44. Chapter 44
Elias
Vera’s mother answered the door of a home in the Upper-Middle. Once, they’d owned one of the largest estates in the Center, but when their only son died—caught in a rebel bombing—their standing had collapsed.
“Mr. Hale. Please, come in.”
I followed, tucking my hands into my pockets. “I won’t take up too much of your time. I only need to speak with Vera a moment.”
She led me to a sitting room and disappeared. I heard her voice somewhere above me, low and urgent. A door opened and closed.
Vera stepped into the room, her expression giving nothing away. She sat across from me, folding her hands in her lap.
“Mr. Hale.”
“Were you in Maryn’s room Friday?” I asked, not bothering with niceties. I had another stop to make today.
She met my eyes. “Yes.”
I reached into my jacket and set the button on the table between us.
She looked at it. Picked it up. Turned it over once.
“I’ve been looking for that.” She slid it into her pocket.
I watched her.
She said nothing else.
I stood. “Thank you for your time.”
Her mother appeared at the door to see me out, still flustered, touching her hair. I thanked her and left.
In my car, I leaned my forehead against the steering wheel.
Did I want to believe her, or was she telling the truth?
I thought of Maryn’s pale skin. Her jagged nails. The tremor in her hand. All of it spoke of a woman who had been through exactly the sort of traumatic incident she’d reported.
I touched my tablet, and the car rolled forward.
The Covenant Bureau of Information’s reception was nothing like the stripped-down terror of its lower floors. Up here, where they brought people who mattered, where they occasionally filmed propaganda videos, the furniture was real, the lighting warm.
The guard at the desk stood when I walked in.
“Mr. Hale.”
“I’d like a word with your guest.” I didn’t slow, moving past him toward a questioning room. “Calden Charles.”
I sat on the edge of a metal folding chair in a sparse room, silently counting each shiny black lens.
Calden entered, wrists free of cuffs, smirking when he saw me. He was infuriatingly composed. Not a man who’d spent two nights in custody—a man who’d been mildly inconvenienced. He took the chair across from me with the ease of someone choosing a seat at a dinner party and leaned back.
I smiled; all teeth. “Finally where you belong.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, and he tugged at the cuff of his sleeve.
“I’m here to collect your alibi for Friday night.”
He tilted his head, lips curling up. “Have you been promoted from field auditor so soon?” He glanced at the two-way glass. “Does nepotism know no bounds?”
I banged my fist on the metal table. The sound cracked through the room, and I straightened, glancing up at the camera. “I know you weren’t with her. Just give up the alibi so her name isn’t dragged through the mud.”
Calden’s false calm dropped. His hand slid below the table. A muscle jumped in his jaw, there and gone so fast I almost missed it.
“Shocked to learn there’s one girl in Centrum who isn’t falling all over herself for you?”
I squeezed my fingers into a fist, knuckles turning white.
“Did you and Sera plan it together?” My jaw popped from grinding. “I know what she gets out of it. What do you get?”
He held my gaze and said nothing.
Heat flared through me. I stood, straightening my jacket. “Stay away from my match.”
Something shifted in his face. Sadness?
He wasn’t going to give me anything. We both knew it.
I walked out.
In the corridor, I kept my pace even. The report was Sera’s. The button was Vera’s. Maryn’s story was the truth.
I’d have to clean up this mess before Maryn was eliminated, though.
I stopped at the end of the corridor, hand on the door.
He could spend another night.
***
Tuesday arrived sooner than I’d expected.
I smoothed my shirt and ran a hand through my hair.
At the start, I’d looked forward to Trial Ten; now, it nearly felt like a betrayal. I already knew what I wanted. Who I wanted.
A knock sounded at the door. Behind me, Blight gave a low growl. I silenced him with a look. He lowered his head, closing his eyes.
I opened the door and grinned as Rakel looked up, a bright smile already painting her face.
“Hello.”
She tucked a curl behind her ear. “Hi.”
I stepped back. “Come in.”
“Is your mother home?” She took a cautious step through the door, glancing around. “I brought her a flower.”
She held out a rose. Its petals were tipped in black, the center and stem a dusky brown.
Roses had been one of the few flowers to survive the radiation, but like so many things, they were transformed by it.
Once they had been brightly colored and fragrant.
Now, they were a sign that life could find a way in this harsh world.
“Thank you.”
She nodded, cheeks turning pink.
“Mom and Dad are at dinner. They wanted to give us privacy.”
Her face bloomed a brighter shade of red, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
I ran a hand through my hair again. “Would you like to come in?”
She swallowed audibly. I led her toward the back of the house.
“Wait,” Rakel squeaked.
I spun around, stuffing my hands in my pockets.
“Can we sit and talk?”
My shoulders relaxed, and I let out a little laugh. “Of course. The living room is this way.”
I passed the hall leading to my bedroom and moved into the cozy room lined with pre-war artifacts that August had collected. No cameras here.
We moved to Mom’s favorite velvet sofa and sat.
Rakel was far enough away that I couldn’t quite reach her; some part of me recognized she’d done that on purpose. Her gown was full, with long sleeves and a high neckline. Quite the opposite of what she’d worn for our public date.
She stared down at her lap, lacing her fingers together.
She looked up.
“Rak—”
“I wan—”
We stopped, laughing, and I smiled. “Please. What were you going to say?”
She tucked a curl behind her ear and bit her lip. “It’s just…” Her gaze shifted past me to the shelves, then darted back to me. “Elias.”
She scooted closer, reaching for my hand.
The small jolt of electricity I’d felt the first time she touched my hand all those years ago was noticeably absent. I stared down at our interlaced fingers. Once, I’d wanted nothing more than this moment. Now, the person I wanted to hold hands with wasn’t the girl sitting across from me.
Rakel would always be my first. My first crush. My first kiss. But I no longer wanted her to be my last.
The thought warmed something in my chest.
Her deep brown eyes met mine. “Elias, I wanted to thank you for inviting me to your Rite. “But… I don’t want to be second." she looked down. "I want to be someone’s everything.”
I squeezed her fingers. “I understand.”
Her smile was back, and I was momentarily transported to the day we’d met. That smile had been the reason I’d stopped her in the hall. That and the fact that she was singing to herself despite a hall lined with boys.
“I loved you,” she said. “You’ll always have a place in my heart.”
In that moment, I knew exactly what she meant. Rakel would always be with me, too.
The words settled over me, warm and final.
My stomach dropped.
She can’t go home.
I was on my feet before I’d finished the thought, pulling her up with me. “Rakel.” I lowered my voice. “Listen to me carefully. You cannot go home tonight.”
Her brow furrowed. “Elias—”
“Trust me.” I tugged her toward the door. “Brian.”
My new aide appeared in the hallway, looking between Rakel and me. There was a tug in my chest. It wasn’t Micah. It would never be Micah again.
“We need to get her out of the city. She’s not safe.”
He swallowed, looking between us.
Was I making a grave mistake asking this man I didn’t know to help? He’d been on my father’s detail for years, had been around me for just as long, but trust had to be earned.
“I have family in New Michigan.”
I exhaled. “Tell no one. I’ll make sure nothing happens to them.”
He dipped his chin.
I turned back to Rakel, who was staring at us both wide-eyed.
“Go with him. Don’t contact anyone.”
Her fingers trembled in mine, and I tightened my grip before letting go.
She nodded.
I watched Brian guide her toward the door. She didn’t look back. I pressed a hand flat against the doorframe and stood there long after the sound of their footsteps faded.