Skai Prisa - English version

Chapter 6

"Yes," I say in a whisper. I take my sword and stand up: "Let's go, before they find us".

We enter the passageway, blocking the door. Since I discovered them, Roan and I have investigated every corridor and doorway. Over time we have memorized them, giving us complete freedom in the castle, being able to go to forbidden places without being seen, such as Nomon's study. Roan thinks he has convinced me not to spy on her, but he has not. I do it every day, hearing the news of the war and learning about other clans.

During this time, the conflicts with Trikru had been escalating and an attack was imminent. However, I never imagined that it would be in the capital, that they would come this far north. It is impossible for them to have crossed the entire territory without our spies seeing them. Or maybe they did.

How they came to us is strange. They were not a small group, but neither were they numerous. Attacking the capital like that is suicide, so they weren't attacking. The realization of their presence hits me halfway up the stairs. They weren't attacking, they were coming for us. Without us, there would be no successors. After they assassinated us they would go after ai nomon and there would be no more leaders. The war for power and control would erupt, making it easier for them to beat us.

Roan seems to notice my concern, because he asks me: "What's the matter?"

"They weren't attacking," I say, looking him in the eye, fear in my voice, "They were coming for us."

Roan seems to realize Trikru's wonderful plan: "But we are safe here, so let's continue", he takes my hand like many times before and leads us through the corridors.

Finally we reached our shelter. It is the only room in the passageways. It must have been built in case someone had to stay hidden for a few days. The place is stocked with food that Roan and I steal from the kitchen to eat whenever we want. This is also where we used to plan our pranks to bitter witch, but since she left we settled for anyone who crossed our path.

Roan had his friends before I came down, but he hasn't seen any of them since they were all called to the front. I don't get along with any girls, and the boys are even bigger jerks than they are, so I gave up trying to make any and settled for Roan's lonely but constant company.

We sit down and Roan begins to wipe the blood off his sword. He's quieter than usual, I guess murdering someone, even if it was necessary, didn't stand well for him. I go over and hug him. He starts to cry and I try to comfort him as best I can. We stay like that, in that position for a long time. So long, it seemed like hours, days even.

Roan breaks away and wipes away his tears, putting his stoic mask back on. He starts cleaning his sword again and I sit on the floor playing with a cloth ribbon I found. I hum a song Mom taught me as I pray that the attack will end soon and we can come out of hiding.

I must have fallen asleep, because Roan's caresses woke me up. His gaze is calmer than when I fell asleep, "Hey, the attack must be over. Let 's go back." He gives me his hand and helps me up.

I wake up as I walk and yawn. I've had a good nap, but the tiredness is still there. We climb several stairs, up to the floor where our rooms are. We exit through the passageway leading to Roan's and then into the hallway. No one is there, so we decide to head for ai nomon's study.

I'm rubbing my eye, trying to shake off the tiredness when my mother's voice startles me: "Clarke! Roan! Oh, for Heda's sake, they're all right," she runs to us and hugs us. We hugged her back as tight as we could. "I thought you were captured." The relief is noticeable in her voice and so are the tears.

I had never seen my mother cry before. Not even when I lost. We hug her even tighter, trying to comfort her. She breaks away and places one hand on my cheek and the other on Roan's. She is kneeling and her right arm is even higher, as Roan is much taller than me. It's not that I'm a midget, he's a giant. Yes, it 's that.