Weโve retreated back to stand among the army.ย ๎ขe rebels havenโt killed any more consuls, but they seem to have an endless collection of their glass explosives, because they toss them at anyone who rides close.ย ๎ขeyโve built theirย res ever higher, and their chants vary betweenย kill the kingย andย we want medicine.
Iโm on the fringes, but the king is surrounded by advisers. โ๎ขe long bowmen can take out some of them,โ an army captain is saying to him, โbut theyโd be able to kill the consuls before we could save them all.โ
Harristan runs a hand along his jaw. His eyes are hard and tired.
He doesnโt have to say it, but I know the truth anyway. If they storm this dais, theyโll kill everyone.
I look back at the Circle. I can see the shadows of people moving around.
๎ขey must be equally tiredโand frightened.
I wonder if Karri is a part of it.
I step away from the army, and no one stops me. I ease silently over the cobblestones to stop in front of theย ames where I know Lochlan waits.
A glass bomb comesย ying out of the smoke, and I jump out of the way.
Flaming bits strike my skirts anyway.
โHey!โ yells a soldier, but I put my hands up and face theย ames. โLochlan!โ I shout. โLochlan, please. Please talk to me.โ
๎ขe shadows move and shi๎, and then heโs visible, but barely. โI have nothing to o๏ฌer you,โ he calls.
โ๎ขe king wants toย nd a solution,โ I say desperately. โPlease. He doesnโt want a war. He wants to help.โ
โHe had time to help.โ
โHeโs going to kill you,โ I cry. โDo you understand? Heโs o๏ฌered everything he can.โ
โHeโs already killing us,โ Lochlan says, and I can hear the matching emotion under his words. โYou know that, Tessa.โ
โI know. I know.โ And I do know.ย ๎ขatโs always been the problem.ย ๎ขereโs never enough medicine to go around. โBut . . . maybe . . .โ
โMaybe what?โ Lochlan calls. โMaybe the rich people will have their way and weโll go back to the way it was? No, Tessa. No.โ
โNo,โ calls a manโs voice from behind me, and I have to do a double-take when I see that itโs Corrick. Heโs on horseback, leading a man through the haze by a rope.
๎ขen I have to do a triple-take, because that man is Consul Sallister. โYouโll have medicine,โ says Corrick. โEight weeks. From Allisander
Sallister himself. Heโs pledged his assistance inย nding a way to make Moonย ower petals available to all.โ
โI said six,โ Allisander hisses, and Corrick kicks him in the shoulder.
โTell them,โ Corrick says. โTell them you will grant eight weeks of medicine to all citizens if they will stand down.โ
โYes,โ Allisander calls. โI will grant eight weeks of medicine to all citizens.โ A few people have moved forward to join Lochlan at the edge of the dais.
One of them looks like Karri, and sheโs moved close. I watch as she intertwines herย ngers with his.
Oh. I somehow missed that.
โWeโre already receiving medicine,โ calls Lochlan. โFrom the Benefactors.โ โItโs tainted!โ I call back. โItโs laced with something else. Youโve been
tricked.โ
A murmur goes through the crowd, both the army at my back and among the people on the dais.
โLies,โ says Lochlan, but for theย rst time, his voice falters.
โYou have to have noticed,โ I say. โTris said it herself, that the people have grown more desperate.โ My voice breaks. โ๎ขere are more fevers, arenโt there?โ I say to him. โArenโt there?โ
Another murmur goes through the crowd.
A boot scrapes against the cobblestones, and the king himself appears beside me. โEight weeks of medicine. Real medicine. Enough time to form a new plan. A better plan.โ He pauses. โAnd I will not just meet with my consuls. You are not the only ones who have been tricked. I will meet with you as well. A council of the people.โ
Lochlan hasnโt moved. Heโs not staring at the king. Heโs staring at me. I glance at Harristan. โAmnesty,โ I whisper.
He takes a heavy breath. โIf you release your remaining hostages and agree to leave the sector peacefully, I will have my army stand down. I will grant amnesty up till this very moment, but not one second longer.โ
Lochlan glances at Karri, then back at me. But still he doesnโt concede.
