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Cal does neither, and he flinches at the , proud, though he knows the battle is lost Once heto save his own skin Now he believes that skin worthless Only I seem to think otherwise

"Cal, do as he says"

The wind carries ar hears I’ like a drum into dust, Cal sinks to his knees and his fire sputters out He did the sa next to his father’s decapitated corpse

The blood-eyed ht He stands over Cal with relish, enjoying the sight of a prince at his feet Enjoying the power it gives hi of true power

FIVE

They try to convince me it’s for the best, but their poor excuses fall on unsyument they’ve been told to say

He’s dangerous, even to you But I know better than any that Cal would never hurtfrom him

He’s one of theacy and reputation, Cal has nothing and no one but us now, even if he refuses to adeneral, a prince of Norta, and the ives me pause, and strikes a chord of fear deep down If the blood-eyed ainst Maven, to trade him or sacrifice him, it will take all I have to stop him All my influence, all h

So I do nothing but nod along with the to be controlled Pretending to be weak I was right Shade arningbefore it rolled in Cal is power, fire htning What will they try to do to me if I don’t play my part?

I have not stepped into another jail, not yet, but I can feel the key in the lock, threatening to turn Luckily, I have experience in this kind of thing

The blood-eyed ar, not stupid enough to try and bind his hands But they never lower their guns or their guard, careful to keep their distance lest one of them be burned for their boldness I can only watch, eyes wide but ain, separating the two of us They won’t kill hiives them a reason I can only hope Cal behaves

"Go easy on hi into Bree’s warmth Even in the cold autu on the northern front have made hi The war never leaves Now I know it firsthand, though my war is very different fro us both fro e to kick hi to the barracks on the hill above The steps are worn down, beaten by too many feet to count How many came this way? I wonder How many are here now?

We crest the hill and the island stretches out before us, revealing a e was one of at least a dozen I see now, organized in two even rows separated by a long, concrete yard It’s flat and well-maintained, not like the steps or the dock There’s a white line painted down theaway into the storoes to, I have no idea

The whole island has an air of stillness, , when the rain breaks and the darkness lifts, I suppose I’ll see the base in all its glory--and finally understand the people I’ others, particularly where the Scarlet Guard is concerned

And like Naercey, Tuck is far more than it seems

The cold I felt on the mersive and in the rain persists, even when I’m ushered into the doorway of the barracks marked with a painted black "3" I’m cold in my bones, in my heart But I can’t let my parents see that, for their sake I owe them this much They must think me whole, unbroken, unaffected by Cal’s imprisonment and my own ordeals in a palace and an arena And the Guard must think I’m on their side--relieved to be "safe"

But aren’t I? Didn’t I swear an oath to Farley and the Scarlet Guard?

They believe as I do, in an end to Silver kings and Red slaves They sacrificed soldiers for me, because of me They are my allies, my brethren, brothers and sisters in arives le-h She can be reasoned with I doubt reason lives in the heart of the blood-eyed ely quiet This silence is not like us at all We’re used to filling the space with insults, with teasing, or in Kilorn’s case, with utter nonsense It’s not in our nature to be quiet around each other, but noe have nothing to say He knehat they planned to do to Cal and agreed with it Worse, he didn’t even tell ry but for the cold It eats atlike the electrical hueness between us, not that he would Besides being pleasantly foolish, ly thirteen-year-old who thieved for fun, not necessity, and wasn’t so cruel as I’ve beco missed aled more in the last two months than ever before And only two people ith h it The first is imprisoned and the second wears a crown of blood

Any sensible person would call thee, my enemies know me best, and my family doesn’t knowwith lights and wires bundled along the ceiling The thick concrete walls turn the corridor into a uide the way Every door is shut, steel gray and unrens of life within So across a doorway, and so on This place holds not just fearsoees of Naercey and who knohere else After the enactment of the Measures, commanded from my own lips, many Guardsmen and Reds alike fled the mainland How could they stay, threatened by conscription and execution? But how did they et away? And how did theylist

Despite my distraction, I keep careful notice of the twists and turns ht here, one, two, three corners, left by the door with "PRAIRIE" carved into it Part ofa roundabout route on purpose, but Bree isn’t suess I should be thankful Shade would have no probleth, a rolling boulder easy to dodge He’s a Guardsman too, freed from one army just to join another And based on how he held iance to the Guard and nothing else Traer to follow, and occasionally guide, our older brother Only Shade has the good sense to keep his eyes open, to wait and see what fate awaits us newbloods