Within the Walls

Chapter 28

Fear. For the first time, genuine fear fills Sneya's green eyes. Perhaps he is not frightened of death after all. But I terrify him. I hold his sword at his throat standing above him, in front of hundreds of Concave citizens and his lips quiver.

I could kill him. Right now. One swift slash of the blade and I could watch the life drain from his eyes. But I do not. Instead, I marvel at how much older Sneya is than I thought. His eyes crease in the corners and frown lines indent his forehead from a life of furrowed brows.

The fear in his eyes vanishes and the predatory snake glare returns. He laughs as I lower the point of the blade from his throat. "You aren't brave, are you, Red Leaf?"

I open my mouth when that familiar stabbing pain shoots up my leg. A Tranq has shot a tranquil dart. The drug consumes me at once, the bittersweet sensation of awaiting memories. I Ruben yells curses above the silence of the crowd and I catch the blurry image of his scruffy head darting over, standing right up to Sneya. To my utter bewilderment, he punches Sneya right in the mouth.

"Coward!" he yells, right before the drug jerks into unconsciousness.

But the memories do not come. Instead, I fall through a black abyss, deeper and deeper. For how long, I do not know. Consciousness yanks me back to the surface. A hot white light burns my eyes and I hiss, panicking at the restraints across my chest. As I crane my neck, I see I am alone. No Hatchman, no nurse, no Sneya.

Lord Sneya is probably in his own room now, with servants tripping over their feet to keep him comfortable after last night's duel. I wonder if the news made it to the Convex Sector. Somehow, I think it did. I wonder what everyone thinks of his defeat. It cannot result in something good, can it? Lord Sneya is carnage disguised as a king, and there is absolute wreckage left in his wake.

The door bursts open then, and to my relief, Ruben walks into the room. He wears the same white coat he wore the first time I met him. Ruben was arrogant back then, knowing his attractiveness and intelligence. He thought he could get whatever he wanted. Now he has changed. He is no longer that arrogant boy with the smug smirk and the stubborn ability to only call me Elizabeth. He can stand up for what is right and wrong, and for that, I admire him. Somehow, he wants to keep me safe. This morning, a dusting of stubble grows on his chin. He smiles at me.

"You're a mess, you know that?" He presses a button on the wall and the restraints lift.

I pout as I sit up. "It wasn't my fault Sneya wanted to fight me in front of the whole Concave Sector."

"Absolutely." He shakes his head. "Sneya should have known he would lose."

"Honestly, I wasn't that confident. He had so much armour. He should have won."

"You're allowed to give yourself credit," Ruben says, sitting on the bed opposite me. "You are good."

"At fighting?" I almost snort. "I'm also good at sparking uprisings, apparently."

His grin falters. "Yeah, I heard. I think they wanted the bar shooting to dampen their efforts."

"I didn't mean for all those people to die," I say.

"Elle, it wasn't your fault Sneya ordered the Tranqs to shoot everyone."

"I understand that, but if I had just kept to myself, if I hadn't touched the River, Isabelle would still be alive. She might have survived the virus." Tears pool in my eyes and I glance at my hands. "Maybe Aston would be safe. The Convex people would be–"

"Starving?" Ruben butts in. "The Convex people are still starving, diseased and executed every day, Elle. Also, your sister had the virus. I don't think she was going to make it."