“That won’t be necessary,” Caden says, and it feels like a blow.
“Come now, you’re hurting Finn’s feelings.”
“He’s disgusted by me.” I’m shocked to hear the hurt in his voice. It feels like the sign of humanity I was so desperately waiting to hear.
“I’m not… I’m not disgusted by you.”
“See? He’s just going through an adjustment period, but he’ll soon understand—once I give him my first gift.”
Despite the warm day, my blood freezes.
Caden opens his mouth, but he changes his mind and nods instead. He’s likely the only person with any sort of leverage over Hector, but he’s not going to fight for me.
From behind me, Hector raises my shirt, exposing my stomach and chest. “Where should I make the first cut?”
Caden lowers his gaze and presses his finger to my navel before raising it to my chest. “Like this.”
“Agreed. We can do it after lunch.”
“No!” I push my shirt down and turn to face Hector. “You said you’d give me more time.”
“I did give you more time, and I’m doing this for you. When the fighting starts, you might be in danger. You’ll wish to have my gift then.”
“So let me make that choice!”
“You made your choice when you decided to come to this city and spy for the enemy, and when you chose to stay with me instead of jumping out the window. I’ve been giving you a choice every single day, so don’t be ungrateful.” He looks past me at Caden. “Ready to go?”
“Yes, sir.”
*
The three of us ride in the same long car, and I fail to take a proper breath. Even if one cut won’t reduce me to the same stateas Caden, it will still taint my mind, which has always been my most reliable weapon.
I sit with my head bowed, trying to think of a way out of this, even if it means jumping out of this car, but Hector and Caden will outrun me.
“You’re breathing too fast,” Caden tells me.
“Don’t pretend to care.”
“I… care.” He sounds unsure if that’s true.
I’m filled with a deep sense of sadness, struggling to imagine what he is dealing with. His feelings toward me are likely just memories, and it must be messing with his head not being able to feel like that again even though I’m right here.
I turn to look at him and say, “I don’t know how, but I will fix this. I promise.”
“Why would you want to fix what isn’t broken?” Hector asks from the seat in front of me.
I don’t answer, because words are pointless against this man.
“Stop!” Hector suddenly shouts.
The driver hits the brakes, almost making me fall from my seat.
“What is it?” Caden asks, holding tightly to his rifle.
“Our communication center is under attack.” He turns to the driver. “Take us there!”
“How many people are attacking?” Caden asks.
