34. Chapter 34
Maryn
Ipushed the door to my room open, wincing at the creak. Inside, I leaned against it, listening for any sound of my housemates.
“Did you have a good time?”
I jumped, squeezing my hand over my mouth to stop the cry of surprise as my gaze shot to the voice in a dark corner of my room.
Pushing off the door, I surged toward it.
“What are you doing in my room, Calden?”
He stood, and a slice of moonlight cut across his face, illuminating the hard lines of his cheekbones. His jaw was tight in a way I hadn’t seen before.
His black eyes studied me; the silence of his unspoken judgment burned.
“I found Nami. I’m taking you to see her. Tonight.”
My heart gave an involuntary thump. Alive. She was alive.
I swallowed. “I can’t. I could be eliminated.”
Calden slid his hand into the pocket of his coat. It was far more formal than anything he’d worn any of the other times he’d come to my room. He pulled his tablet out, tapping the screen.
“No one will be looking for you on Monday. We have twenty-four hours.”
My mouth fell open. “Where is she?”
His gaze slid down my form. “You’ll need something warmer than that.”
He crossed the room and, without asking, his fingers brushed my hair back from my ear. I stilled as he slid one sapphire earring out, then the other, and tucked them in his pocket.
I touched my naked ear. Did he know who gave them to me?
He marched past me, toward the window.
I stood in the middle of my room, frozen. I was desperate to see Nami, to know she was truly safe, but I was close, and nothing could go wrong.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I can’t.”
Calden paused, spinning to face me. With his back to the moonlight, he face was shadowed. Impossible to read.
“You’d rather stay here?”
My pulse thrummed wildly. What did what I wanted have to do with anything? When had anyone ever asked?
“No.”
He nodded. “Come on then.”
He moved to the window ledge, arm rising stiffly, and grunted.
I rushed forward. “Calden.”
“We need to go.”
Before he could stop me, I caught the hem of his shirt and lifted it.
The bruising was ugly—deep purple and mottled, spreading across his ribs.
“We’re not going anywhere.” I dropped his shirt. “What happened?”
He pulled the fabric back down, his jaw tight. “The rebels are getting bolder.” He met my eyes. “A bomb went off at the site where I was filming yesterday.”
Tightness squeezed my chest. “You were alone with this all night.”
He said nothing.
“You need a doctor.”
He turned back to the window. “Are you coming or not?”
He climbed over the ledge and disappeared before I could answer.
I leaned forward, peering out. My heart was loud in my ears. A ledge rimmed the building several feet below—close enough, if I didn’t think about it too hard. Calden waited, jaw tight, one arm pressed against his side.
I climbed onto my sill, the night air cold against my bare arms. Don’t think.
I slid my feet over the edge and jumped.
His hand shot out, catching me. He winced, and I grabbed his arm instinctively.
“I’m fine,” he said before I could speak.
He wasn’t. But he was already tapping his tablet.
“I told you to grab a coat.”
“What about you?” I searched his face in the dark.
He lifted a shoulder, dropped to the ground and stepped back.
I followed, landing harder than I expected. The impact rattled up my knees. For a moment, I stood completely still, searching for a light in a window above us, someone coughing behind a wall, my pulse in my throat.
Nothing.
He was already moving toward the alley.
Calden stopped beside a dark car that screamed Elite. It was low to the ground, and as he approached, the door slid up, revealing a black interior with silver accents.
In the Middle, if you saw a car like this, you got out of the way.
I got in beside him, and the doors slid down, blocking out the outside world.
I glanced around as he leaned over, tugging down a strap and pulling it across my waist. I sucked in a sharp breath as his scent—whiskey and something darker, purely Calden—and his nearness, twisted my insides.
I should have moved back, should have slapped his hand away, but I was frozen as a soft click sounded, and he sat up.
The smile he sometimes shared with only me was absent as he touched the car’s screen, illuminating the outside world in a soft green glow.
My gaze fixed on the formerly black window in front of us.
“Night vision,” he explained.
I nodded, but had no idea what that meant.
He touched a bar resting between us, and the car rolled forward silently, picking up speed.
I glanced over at Calden, but his eyes were fixed on the road. Buildings blurred by, and I leaned back in my seat.
“I’m surprised he took you outside the wall,” he said, not looking at me.
My gaze shot to him, still staring at the road. I studied his rigid posture, the set of his jaw.
“Were you worried for my safety?”
He scoffed, not answering.
“Rites end in marriage. You know that, right?”
Calden’s jaw flexed, but he said nothing else, and I stared out the window. On the horizon, a line of blue formed, so dark it was nearly black. I stilled as we approached a building. Calden touched the screen on his dashboard, and the metal doors swung open.
I glanced around the massive empty space as we pulled to a stop inside.
“There’s a coat in the back. Put it on. You’ll need it.”
In a moment, Calden was out of the car. The green lights illuminating the space winked out, leaving me in darkness.
“Calden?” My whisper was loud against my ears, and I glanced around, waiting for my eyes to adjust. “Calden.”
A click sounded at my waist, and a hand slid back, the heat of it brushing over the tops of my thighs. I jumped, hissing as he leaned out of the passenger door, low light filtering in behind him.
“Get the coat.”
I leaned over my seat, grabbed the thick jacket, and climbed out of the car.
The warehouse was empty except for a long slip of dark, placid water and the boat resting atop it.
I hadn’t seen it until my eyes adjusted.
When Calden pulled the doors open at the far end, the air changed first, a dampness pressing against my skin, and then the darkness beyond spread farther than I could see.