Shadows on the dais shi๎ย and move beyond theย re. Someone has approached Lochlan. A๎er a moment, I realize itโs Earle, with little Forrest beside him. My heart kicks.ย ๎ขereโs so much violence here, so much danger.
But then Earle says, โTessa.โ His voice booms over the crowd. โWhen you spoke for Wesโfor Prince Corrickโyou spoke of all the things he did for us.โ
โYes,โ I say. โYes, he did it for you.โ
โEven while he did all of that, he was still the Kingโs Justice.โ
I have to swallow past the lump in my throat. โYes.โ My voice breaks. I can feel the sudden tension in the army behind me.ย ๎ขis is all going to unravel again.ย ๎ขey have no reason to trust King Harristan or Prince Corrick. โYes. I know.โ
โBut you werenโt,โ Earle says. I hold my breath. โWhat?โ โYou were . . . just Tessa.โ
A woman approaches them, and I almost donโt recognize her through the soot on her sweaty cheeks. Bree, the young widow. โTessa.โ Her voice isnโt as loud as Earleโs, and I lean in to hear her. โYou spoke of all the things Wes did. But . . . but you never talked about the things you did.โ Her voice breaks. โYou set my boyโs arm when he broke it falling from the tree. You showed me how to make a poultice.โ
โYou saved Forrest,โ says Earle. โFrom the night patrol.โ
Another man steps forward. โYou stitched up my hand when I sliced it on the ax.โ
An older woman. โYou brought me blankets when the mice chewed through mine.โ
One by one, more rebels approach the edge of the dais, each one announcing something Iโve done to help them.
โYou brought us medicine.โ
โYou helped me birth that calf. I thought I was going to lose the cow.โ โYou taught me how to salve a burn.โ
My throat is tight, and a tear streaks down my face, but they keep going. โYou showed us how to make the medicine last.โ
โYou helped us save ourselves.โ
โ๎ขere are so many of us here. Because of you.โ
A boot scrapes on the cobblestones beside me, and I look over toย nd Corrick at my side. His roughย ngers lace through mine. โYou donโt trust me,โ he calls to the rebels. โI donโt expect you to trust me.โ He glances at me, and his blue eyes are full of emotion. โBut you trust Tessa.โ
โI trust Tessa,โ says Earle. โI trust Tessa,โ says Bree.
Slowly, it turns into a chant that tightens my chest and makes it hard to breathe.ย ๎ขey have so much faith in meโand theyโre all a heartbeat away from being slaughtered by this army if they donโt lay down their weapons.
Lochlan is still staring at me. โYou trust the king,โ he calls to me.
โI didnโt before.โ I pause. โBut I do now.โ I swallow. โLochlan. Please.
๎ขere are so many people here. Please donโt risk them all.โ
Lochlan looks at Harristan. โAmnesty?โ he says. โAnd eight weeks of medicine?โ
King Harristan nods. โYou have my word. It has been witnessed by the consuls.โ
He sighs. โFine. Letโs hope weโre not both fools.โ He sets down his crossbow.ย ๎ขe other rebels do the same.
For a breathless moment, Harristan says nothing, and I wonder if this was all a trick, if the army is going to start picking o๏ฌย the rebels one by one.
But then the king turns to face his army. โStand down. Allow them to leave.โ
Iโm suddenly giddy with relief. I turn to look up at Corrick. His eyes are full of pain, and I realize heโs bearing no weight on his injured leg, and the cut over his eye is bleeding.
โYou shouldnโt be here,โ I say. โYouโre injured.โ
His hands close on my waist, and theyโre trembling a bit, belying his conย dence. โSomeone once told me that we should be riding at the front, not hiding in the shadows. I couldnโt let you and Harristan have all the fun.โ
He leans down to press his mouth to mine, but just for aย eeting moment before he pulls me against him. His arms are warm and sure against my back, but heโs heavy with exhaustion. Behind us both, the army retreats as theย ames die and the rebels allow their hostages their freedom.
Tensionย lls the air around us, but for theย rst time, itโs undercut by a tentative hope.
