I take her hands in mine. “It is so beautiful, Jilly. But it is also scary. We shall have to fight to stay alive.”
“Isn’t anything worth having worth fighting over?”
I admire her spirit. “Yes, it is,” I say. “But, Jilly, I’ve had to kill people. It is not something I would wish on you.”
“You did what you had to, to survive.” She stands again. “I must get back. This party is in our honor and we will be missed.”
I stand with her. “Pace?”
“He will come as soon as he can escape downstairs.” She hugs me once more. “Be patient, Wren. Don’t do anything rash. There are other seekers now. We are trying.” She goes to the door.
“Wait,” I say. “Is Findley a seeker?”
“Your keeper?” Jilly smiles. “Yes. He is.” She blows me a kiss. “Wait for Pace. He misses you so much.”
11
How much longer can I wait before I will be missed? If Pace and I are caught together, what will be the consequences? Jilly and Pace are walking a narrow line with their pretense, but I understand why they did it. They would be of no help to anyone if they were imprisoned like Levi and I. I wonder how far they will take it. Surely they are expected to be married soon, especially if Ellen has her way.
Pip chirps from the windowsill. I run to the door, even though my mind tells me to use caution. It has to be Pace. The door opens, and I am in his arms before he steps through. He hurries us inside and closes the door with his foot as he wraps his arms tightly around me.
“It’s not real, you’ve got to believe me. We’re just pretending…”
“I know. Jilly told me. I didn’t believe it.” We speak at the same time, in a rush because we are both afraid that we will run out of time. Pace moves his hands to my face and cradles my cheeks within his palms. He searches my eyes and a tear brims and slides down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb.
“You are the one I love,” Pace says. “This was the only choice we had to stay alive. It was the only way to get to see you.”
Once more he is so strong, so steady. How can I admit to him that I had doubts, and that I still have them? I will not hurt him again, not when he has sacrificed so much for a cause that I am responsible for.
He kisses me. Such a sweet kiss, so tender and gentle as if he is afraid I will shatter. He doesn’t know that I might, just because I would rather die than see the hurt on his face again. I cling to him because I am so very afraid of losing him and I don’t know what to do about it. And even now, he does not push me for an answer.
He smiles as he pulls away. “Levi?” he asks.
I lay my head on his shoulder. It feels like crawling into my bed after a long hard night on my shift. I remember the peace I felt when I was with him in our cave by the river. Even though our very lives were at risk, the moments we had together were worth it. “He’s in the cells. They beat on him a bit.”
“He can take it,” Pace says, and I cannot help but notice that he’s not really feeling sorry for Levi getting a beating. “They don’t want to acknowledge him, because to do so would mean admitting you were right and they are wrong.”
“They can’t just make the outside go away.”
“Yet that is exactly what your father is doing.”
“Jilly said a lot of the royals are asking questions. I know a lot of the workers are frustrated. We were attacked this morning while touring the dome.”
“And they were severely punished,” Pace says. “There were executions.”
I touch the medal pinned to his chest. “I forgot that you’re a bluecoat again. Did you have to be a part of it?”
“I had the party as an excuse.” Pace pulls away from me. He looks out the window and runs his hand through his hair before he turns back to me. “But, yes, they expect me to follow their orders, even if it means murdering innocents.”
“How long can you keep this up? Have they scheduled a date for the wedding?”
“Next Sunday. My mother doesn’t want to wait that long.”
“She’s afraid for you.”
Pace gives me a lopsided smile. “Thank you for being kind. I know she hasn’t treated you well. I’ve tried to explain about us, but she refuses to listen. She doesn’t even think she was a prisoner. She keeps insisting it was for her own safety.”
“My father knows how to manipulate people. I could not believe the tale he’s spun about all of this. He even said the royals were fools because they believe anything he tells them.”
“Maybe he is the bigger fool for believing that is true.”
“What are we going to do, Pace? I can’t believe Lyon hasn’t done something to get Levi out.”
“I haven’t heard anything except the one message from Pip. It has been too long. I think something has happened to them.”
“They wouldn’t leave. Not without Levi.”
“No. But the rovers could have taken them.”
“Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. I can’t stand to think that we got out just to die at their hands.”
“You know how dangerous they are.”
I think back to the battle we fought, to the rovers I killed, and to the kiss that Levi and I shared and Pace witnessed. “Lyon is too smart and too well prepared for that.”
“I hope so. But I’m beginning to run out of hope where Lyon is concerned.”
“At least Lucy and David got out. And Harry. There was some good to come of this.”
Pace puts his hands on my shoulders, and his spirit shines out from behind his beautiful blue eyes. “I hope the price we pay for that is not too high.” He smoothes my hair back from my face. “I’ve hardly ever seen you with your hair down. You are so beautiful.”
I blush. “I don’t even know where the dress came from.”
“Jilly.”
I raise my skirt so he can see my boots, and he grins. “You can take the girl out of the mines…” he begins.
“I’ll always be a shiner,” I finish and raise the skirt higher so he can see the pants. “I think we should just go. Get out and find Lyon and tell him where Levi is. Then we can come back in with weapons and just take over. I know other people will fight. Fi—” Pace puts a finger to my lips as Pip lets out a warning chirp and flits from the sill into the dome.
We have not strayed far from the door. We stand just inside it, carried away by our reunion. Anyone passing by could hear us talking. We were too wrapped up in each other to use caution, and the creak of the floor outside the door lets me know we have been discovered. The silence outside the door is maddening. Beyond, we can still hear the music from the party below.
Pace has been absent from the party too long. I motion to the window. Whoever is outside the door will hear us move. We will have to be fast, and our escape will not be without its dangers. He takes my hand in his, and we creep silently to the window. Three bluecoats stand below. The door swings open, violently, and my father, Findley, and another bluecoat come in. I can see Jilly in the hallway. A bluecoat has a firm hold on her and her eyes are red from crying. Her cheek is red as if she’s been slapped and her hair is loose from the upswept style she wears.
We are caught in Pace and Jilly’s lie.
“Take them down the back way,” My father says as Findley grabs Pace and the other bluecoat grabs me. Our hands are tied behind our backs, none to gently.
“Do you think no one will notice Pace and Jilly are gone?” I say to my father. “Or do you already have a lie handy to explain it?”
“It was all me,” Pace says as Findley twists him around after binding his wrists. “Wren and Jilly have nothing to do with it.”
My father sighs loudly. “Don’t be a fool. Wren has everything to do with it. You two are just the fools who follow her.”