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“Stay still, Alex,” a soothing voice told her—a voice she recognised.

“Darrius?” she asked, her words barely audible. “You’re late.”

“I came as fast as I could,” Darrius said as someone lifted her carefully off D.C. and placed her onto a soft, flat surface. “We all did.”

“Thanks,” she mouthed, but she wasn’t sure if the word actually formed.

“Alex, you have to stay awake now,” Darrius told her, his tone urgent.

“But I’m tired,” she whispered, again uncertain if the words formed.

“I know you are, but you can sleep soon. We have to get you back to the Medical Ward first. Just a little longer now. You can make it. Just keep talking to me.”

Alex realised that she was moving, or rather, someone was moving her—and fast. The speed should have jostled her injuries, but she couldn’t feel anything since her body was now completely numb. It was a nice change to all the pain she’d been experiencing lately.

A voice called to her from far off, but Alex was too tired to listen to it, too tired to respond, and instead she drifted off into blissful unconsciousness.

Forty-Four

“She wove him a hatmade froma melody…”

Alex groaned as the steady noise hummed through her foggy mind.

“He wondered how to fix his calamity…”

She wasn’t ready to wake up yet. Her body felt like a lead weight. Was she dead?

“If she’d known how to sing, he’d have worn it with a grin…”

Her eyelids fluttered as light filtered in through the dark. She knew that song. She’d heard it once before.

“But instead he preferred it a parody.”

“Darrius? Is that you?” she croaked.

“Take it easy, that’s it,” a soothing voice told her, and she felt something press against her lips. “Drink, Alex. It’ll help.”

Too muddled to object, she swallowed as someone gently tipped cool liquid into her mouth. It hurt at first, but once she started, she couldn’t stop. She was so thirsty that she would have continued forever if the person hadn’t taken the fluid away from her.

“Can you open your eyes, Alex?”

Her eyelids fluttered again and she willed herself to open them properly, blinking rapidly until the world focused.

“Good to see you back with us,” Fletcher said, smiling down at her.

Alex tried to sit up but he put a hand out to stop her. “Just stay still for a little longer,” he said. “Your body is still recovering.”

“What happened?” Alex asked groggily.

“What do you remember?” he asked, peering into her eyes.

Picnicking with her friends. Sleeping in the painting. The Lockdown. Darkness. Aven.

Aven.

The memories flashed through Alex’s mind in fast-forward, stealing the air from her lungs. “Everything,” she whispered. “I remember everything.”

“You know how you came to be here?” he asked.