Page 43 (1/1)

"I could use some fresh air," Natalie says

I help her to her feet and shrug off the blanket aroundthe scar that zigzags down my chest

"Is it terrible?" she whispers, and I know she isn’t referring to my scar, but the emptiness that lies beneath

"No" I placeinside her "I will always be a part of you That’s pretty a, if you ask me"

She beaet you for our anniversary now," I say "How do I top giving you rin "Candy it is"

We head outside The air is cool and crisp, givingin ripsabout azes up at me I smile softly

A gust of wind stirs the ash clouds overhead, and for a briefbetween the gray I hold Natalie closer tothe flakes of ash as they dance and twirl on the breeze

The street below us is buzzing with activity Trucks roll down the roads, and coalition workers dressed in cerulean-blue ju up the debris They’ve already started to rebuild the city Instinctively I look toward the Boundary Wall

Natalie followsit down, but I asked theht you’d want to be there when it happened"

"Thanks," I say

Bringing down the ghetto wall in Black City is vitally important to me This is the city that first stood up to Purian Rose; this is where the rebellion began; so this is where the first wall has to be torn down, and I want to be there to see it It’s what I’ve been fighting for And when the Boundary Wall is de to hetto wall in the country Natalie leans her head against my shoulder

"There’s been some resistance fro to take a long ti across the s to be easy There may be more blood spilled, perhaps even another war, but there will never be a return to the old ways Our ene that cannot die So like o bring down that wall," I say