46. Chapter 46 #2
He curled around me, holding me in place. I was reminded of my mom, of the way Joel always wanted her close when he was sick. She sat very still until he calmed.
I did the same now.
When Elias had taken what he needed from me, he straightened, releasing me. “You’re right. I’ll have meetings for hours. Go change. Get something to eat.”
I stared up at him, and his lower lip trembled.
“I’ll change and come back.”
Something in his eyes lightened, his shoulders relaxing. He nodded, saying nothing, and we moved to a side door, away from the front entrance and the guards.
Outside, he moved to a free-standing building, tugging his tablet out of his pocket, and a massive door rolled up, revealing a row of black vehicles.
Elias strode to the first and tugged the passenger door open. “I’ll drive you.”
I shuffled forward, setting bare feet on the floor mat. I waited as he strode around to the other side. I stared at him as he moved with the ease of a man who found comfort in repetition, in the things that still made sense.
Tentatively, I stretched a hand toward him, resting it on his arm.
He jumped, as if remembering I was there for the first time. His gaze fell to my hand, lifted to my face. He stared at me. Lost.
“If you want to wait in the car while I change, I’ll come back with you.”
He nodded. Shook his head. Nodded again. “Okay.”
We rolled down the drive, turning onto the street.
***
In my room, I moved quickly, stuffing things into a bag. My door banged open, and Sera marched in.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I turned back to my bag, putting a toothbrush and paste inside.
She stomped across the floor, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me.
I scowled at her, tearing free from her grasp. “I’m going back to Elias’s.”
“Like hell. We have another trial. Or did you forget?”
I stopped, turning to face her. “You’ll have to take that up with Elias.”
Her face was blank as she stared at me, processing my words.
I moved past her, out the door and down the hall.
“Bitch!” Sera screamed, racing behind me.
I hurried down the stairs, throwing the front door wide. She tackled me to the ground on the top step, and my bag went flying.
Elias was out of his car, shoving Sera off in moments.
“You can’t have it,” she yelled, gaze darting between us. “I earned this marriage!”
“Get a hold of yourself.” Elias stared down at Sera, eyes glacial.
Sera straightened, realizing who he was. Who she was.
Elias held a hand out, and I took it. He helped me to the car, stooping to grab my bag.
“What’s going on? Elias?”
Sera’s voice was softer now, plaintive. She was afraid.
She should be.
Elias turned back to her. “The rebels have killed August. I’m canceling the Rite. Go home to your family where it’s safe.”
Elias closed my door and came around, opening his. I stared out the front window.
Tingles started in my back and spread down my shoulders. I hadn’t been free a day in my life until now. Almost. Just get through today, Maryn.
Calden’s face flashed in my mind.
“No!” Sera shouted. “You will not cast me aside like trash. My father paid for your family’s home, for the facility.”
I leaned toward Elias’s door, listening. The Cannons. How many others? How many Elite families had funded the facility, knowing what it meant for women in their own families? August was dead. But August hadn’t built this world alone.
“My father isn’t here anymore. Your father can’t control me the way he did August.”
Sera stomped her foot. “This isn’t fair!”
Elias moved around the car.
“Elias,” Sera’s strangled cry made him turn back to her. “I’ll die. If I don’t finish the Rite, they’ll kill me.”
I couldn’t see his face.
“Sera, if you compete in Trial Eleven, you’ll die anyway.”
“I might not.” Her words were a whisper.
“You can’t think I’d put Maryn in that kind of danger.”
From my vantage point, only her hands, twisted together in a knot, were visible.
“It's better than outside the wall.”
Silence filled the air.
My stomach twisted. Images of execution day flashing through my mind.
Finally, Elias spoke. “I’m sorry, Sera.”
I smoothed my expression, staring ahead as Elias slid into his seat, buckling his belt.
Sera dropped to her knees, her tear-streaked face stained with mascara lines. “The nation will never accept her.”
Elias still hadn’t looked at me, but Sera did. “Tell him, Maryn. Tell him the only way this marriage happens is if you complete the Rite.”
Her eyes were wide, true terror in them. I had spent this entire Rite watching Sera Cannon perform. Her practiced smile and perfectly styled hair.
But this wasn’t performance.
This was a woman who had followed every rule the Covenant gave her and would die for it, just like the rest of us. Something inside me cracked.
I turned to Elias and touched his arm.
He swiveled toward me. “I won’t risk you,” he said, not waiting for me to speak.
“She’s right. You can’t go against the law for me.”
“I’ll change the law.”
I squeezed his forearm. “That law has fifty years of tradition behind it. Parents have lost daughters, brothers have lost sisters. If you defy it now, they will never accept you. Accept me.”
The vulnerability from that morning was back on his face. He stared at me like I was something precious to him, something worth defying a nation for. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.”
He twisted to Sera. “Tomorrow.”
She nodded, climbing to her feet.
Elias slammed the door, and we sped away, leaving her staring after us.