He glares over his shoulder. “I doubt that. They’re assholes. Getting away from them was the smart move.” He leans down to set the shoe on the ground in front of me.
With an odd, excited shudder, I slip the shoe back on my foot. “Thank you for saying that. You’re not heading to the Capitol today, are you?”
“I am. I go once a month with the best of my cheese.”
“So you reserved a motor for this morning?”
“I did.”
“Oh good. Then you must be who I’ll be riding with.” I show him my completed form.
He studies it briefly. “How were you able to get this?”
“I bribed the guy behind the counter. With a ring I scavenged.”
His sober mouth twitches just slightly. “Good job.”
“Thank you. My sister lives in the Capitol. I’m going to visit her. And maybe see if there’s anything better out there for me.”
He nods. “Good. You should.” He glances at my shoulder bag. “Is that all you have with you?”
“It’s almost everything I have. The rest I hid away so Lorraine and Aria wouldn’t take it.” As soon as I hear the dry words, I regret them. “Oh, sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I didn’t mean to say anything bad.” Mason is engaged to Aria. I don’t want to offend him.
“Why was that bad?” He looks more confused thananything else as he takes my arm to lead me back to the bench. The guards have thankfully dispersed.
When Mason returns with his cart, he sits beside me. “Do you think your sister will let you stay with her?”
“I don’t think she can. I haven’t been able to talk to her much since she got married, but she sends messages occasionally. I have to read between the lines since they’re public messages, but it sounds like her husband isn’t very generous. He won’t let her visit the village, and I doubt he’ll take on someone else to feed and house. But I have some more stuff I’ve scavenged to trade or use for bribes, so maybe she can help me figure something out.”
He looks at me for a long time. It’s not a mean look, but I have no idea what he’s thinking. Then finally says, “Okay. Maybe something will work out.”
The driver arrives about fifteen minutes later, and the drive to the Capitol is easy and comfortable. It takes a couple of hours, but they’re not awkward or boring.
I like looking at the scenery. I like the soft upholstery of the seats and the air that rushes in when Mason cracks a window.
He doesn’t say a lot, but he asks a few things about my parents and about Annabelle. I get up the courage to ask about his family, and he tells me about his parents, who I used to know by sight. They were apparentlykind. He seems to miss them and grieve their loss. He helped out on the farm until he turned twenty-one. Then, because there were already two able-bodied workers in his household, he was sent to the Capitol as a laborer.
Now that his parents are gone, he’s handling the farm all on his own.
He really does need a partner, but Aria isn’t going to be any help to him in making his farm run.
I don’t say that, of course. Even decent men are sometimes foolish in the women they choose.
Eventually the Capitol comes into sight. It’s a large city surrounded by a huge wall with one tall tower visible even from a distance. It’s the administrative tower of the presidential palace. Everyone knows that.
I’m nervous again when our motor gets in line at one of the city gates. It’s felt safe with Mason. Now I have to face this huge city all by myself.
As soon as we get through the checkpoint at the gate, the motor parks in a busy lot and lets us out. The driver tells us to return in four hours so he can drive us back to the outpost.
And that’s it. I climb out, clutching the shoulder strap of my bag as I stare around at the huge buildings and wide streets.
“Where does your sister live?” Mason asks.
I pull out the card I wrote her address on and offer it to him.
