“Have you eaten today?” he asked.
She glanced back at him. She hadn’t eaten anything; actually, she hadn’t had a proper meal since the night of the Jotnar attack. She’d lost her appetite since Cahir left, and the thought of eating made her stomach churn.
She slowly shook her head as her eyes shifted back to the wall. Benny reached out his hand for her to take. She averted her gaze from the stonework, rubbing her head in confusion, then accepted his hand.
He led her back toward the Gardvord; the walk felt much longer than when she had been following the bird.
“I saw you walk through the trees when I came outside and was concerned about you, so I followed you out here. I know the last few days have been hard. I have some extra lunch from earlier if you’re interested?” Benny asked as they approached the front door. When they reached the glass entrance, they both took out their ID cards and scanned them to gain entry.
“I’m okay, Benny. I have some food back in the office,” she lied. “I will eat as I finish up my tasks.” She just wanted to get back to her desk as soon as possible.
He looked at her for a moment before he nodded and gave her a tight hug. “Love you, sis. Find me if you need to talk, okay?”
They separated, and she quietly walked back to her department and scanned her card to enter.
When she walked in, Cahir was sitting in her seat, his chestnut hair a disheveled mess, and his clothes torn across his body.
“Cahir!” She ran up to him and hugged him tightly to her, afraid that he might be a figment of her imagination. “What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did you see? Is Dad okay? I was so worried about you!”
He tightly embraced her, pressing his nose to her shoulder and breathing deeply into her.
Her friend, her best friend, heronlyfriend, was finally back, and he wasalive. He was not in the Camp.
She let out a strangled sob, and her knees buckled. Cahir wrapped his warm arms around her and let her cry into his lap, gently brushing her hair away from her face and wiping away her tears.
“I’m back, Sed. I have missed you so much.”
Chapter 10
Seda
(15 years prior)
The only sounds in the room were pencils scratching against paper and a periodic cough from the instructor at the front of the class. The classroom was warm with the tightly packed students taking their final assessments.
Seda studied tirelessly for this day and was determined to make her parents proud. She spent the last two weeks struggling to get enough sleep as she prepared for the exam, and the fatigue was beginning to take its toll. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as it fell forward and set her pencil down on the paper. She had finished. She flipped back to the first page and reviewed her answers from the beginning once more.
That was it; she was done!
Her chair loudly squeaked as she stood up from her desk. Other students looked up from their assessments and rolled their eyes.
“Albino-freak,” someone snickered, and a few others laughed.
“Silence! All of you!” the instructor at the front of the classroom shouted as he slammed the table with his stick. The threat of punishment was visible on his face as he stared at the remaining students.
Seda walked to the front and placed the packet into the designated basket, double-checking that she had written her name on the paper.
“Thank you, dear.” He winked at her as she stepped back. “You’re free to leave.”
Seda smiled happily in response and then turned to leave. Someone kicked out their leg, and she fell forward, landing hard on her knees.
The classroom erupted in laughter.
“I saidSILENCE!” the instructor yelled again, this time taking his stick and smacking a boy in the front of the room across his shoulder with it. A loud cry rang out from the boy.
Seda got up quickly and ran out of the metal doorway, the heavy air filling her lungs as she looked up at the sky toward the glittering dome and saw the sun beginning to turn red.
Freedom.
