Veronica Rossi: Brooke

“Listen up!” Wylan snaps. He jumps onto a boulder, appearing above the crowd. “We’ll head north and approach along that ridge. Expect to be challenged by a pair of sentries.” He points into the darkness. “Two archers, within the first mile. Good fighters. But there are more of us, and we can’t expect to take this land and the food we need, land and food that are rightfully ours and that we deserve , without having to show some courage, can we?”

There are a few grunts of agreement.

Hayden’s eyes lock with mine, and I know we’re thinking the same thing.

Reef and Gren are guarding the area these people plan to move through. They’re in danger.

“Once we get past them,” Wylan continues, “we won’t run into any trouble until we reach the cave.”

The cave.

Clara.

I yank an arrow from my quiver, nock it, and fire.

It’s a wild action. Aggressive and possibly suicidal. But if I don’t do something, Gren and Reef could die. My tribe could be harmed, and my sister .

My arrow spears a man through the thigh.

I keep going, loosing another. Hayden joins me, and in moments screams of terror lift from Wylan’s group. They are visibly shocked and confused. We are firing on them from the rear—the borderlands, where they came from—and surely the direction they believed they could retreat if needed.

But soon their own bows appear, and arrows slice past me. I can’t fire anymore without risking my life, so I kneel behind a rock outcrop and pray that my instincts are right.

Gren is an Aud. He’d have heard the commotion Wylan’s group just made.

Tell me he heard.

It’s the only chance Hayden and I have of getting out of this alive.

I look to my right. Hayden has taken cover behind a tree. When he sees me, he winks. There’s something a little reckless about him. He’s enjoying this. Like me.

Wylan’s group is creeping toward us. I’m no Aud, but I can hear them approaching, their steps swishing through grass and crunching on twigs.

It hits me then: my gamble failed. There’s been no sign of Gren or anyone else. I look at Hayden again. We’re going to have to make a run for it, and that won’t work either. Most likely I’ll get a few arrows in my back.

I pull up to my feet and see Hayden do the same. No time to dwell on the situation. Just have to act.

Hayden tips his chin, telling me to run first while he lays down a barrage of shots, giving me cover.

But then I hear something new. Shouts behind me. Peering over the outcropping, I see Wylan’s group scattering. Arrows are sailing down at them from the west.

Gren! He heard. He and Reef have positioned themselves opposite us, behind Wylan’s group.

And better still, a volley of arrows flies from the south as well. Hyde and Straggler have joined in the fight too. Gren and Reef must have sent them a signal—or they’d seen the commotion themselves.

Hayden lets out a growl of pure battle hunger and leaps into action. I grab my bow and set to work again, my heart swelling with what I know is a sure victory.

We have hemmed in Wylan’s group. Thanks to the fires, Hayden and I landed in an advantageous position. While Hyde, Straggler, Reef, and Gren push the intruders out of Tide territory, Hayden and I have created a dam, prohibiting their retreat to the borderlands. We have trapped them.

I focus on one target, loosing an arrow. It plunges into Wylan’s thigh. He buckles to his knees, clutching his leg. He looks up at me. “Shoot her!” he screams.

The words die in his throat as my next arrow spears him through the stomach. He topples over. I move on to my next target, knowing that Wylan is finished.

We could turn this into a slaughter if we wanted to, but we don’t.

Reef’s whistle calls us off. I lower my bow and see that we showed restraint and mercy. We wounded quite a few, but their loss of life is minimal.

“Go! Get off this land!” I yell.

Then I watch as the survivors limp away.

Wylan is not one of them. He lies motionless on the grass. I put him there, and I feel no regret for what I’ve done.

He’ll never be a threat to the Tides again.

In the Battle Room, Reef and Hayden take turns explaining what happened.

When they are finished, Perry’s green eyes narrow on me. “Why did you engage them?”

I could give him one of several different answers. Gut feeling. Fear. Because I knew we could press our advantage. But instead I just say, “I wanted it to be over. And I knew we’d have to take some risks to keep him out for good.”

“Thank you, Brooke. You did well.” He holds my eyes a moment longer, his direct gaze brimming with gratitude and respect. Something passes between us that feels solid and promising.

I was wrong before. Perry and I don’t have an ending. We just have more beginnings.

When the discussion turns to food rations and other matters that don’t concern me, I excuse myself.

My impulse is to find Clara, but somehow my feet take me to the Dweller cavern.

Molly comes over when she sees me. “Well done,” she coos, cupping my cheeks. “I heard all about it from Willow.”

I went straight to the Battle Room when I arrived. How Willow knows everything before everyone is a mystery to me.

“Thanks,” I say to Molly. “Does that mean I get out of Dweller water duty today?”

She purses her lips. “Well, I suppose since—”

“I’m kidding, Molly.” Feeling strong and proud of myself, I pick up one of the jugs by the water barrel and fill it, deciding I’ll pitch in for a little while.

Today the Dwellers are improving. I see glimpses of life returning to them. The regular rise and fall of their chests as they slumber. The twitching behind their eyelids that tells me they’re dreaming instead of floating in darkness.

Soren is awake. He watches me for a few minutes before I finally kneel beside him.

“I was waiting for you,” he rasps.

“Why didn’t you call me over?” I say, giving him some water.

“I don’t know your name.”

He wants me to tell him, but for some reason I like keeping it from him. “Shame,” I say, putting the clay jug to his cracked lips. He takes five long sips. His increasing thirst is a good sign he’s recovering.

“The water?” he says, nodding at the jug. “You don’t need it.”

“ I don’t need it?”

“As an excuse. You’re using it so you can come talk to me.”

I’m tempted to pour the rest on his head. “Really?” I say, forcing myself to look smitten. “I can come over to your side anytime ?” I stand. “What about when I want to leave your side? Do I need an excuse then? Or permission?” I start walking backward. “Oh, look.” I glance at my feet. “It’s working!”

He grins. “Your name!” He tries to raise his voice, but it comes out sounding more like a croak.

“Bye, Soren!”

I leave the cavern because I want him to wonder where I went. Also because I remember the reason I came here to begin with.

I had forgotten that Aria was moved after her surgery. She’s been recovering in Perry’s tent. That’s where I head.

I find her sleeping on a bed pad wide enough for two. No need to guess who she shares it with. The realization stings, but only faintly.

The warrior in me is too strong today for me to feel weakness. And while I have not moved on, I am moving. I am trying. I am creating new beginnings.

I kneel at her side and take a few seconds to let my pulse calm. Then I lean close to her and say what needs saying.

“I told you before that you took him from me. . . . You didn’t. He was mine for a time, but now that’s past, and it’s all right. It would have happened with you or without you. But now he’s yours. He belongs to you, and I think he always will. And I hope you know how lucky that makes you. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I don’t hate you. You never deserved that. So . . . that’s all.”