Page 125 of The Last Hope

We don’t have time to waste, and this feels frivolous. All of us could so easily spend our time outthere.Looking for the baby.

It twists my stomach, choosing this option. Even though I understand the sensibility in it. Franny’s muscles are sore, and Mykal’s empty stomach knots painfully. Padgett gratefully sinks onto the mattress with a soft sigh. And Stork has been going through withdrawal since we arrived on Saltare-1. Color has only recently returned to his face, but I still catch him trembling when he thinks no one is looking.

“Court,” Franny breathes, feeling my nerves ratchet up. I don’t want to be this way. I want to let them relax and offer compassion in the wake of a four-day trek to the mainwater.

But it’s like pulling at the bottom of a well for those emotions. Trying to trudge up something that doesn’t exist.

I catch Mykal staring at me on the other side of the mattress with a knowing look. Like he understands the battle inside me. A purple scarf brushes against his cheek, and then his stomach lets out a low groan. I feel it, but everyone else hears it.

None of us have eaten since yesterday.

Thus far, we’ve survived on fish that the Soarcastle sisters were able to catch. Their youth was spent in Maranil, where they learned some basics in fishery, despite loving and yearning forengineering. While Montbay doesn’t have the iced waters they’re accustomed to, they still managed to catch some small trout. When their luck worsened, Mykal hunted for snakes and frogs, and tonight I sense he’ll go out and search for more.

Franny yawns, and her exhaustion pummels me, weighing down my bones.This is what they need.Rest.

I want to be at peace with that.

With stiff muscles, I lie down and close my eyes. But my mind is reeling, unable to stop. Tomorrow we look for the baby, and I remember the line from theMythsbook by heart.Tucked away in Montbay in the year 3525, she’s the only newborn to arrive at the orphanage on the first day of Victory’s Sacred Eve.

The author never mentioned the baby’s name in the book. She’s the only newborn to arrive in a Montbay orphanage this week. That’s the only concrete fact we have.

But after studying Saltare-1 for two months, I’m aware that there are five orphanages in the city. Each a possibility. And there’s only one way to search all of them in enough time.

We have to split up.

THIRTY

Franny

“Your brother was not happy,” I tell Court. We hike along the dark sewage tunnels, the rancid smell something I’ve unfortunately grown accustomed to.

“Kinden will survive not spending a day with me,” Court says. It’s just him and me in the tunnels. To save time investigating the five orphanages, we paired off. Mykal immediately slapped a hand onto Stork’s shoulder. He mentioned this morning about wanting quality bonding time with his baby brother. But I know that Mykal and Court’s uncoupling has played a hand in their decisions.

Court chose me, much to Kinden’s disgruntlement.

I think it’s easier to be around someone who knows everything—like being lifebloods. No secrets between each other. No need to hide. It’s simpler. Freer.

I imagine Stork doesn’t have a clue what that feels like, and parts of me ache with pity. The day I dodged my deathday, I’d have been a chump to leave Court and Mykal. But I almost did. The greatest motivation to stay with them was the knowledge that I wouldn’t be alone with my secrets.

We stop in the middle of the empty tunnel, and Court unfolds the crumpled piece of paper. I click open a lighter to see.

Ink blots the page with directions to the Lulencrest Orphanage. Zimmer’s handwriting is legible for an FT, and he drew a little knight in the corner. When we trained on theLucretzia,the Montbay orphanages weren’t marked on the maps of Saltare-1. So Zimmer spent most of today drinking in thehostel and pretending to party with the Fast-Trackers to gain information. Locations.

Whatever Fast-Tracker told him about Lulencrest, they specifically mentioned the fastest route is through the sewers.

“The tunnel should branch up ahead,” Court says, refolding the paper. I pocket the lighter, and my boots splash in the puddles.Don’t think about what’s in the puddles, Franny.

I focus on Mykal. The warm sun bathes him…me.I can feel the cool breeze brushing against my cheeks and the smell of salt water in the air. He’s taking the pedestrian bridges to the Gandwich Orphanage, and I know he much prefers to be outside.

But I’m not used to Court and Mykal being so separated all the time. It’s weighing on them… and me.

“We should talk,” I tell Court. My lips already lift into a smile.

He eyes me. “You’re always so pleased when you say those three words.”

“Because I know you’ll actually talk to me,” I reply. “It’s a good feeling.” It’s been a long time since Court refused to truly open himself up to me, and I don’t take any day with him for granted.

Rushing sewage invades my nostrils again, but I don’t much care. I skip over a wide puddle and my peeking smile fades as I say what I mean to say. “I hate that you’ve uncoupled.”