“We’re going out on the lake?”
“We’re going to the farm.”
The boat was security-grade, black and sleek. The kind we’d all watched on Monday recaps as they patrolled our greatest resource. How did Calden have access to one?
“Are we stealing this?” I hissed.
He stepped up onto its deck and turned. “This is mine.”
My mouth fell open, and I stopped, taking in the long vessel.
“This is the way to the farm?”
The location of the farm was the most heavily guarded secret in the Covenant States. Only transporters, security and… the media… knew where it was.
Calden held out a hand, and I hesitated only a moment before grabbing it and letting him pull me aboard.
He took the coat from my hands without asking. “Turn.”
I did. He slid it over my shoulders quickly, coming around to face me. His fingers worked the buttons upward. The space between us narrowed until I was aware of nothing but his scent and the sound of water.
He reached my collar, his knuckles grazing my throat.
Neither of us moved.
He finished the last button and stepped back, exhaling.
I willed him to look at me.
To say something. He turned, moving to the front of the boat.
Behind a pane of thick glass, a seat that could easily hold four was bolted to the floor.
“It’s going to get windy. Stay behind the glass.”
I nodded, sliding onto the bench.
Calden sat beside me, touching his tablet, and the engine flared to life.
“If the water turns choppy, hang on to me. Got it?”
This was nothing like the view Elias had shown me of the lake. Tonight I would be on the water, not an observer at its fringes; I was diving headfirst into the belly of the beast.
The boat hummed, sliding forward, slicing through small lapping waves as we zipped out onto open water. In moments, the wind beat against the glass, and a spray of water splashed my cheek.
Calden turned the wheel, and the boat picked up speed. A wave crashed against the front of the boat. We jerked, but he only went faster.
He glanced at me, and I couldn’t hide the delight on my face as another spray of water sprinkled the deck.
“Are you good?”
I slid closer to him. “Can we go any faster?”
His lips quirked up, the hint of a smile creeping across his face.
“Come here.”
I did, wrapping an arm around him, and a yip of surprise escaped me as the boat lurched forward.
In moments, we were skimming the surface, the world blurring by, and I tipped my head back, staring up at the vast sky.
It was dotted with so many stars that a person might spend a lifetime counting them and still not know the final number.
The fresh scent of lake air wrapped around me, moisture clinging to my skin.
The Covenant States taught us that after this life, we would go to a world like ours once was, full of trees and flowers, animals, and blue skies.
If there were an afterlife, surely it would have a place like this.
"Do you see those?" Calden called.
I searched the shoreline, gaze skimming over the wall spanning the far edge of the shoreline. Then, I saw them. Great metal machines, spinning slowly. "What are they?"
"Intake processors."
I frowned back at him.
"Do they not teach middle citizens about water purification?"
I looked at a row of machines then to Calden again. "For the acid rain?"
He grinned. "That's right."
***
The hours had blurred by, and my eyelids had begun to droop when Calden slowed the boat, and we eased toward land.
I blinked, releasing his arm, and rubbed my eyes. It was still at least an hour before morning, but a pre-dawn glow was burning along the horizon.
We slowed to a stop, and my pulse kicked into overdrive as a guard in all black appeared ahead. I slid away from Calden, giving us space.
“Give me your ribbon before we reach the dock.”
“What?”
His mouth fell into a flat line. “Hurry. A matched woman wouldn’t be on a media expedition with me.”
I tugged the sleeve of my jacket back, and ice slid down my veins. I looked up, eyes wide.
“It’s gone.”
Heat burned behind my eyes. I tried to take a deep breath, but it was trapped in my lungs. I sucked in another and another.
Calden was in front of me, arms wrapped around my shoulders. “Maryn. Breathe.”
I looked up, meeting his eyes and inhaling slowly.
“Again.”
The next breath came easier.
“Good.”
It wasn’t good. I would be eliminated. I would be sent away.
“Maryn, look at me.”
I did, taking another stuttering breath.
“I have a ribbon you can use.”
My mind cleared. “You do?”
He nodded. “I’ll give it to you after.” He reached into his pocket. “Put this on.”
I took the pin from him, hastily shoving it onto the coat as we reached the dock, and the guard tossed a rope to Calden.
“Mr. Charles. What brings you to the island?”
He glanced at me, but his gaze returned to Calden in a flash.
“Footage for another of my father’s propaganda films. We should be in and out.”
The guard nodded, stepping back as Calden climbed off the boat. He turned to face me, holding out a hand.
I reached for him, letting him pull me up, and my bare, exposed wrist came into view. Another flash of terror shot through me, but I squeezed his hand, steadying myself.
His gaze met mine for a heartbeat, and I dipped my chin.
He turned toward the guard. “My assistant is learning the craft. She’ll be with me for the duration of my visit.”
The guard eyed me once more, eyes dipping to my pin. “Seems like a waste.” He chuckled, but the smile dripped from his face when he met Calden’s stony stare. “Yes, sir. I’ll keep an eye on your boat.”
Calden pulled his tablet from his pocket. In moments, three drones zipped from a compartment alongside the boat deck, hovering in the air. He tapped again, and they shot in three different directions.
He marched past the guard, and I chased after him, grateful for the coat as I pulled the hood up.
We stepped onto dry land, and I wobbled, working to regain my bearings after so many hours on the water. As we crested a small hill, I stopped, mouth falling open. In front of us, stretching as far as the eye could see, green fields blanketed the earth.
Calden glanced back at me, a genuine smile lighting up his face. “Welcome to the farm.”