Chapter 29 #2
Eero cannonballs into the clear creek. I gasp when a spray of water hits me.
It’s been cool all day, perfect weather for physical training.
It’s chilly for swimming, though. I stand on the shore watching Meryl and Eero splash each other, with even Sal getting in on the play.
Oscar pops up ten feet down the bank, climbing onto a rock twice as tall as him.
A mini waterfall has turned it into a natural slide.
He rides it down, disappears underwater, then pops up downstream, shooting a plume of water out of his mouth.
“Feels great on sore muscles,” Gryphon says.
He’s standing next to me, his arm almost touching mine.
The way he carries himself, he reminds me of the statues in our history books, and a sudden need to put distance between us is what finally pushes me to strip off my overshirt and pants and take the leap.
The water is so cold it steals my breath.
I drop down to the creek bed, digging my toes into the sandy bottom.
The temperature makes my heart race, but it also leeches the soreness from my muscles, just as Gryphon promised.
I stay down as long as I can bear and then push toward the surface.
Everyone cheers as I come up. I hear a sound like music and realize it’s me, laughing.
That makes me laugh even harder. I twirl in the water, delighted to find that my body is acclimating to the temperature.
I’m able to stay in several more minutes, watching the others splash and swim, before heading toward the bank.
Gryphon is just ahead of me. When he steps out, I see blood coursing from the back of his calf. He must have scraped his leg on a rock.
“You need to clean that,” I say, watching the crimson blood mix with the water. “Let me.”
I search the shore for sphagnum moss and find a nearby patch. It’s a natural antibiotic that’ll also slow the bleeding. I grab a chunk, pressing it against Gryphon’s leg. I don’t notice I’m shivering until I feel the warmth of his hand on my shoulder.
“I can hold it,” he says. As he reaches down, his fingertips brush against mine. He jerks back.
I feel my heartbeat. Are my cheeks as flushed as Gryphon’s?
Eero appears next to us, dripping water, his teeth chattering. “Aww, it’s just like the old days,” he says, grinning at Gryphon. “Rose taking care of you when you showed up at school all roughed up by your dad.”
I swallow. I always suspected Gryphon’s injuries weren’t just from training—why else would he refuse treatment at the Apothecary cottage?
But now that I’ve spent time inside the Tzu house, there’s no denying it.
I look at Gryphon, aching to console him, but he’s already checked out. His dark eyes have all but grayed over.
“We should all get back to our houses. It’s late.” He grabs his shirt, pants, and shoes and stomps back toward the cave.
I want to follow him, to say something that might matter, but I feel locked in place.
“Nice going, Eero,” Sal says, glaring at him.
I can’t help but agree. At least the boy has the good sense to look guilty as we pull on our tunics and trousers, shivering in our wetness.
I’m surprised when Oscar speaks. “Gryphon risks everything to train us.”
“Why?” I ask, giving shape to the question that’s been bothering me since I stumbled on their secret session. I know why Gryphon said he does it, but what do they believe? “And why do you all risk the same to learn?”
The four of them exchange glances.
“The Guardian House has too much power.” It’s Meryl who speaks for the group, her Entertainer’s voice lending gravitas to her words.
“They have for a while. They tell us they’re doing it to keep us safe, that it’s a natural extension of their regular duties.
And at first, I think it was. But now they’re calling Harvests without input from the Record Keeper.
We can all see that. They confine us to our homes, keep us so busy working we barely have time to question them, let alone do anything about it.
” She shakes her head. “Gryphon agrees they’ve gone too far, though I doubt he’d admit it. The closest he can come is helping us.”
“I was the first,” Sal says. “My dad was Harvested for standing up to Jarek, and Gryphon was the one who walked him to the basket.”
A shiver runs through me, raw and familiar. I know what it is to watch the people you love get taken, and to be left behind with the ruin.
“I think it killed Gryphon to do it. He knows his father’s up to something, that we’re all vulnerable inside the Wall as long as Jarek is running the show.
Training us is how he makes peace with his role in that.
” She grins fiercely. “He approached me the night after my da’s death, said fighting is all he knew how to do, but he was willing to share it.
I said if I’m learning to defend myself, Meryl is, too. ”
“And I had to invite my husband,” tomboy Meryl jokes, punching Eero in the arm.
He smiles goofily. “I brought Oscar on accident, when he caught me sneaking out to train.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t have ratted you out!” Oscar says.
By the way Eero laughs, I understand this is something they’ve joked about many times.
Because they’re friends, and they’re brave.
I’m feeling the warmth of it when Meryl’s face grows serious again.
“We know that a handful of us training the bo staff isn’t going to be enough to make any change. There’s got to be something bigger.”
“Hush!” Sal says.
“Hush yourself.” Meryl narrows her brown eyes, using a rare, firm voice with Salvatora. “Rose is putting herself in the same danger as the rest of us by being out here. She deserves to know.”
Sal squares her jaw but doesn’t disagree, so Meryl keeps talking.
“We’re going to stop Jarek,” she says, holding my gaze.
“He’s the one heading all the new laws, the Harvests.
It’s supposed to be the Record Keeper, but David Seingalt is weak.
This system’s not going to change unless we do something about it.
To start, we want to remove Jarek from the Council. ”
“How?” is my first question. My second is, “Does Gryphon know?”
“No, he can’t.” Eero grimaces. “And we’re not sure how yet, but we’ve got some ideas. We’re not the only ones, you know. There’s others who’ve noticed the Valley isn’t working right, some who’re willing to risk their own necks for it. Especially since Jonas was framed.”
The wave of emotion threatens to knock me over. “You don’t think he did it?”
Meryl bundles me in her arms. “Of course we don’t, Rose! We know Jarek is responsible somehow. He disposes of anyone who gets in his way.”
“That’s enough!” Sal interjects, her voice raised. “We’ve already shared too much.”
Meryl releases me, and I feel unsettlingly light on my own. We bustle back to the caves. I braid my hair on the way to disguise its wetness, wishing that I’d considered that before jumping all the way in.
The angle of the sun tells me that we’ve lost track of time.
“Gryphon just left,” Albert says, emerging from the cave upon our return.
Was he inside this whole time? Even with his increased mobility, there aren’t many places in the Valley a supposedly dead kid could spend the day.
He wheels his chair closer to me the old-fashioned way, his tone pure sulk. “You’re training here regularly now?”
“Mind your own business, Albert,” Sal snaps.
I wonder what her issue is with him, but I can’t disagree. The new evidence linking the Guardians to the seeming murder weapon has cooled my suspicion of Albert slightly, but I still don’t trust him.
Eero stretches. “You’re going to be sore tonight after the sparring, Rose, even with the creek dip.”
“Count on it,” Oscar says. “And it’ll just get worse over the next few hours. My first day of training? I couldn’t lift my arms above my waist. Good thing I only had hemming to do.”
Everyone smiles. Everyone but Albert, who’s watching me.