Twenty minutes later, Clarke and I marched down the corridors in complete silence, both of us clearly trying to tackle the million thoughts rushing through our minds.
After we had stitched Octavia up and she had fallen asleep, Clarke informed me that the guard had convened to begin to prepare our defenses incase of an Azgeda attack. So, after a few arguments between the two of us, she had reluctantly allowed me to come and help.
Part of me wanted to stay with Octavia and be there when she woke up. But the other part of me knew she was in good hands with Niylah, and I was determined to help fight against the people who did this to her. If Azgeda was attacking us, we would need all hands on board.
Voices leaked into the hall from the control room as we neared. Clarke and I shared a brief look before entering, being met with the scene of over a dozen of our guards standing in a circle listening to David Miller as he gave direction.
Harper, who was closest to the door upon on our entry, gave me a surprised look. "You're okay." she whispered, the statement sounding more like a question. Upon me giving her a small smile and nod, she looked over to Clarke. "How's Octavia?"
"Strong."
"Listen," David Miller said, still addressing the whole group. "All we have to do is spread it in front of the outer wall. Then when the army gets close--"
"--We light 'em up." Riley finished, an approving smile covering his face.
"That's right."
"You want to light a fight outside the ship we just spent the last month getting ready?" Monty balked, disbelief on his face.
"That's not happening." Clarke rejected, walking toward the centre of the room. "Any word from Kane."
"No." Monty answered, his eyes flickering to me briefly. "But Jaha found the cargo truck 12 hours out, no sign of Bellamy or Stephens."
It felt like my heart was in my throat as the words left Monty's mouth. There was no good reason that the truck should have been abandoned.
"I have to speak to Roan." Clarke announced. "Something must have happened. Some sort of misunderstanding."
"I don't think he misunderstood." I muttered, drawing all eyes toward me. "And I don't think he wants to talk."
"Avery's right." Harper confirmed. "If he wanted to talk he wouldn't be coming with his army."
"Right, but there's only one way to get here from Polis." Clarke answered. "I'll ride out and meet him."
David's face fell in confusion. "Are you--no, absolutely not."
"Actually," Monty announced, "That might work."
"Monty, what are you talking about?" Harper questioned.
"The Ice Nation thinks they have the element of surprise, but thanks to Octavia, we do. Pike showed us how valuable that can be."
My fingernails dug into my palm as my mind raced back to Pike.
He had died that day in Polis, Octavia being the one to kill him. But that didn't mean any of my anger toward him had subsided.
"You're citing Pike?" I demanded, knowing that while Monty's idea was a good one, I wish it had nothing to do with the man I hated so much.
Monty looked over at me, giving me a guilty look. "As bad as that sounds...yes."
---
In what seemed like record time, a group of us had organized and made it out of camp, armed and ready to meet the Ice Nation on their march for Arkadia.
Myself and a dozen others were stationed in the cliffs that overlooked the road leading from Polis to Arkadia. Clarke stood down below, ready to try and speak to Roan upon his arrival.
After several minutes of painful silence that was bathed in anticipation, noise could be heard from below.
I craned my neck, keeping a firm hold on the gun as the sound of marching feet. If we were unsure if the whole Ice Nation army was coming, we were sure now.
I felt my stomach dip in stress as the Azegda slowly came into view. First Roan and that Echo girl who had set us up at Mount Weather, I felt my blood boil in anger at the sight of her. She had cost us so much.
Behind the two of them followed at least a hundred of their warriors, they too armed.
Roan and Echo shared a few words in Trigedasleng before he looked to Clarke.
"We need to talk." she announced, still remaining a safe distance from the army.
Roan shook his head slightly. "It's too late for that." He then turned to the army behind him and gave them an order in Trigedasleng.
Within seconds, all archers had their bows pointed at Clarke, signalling that this was not going to be a seamless conversation.
Clarke didn't flinch or cower away, instead she looked upward slightly to where all of us were stationed.
With one small nod of her head, we all knew what to do. Soon enough, all of our scopes were pointed at Roan, green lasers alerting Azgeda to our presence.
It reminded me strikingly of that day on the bridge, a day that felt like lifetimes ago. It was after I was captured by the Grounders, the meeting on the bridge being my return to my group.
Anya's archers had been stationed all around the bridge, but so had my friends. It was destined to be a battle from the start.
I desperately hoped that this wouldn't end in all out war like that day did.
"Remember," David's voice came across the radio. "No one fires unless fired upon. Radiation is our enemy, not Ice Nation."
My eyes flickered between Echo and Roan, watching as they shared a small nod. She then spoke a few words, seemingly a command as within a matter of moments, two Ice Nation men were pulling two figures toward the front.
The two chained figures had clothes covering their heads, making it hard to tell who they actually were.
I strained my eyes, trying my best to decipher what was going on.
I didn't have to wonder for long, as soon enough the prisoners were shoved to the ground, and the cloths torn off their heads.
I felt my heart lurch as panic ran through my body. "No." I whispered, my eyes growing wide in terror.
The two prisoners were Bellamy and Kane. Each of them looked rather unharmed, but I was afraid it wasn't going to stay that way.
Clarke wore a worried expression as she quickly looked toward where I was stationed.
I gripped onto the gun, it taking everything in me not to rush down there. I had to leave this to Clarke, that was the only way.
"10 minutes!" she yelled to Roan, "That's all I ask!"
After a moment of hesitation, Roan dismounted his horse and wordlessly made his way toward Clarke.
"Wait!" Echo yelled. "What if it's a trap?"
Roan paused, turning to look at her. "It is a trap...and we're already in it."