After the Walls

Chapter 35

The wind whistles and screams through the slight gap in the window. I growl, marching over and yanking it closed with a thump. Every ounce of my being yells at me to follow the brothers. But my stomach churns and winds into knots. I can only bear to stare at the grey and charcoal frenzy outside. The sliver of the quicksilver river pokes out from between the maze of Concave buildings. In the far distance, beyond the Convex Sectors, the southern forest is little more than a smear of green. My fingers curl, the nails scraping the window ledge. A lump forms in the back of my throat.

What have I done?

Edward's cold face, threaded with hurt, burns across my mind, tasting bitter on the tongue.

"Ajax," I mumble, my lip trembling.

All I want, all I need, is my friend's arms around me. I dress in pants and a tunic and braid my hair in two down my back. After splashing water on my face, and feeling the fiery, glinting embers grow in my chest, I grab my knife again and prowl out of the room.

I flinch, letting out a yelp when I almost trip up over one of the musicians from last night, slumped against the wall in the hallway, snoring.

Footsteps rattle from around the corner up ahead, and I stop in my tracks, tucking the knife behind my back. Ajax's onyx hair bobs up and down as he rounds the corner, almost crashing into a marble sculpture of Edward. His jaw tightens and his lips press together. He nods in the direction I came.

With a sharp turn, I march back into the room, waiting for him to slam the door in my face.

"So, Hera's in the prison," he says, meeting me at the window.

We stand, shoulder to shoulder, watching the wind rage and the rain trail down the glass. His blue eyes reflect in the window and are piercing against the grey beyond. "They took Ruben and Edward," I say, breaking the moment of tangible, crackling silence.

He blows out his cheeks. "I know."

"Will you come with me to get them out?" I watch the gardeners far below, who snip the hedges with giant scissor blades.

"What, we just blindly march down there swinging our blades?" His brow quirks. "Sounds completely foolish."

"It's Ruben we are talking about." My voice cracks, and I fight the panic surging through my veins.

"That man just cannot stay out of trouble." Ajax chuckles dryly and shakes his head. "Why couldn't he just remain in the barn hideout and drink?"

"Both of them are drawn to trouble," I say. "It's clearly in their blood."

He throws me a look. "So, you and Ruben.... Last night, huh?" His brows waggle.

I swat him. "It's just left me more confused."

He reaches out, tucking a loose strand of hair -- that didn't make it into a braid -- behind my ear. "I think the answer will become clear. Whoever feels most like home."

My heart aches and I push the feeling beneath my bones, burying it. "Perhaps I am best on my own."

Ajax pulls me into a side hug. "Everyone deserves to be happy. Even you, Elle."

"Let's go get them," I say, reaching for my knife again.

He probes his belt, withdrawing his own dainty blade, hewn to a sturdy wooden hilt. "We are fools."

Tucking our knives away, we slip into the hall, stepping over the still-snoring musician. Despite the seriousness of the situation, giggles bubble in my mouth and I chew my lower lip, snuffing them away. We hasten down the spiral staircase, down, down, until we descend below the surface, and arrive at the door of the dungeon.