Broken Throne (Red Queen #4.5)(109)

When he finally does, I’ve escaped to one of the wider halls with fewer people and more room to breathe. Tyton all but snickers as he approaches, hands shoved in his pockets.

“Do you two need help speaking or something?” he murmurs as he falls into step beside me.

I snap back at him, lashing out. “As if you can lecture anyone on the ability to talk.”

He only stares at me in silence, a lock of white hair falling over his eyes. “Point made.”

Tyton isn’t the only one to have followed me, apparently. I whirl around at the grating sound of metal boot heels, clinking with every step.

“Can I help you, Evangeline?” I growl.

She doesn’t break stride, moving with her lethal grace and lazy detachment. Montfort has given a cold glow to her skin and a new, mischievous light in her eyes. I don’t like it one bit.

“Oh, darling,” she purrs, “I hardly require anything from you. But I agree with this one—you certainly need help where Cal is concerned. As you know, I’m always happy to oblige.”

It wouldn’t be the first time. My heart squeezes at the memory of Ocean Hill and its secret passages. The choices Cal and I couldn’t make there—and the choice we made later, after Archeon. The choice I’m still trying to understand.

Evangeline just leers at me, waiting.

“I’m not here to entertain you,” I mutter, turning my back on her. Certainly she can find other ways to fill her time.

She isn’t thrown off in the slightest, even when Tyton levels a glare at her that would send most running off. “And I’m not here to pester you,” she says. “Much.”

I keep walking, the other two matching my pace. “Isn’t that your primary function?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve had to find a profession.” Evangeline pulls a face and gestures to her drab uniform. Well, drab for her. Up close, I can see she’s worked bits and pieces of iron through the green, sharpening the joints and seams. There’s iron in her hair too, tiny bits of it woven into her braid like shrapnel. “After abdicating and becoming a citizen here, I enlisted in the Montfortan military. I’ve been assigned to guard duty, specifically in the premier’s residence.”

The thought of Evangeline Samos standing at doorways and following Red dignitaries around is particularly delicious. A smirk spreads across my face. “Do you want me to feel sorry for you?”

“Feel sorry for yourself, Barrow—I’m your bodyguard.”

I almost choke on nothing. Next to me, Tyton forces out a scoff. “I beg your pardon?” I sputter.

She merely brushes her braid over one shoulder, gesturing for us to walk on.

“I’m so good at saving your life, I might as well get paid for it.”

Three hours later, the sun begins its early descent in the mountains, fading fast over the western range. The sweat cools on my skin, sending a shiver over me as I towel off, walking back down toward the premier’s palace. Evangeline casts annoyed looks over her shoulder, willing me to hurry up. She didn’t care for the electricon sparring session. She knows what it’s like to fight one of us—seeing the combined might of four was probably a shock for her. Rafe and Tyton follow me at a slower pace, talking to each other. Their voices echo down the mountainside, away from the electricon sparring ground upslope. Ella keeps close to my side, a towel over her shoulder and a grin on her lips. Overhead, an electric storm turns and whirls, weakening with every passing second. Soon it will be just a whisper, a shadow against the pale pink sky.

“When do you move out of the estate?” Ella asks, her blue hair vibrant against the sunlight. Her dye is fresh. Mine, not so much. The purple ends of my hair have gone dull, with bits of gray fading through.

“After the gala,” I reply. The excitement in my voice is real. “It’ll be good to finally get our own space.” After nearly a year of barracks and borrowed rooms, I know my family is eager to have a home once more.

Ella smiles kindly. “You living lakeside or slopeside?”

I curl a piece of hair around my finger, enjoying the feeling of soreness after good workout. My muscles ache and my blood sings. “Slope. The lake town house they offered was beautiful, but I like being up high.”

Where I can see, where no one can sneak up on me.

She nods, thoughtful. “How is the family adjusting?”

“Better than expected. They like it here. And what’s the alternative?” The Stilts? I almost laugh. None of us would return to that trash heap, not for anything short of Shade’s return. The odd thought sobers me, and any delight from the training session fades away.

Ella notes my sudden change in mood. Her excitable air fades with my happiness, and we both lapse into easy silence.

In spite of the memories always threatening to surface, I like being here too. With my family, with newbloods like me. With people who believe the world can change, because they’ve done it already. It makes the future look less daunting.

At the rear gates to the palace, the other electricons break off. Rafe waves first, his brown skin taking on a golden edge in the sunshine. “Same time tomorrow?”

“If our schedule allows,” Tyton mutters.

Ella elbows him in the ribs, trying to draw a smile from the taciturn man. “Of course, Ty, how could we forget? You with your important meetings all week, whispering and dealing—”