The Sun Dwellers

“Wait a sec,” Tristan says. “I disag—”

“All in favor,” I say, cutting him off.

“Aye,” Tawni and Trevor say in unison.

Roc shrugs. “Sorry, buddy, that’s three votes already. It’s probably for the best anyway.”

Tristan’s shaking his head, his eyes closed. I can tell his teeth are clamped tightly together beneath his pursed lips. He’s worried about me, which I feel bad about, but I know we’ve made the right decision. He and Tawni will be safe with Trevor, and Roc and I can look after each other. I know I was a bit cold to him, but that I can make up for.

I move in close, hug him around the chest, rest my cheek on his shoulder. “We’ll be fine,” I whisper.

He opens his fathomless blue eyes. Says, “I don’t want to lose you.” I lean into his honest lips, kissing him longer and deeper than I ever have before.

“You won’t,” I murmur when we pull away.

Chapter Twenty

Tristan

That didn’t go the way I pla

We’ve worked out the details of our plan—approximately how long it will take for each team to reach the throne room (twenty minutes), what to do if something goes wrong (keep going), whether to wait for the other team upon arrival at the throne room (wait five minutes, and then go in)—and I watch Adele climb the ladder first, her lithe form almost catlike in her sun dweller clothes. Everything about her is an enigma to me. The way she can be so tough and yet so gentle. The beauty she wears like a mask on her determined face. Her humble upbringing seeding a life destined to do such great things.

And now we’re parting without saying goodbye, with only a kiss to keep us going, because that’s the way she wants it. It’s probably better that way. Saying goodbye is like assuming failure, like we won’t see each other again. “Until we meet again!” I say instead. Adele fires a strange look down the ladder and keeps climbing.

“We’ll go through the gardens and around the government buildings,” Roc says.

I look at him. “Too dangerous. We’ll go that way and you take the safer route through the family quarters.”

“She’ll want to see the gardens,” Roc says.

“This isn’t a sightseeing trip, Roc. This is not debatable.”

“We’ll go through the gardens,” Adele cries from above.

I grit my teeth. It’s like the entire world has teamed up against me. Or maybe it’s just the four people I’m supposed to be teamed up with. With Adele three quarters of the way up the ladder, there’s no time to argue. “Fine,” I growl. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“So don’t do anything you would do then?” Roc says with a smirk.

“Just go,” I say, unwilling to take the bait.

Trevor’s shadow boxing the wall, while Tawni’s waiting for me patiently. Roc gives her a soft kiss on the cheek before following Adele.

“Shall we?” Tawni says, turning her head to hide the pink on her face.

“Let’s give them a minute to start their move. The fewer of us together to draw attention the better,” I say.

I sit down, close my eyes, take a few deep breaths. My mouth is dry, like it’s been coated in a layer of rock dust, my tongue as limp as a wet rag. Although I’m at rest, my heart beats faster than it should.

Tawni slides in beside me. “You’re worried about her,” she says.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Your foot’s moving a mile a minute,” she says, pointing to my leg. I didn’t even realize, but she’s right. My knee’s twitching up and down rapidly, my foot tapping out a wild beat on the concrete.

I put a hand on my leg, calming it. Even my body is out of my control. “Urrrr!” I growl, just as there’s the clink of the manhole cover being replaced above us. “I just didn’t picture our attack on the capital like this,” I say.

Trevor stands over me. “How did you picture it? You and Adele, holding hands, skipping through the palace gardens? Fighting hordes of guards—still holding hands, mind you—storming the throne room, each plunging a sword through your father’s chest in perfect synchronization?”

I glance up, frown at Trevor. “No, of course not. I just thought we’d fight together.”

“Ignore him,” Tawni says, bringing my gaze to hers. “You will fight together. And then you can skip through the gardens all you want.” Even in the sewer, her pale blue eyes are mirthful and wise. I can see why Adele is so close with her. I find myself smiling. “Did you really want to go with her to fight with her, or was it perhaps so you could keep an eye on her?”

“Yes—I mean, no—I mean, I don’t know, maybe. I just feel more comfortable when she’s near so I can help if she needs it.” My head is a muddle of thoughts, worries, and memories. All I know is she’s up there, and I’m down here.

“News flash. She doesn’t need your help. She doesn’t need anyone’s help. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.” Tawni’s expression is so serious I can tell she means what she says. But she’s wrong.

“She told me she needed your help. She told me she never would have escaped the Pen, never would have rescued her sister, never would have done any of the incredible things she’s done without you.”

“What? She said that?”

“Yes, Tawni. She thinks the world of you, and believe it or not, she needs you as much as you need her. We all need each other. Together is the only way we’re going to get through this. Together.”

Tawni’s eyebrows are raised and she’s staring off into space. “I never knew,” she says.

“Well now you do. You have a part to play in this as much as anyone else.” I don’t know if that’s right exactly, but the words feel right on my tongue, coming off my lips. In any case, Tawni will have to fight, just like the rest of us, before this is all over. That’s a certainty.

“I’ll do what I can,” she says, standing, her dress swirling around her legs and looking incredibly out of place amongst the sewer water and time-darkened concrete.

“Ugh. If this love fest is over, can we go?” Trevor says, stepping on my foot.

“Ladies first,” I say, motioning for him to climb the ladder in front.

As it turns out, the sewer ended just inside the palace gardens, directly below a flower patch. At first I wonder who the idiot engineer is who designed it that way, but then I realize it was probably my father’s idea. He always liked building secret passages, hidden rooms, and alternate escape routes from the palace. This is probably meant to be one of those, not that he ever intended to need it. Little did he know it would be used against him.

After replacing the flower-spotted manhole cover and patting the dirt around it to hide our presence, we slide along the inside of the wall, me in front with Tawni close behind. Trevor guards the rear. The few times I glance back, Tawni’s mouth is opened wide like an O, her eyes nearly as round, and her expression one of barely contained delight. Evidently she likes the gardens, and seeing her enjoying her first time in them makes me wish I could’ve seen Adele’s reaction. I know, I know, in my own words, This isn’t a sightseeing trip, but still, it would’ve been nice to see.

Decades-old trees spring up to our left, the artificial stars winking between the crisscross of their muddled boughs; brilliantly colored flower arrangements dance in the artificial moonlight, an optimal illusion provided by the shadows and night sky; skillfully cut statues of men on horses—past Nailin presidents—and men with swords—again, past Nailin presidents—dot the landscape. Unfortunately for Tawni, we’re only looping around the edge of the gardens to reach the residential wing, whereas the others are going right through it.

When we reach a corner of the high, white palace walls, we turn north, making our way along the final third of the gardens. Abruptly the shade of the trees ends, and we’re thrust back into the fullness of the world my father has created. The deep blue night sky, an effect of specially designed panel lights on the cavern roof, looms over us, big and magical and beautiful, even to me, who’s seen it a thousand times.