearth.

He chuckles, shaking his head. "Why did you not alert my guards? Or me?" His weight shifts. "Why did you sneak out and scale my palace walls like a wild animal?"

"You wanted me to fight the Red Movement, did you not?" I divert it back to him. "I didn't just fight them, Edward. I killed them and left their burning bodies in the tunnels. I proved my loyalty to you. Why won't that satisfy you?"

He presses his lips together and circles me, eyeing me up and down like I'm his next meal. "Fine, Elle. You have my grace this time."

I school my face into a small smile. "I am in your palace, with you, on your side. You should trust me more."

"It's a little tricky to do so when you give me such... mixed messages in our relationship," he says, crossing his arms. "I thought you hated my guts."

I waggle my finger. "I can't hate your guts if I stopped a bunch of blood-thirsty people you betrayed from gutting you."

"Touche."

I shift my weight. "We should meet tomorrow for a few drinks and get to know one another. Maybe we can have a shot at being friends."