Page 52 of To Cage a Wild Bird (Divided Fates #1)

I moved robotically through the prep room, submitting to a pat down for contraband while trying not to breathe in the scent

of Hyde’s unwashed body, then listening to the recitation of the rules for what felt like the thousandth time.

August was off to the side, where Dr. Row was checking his cast.

I cringed. Don’t think of him. Not right now.

“Hey.”

And there he was.

“Hi,” I said, voice low, eyes flicking to the camera in the corner that was recording. Now wasn’t the place to talk or even

reveal what I knew. I had to get through the hunt. Then I could process. Then I could decide how I felt.

Dark circles marred the skin beneath Vale’s bloodshot eyes, and his uniform was rumpled as if he’d slept in it. Dirt stained

the fabric of his clothes. I realized, for the first time, how much he looked like Caltriona, and the thought was like a dagger through my heart. Warm golden-brown skin. Honeyed eyes. Glossy black hair

and that wide pearly-white smile.

“Larch tasked a crew of us to go out on the grounds last night,” he explained, misreading my expression as he turned slightly

away from me, staring at his tablet and pretending to go through his checklist.

“For what?” I asked stiffly as I knelt and pretended to knot my already-tied boots. Busying my hands to keep myself from slapping

him or grabbing him by the collar and forcing him to look me in the eye while he confessed he’d been lying to me this whole

time.

“He found out Councilor Elder was coming for a hunt today and asked us to dig more trenches. He’s been fucking up left and right lately and wanted to give her a better shot at a kill.

You need to watch out. Some of the trenches closer to the Blood Tree have camouflage covering the openings—I almost fell into one last night.

A fall like that could break bones. And with Councilor Elder out there—”

“I’m sure she likes to think she’s dangerous,” I interrupted, impulsive, watching him closely to gauge his reaction. “But

take away her gun and she’d realize she’s just like the rest of us.”

I’d expected him to grimace or look away, but he gave me a soft smile. “That’s not quite true, Little Bird. They’re nothing

like you. You’re truly dangerous.”

I looked away, throat tight. “I’m not.”

“Tell that to my heart.”

He was gone before I could respond, before I could even begin to process his words and everything else that was swirling through

my head and my heart.

“Line up!” Vale commanded.

I filed out of the prep room and into my designated stall alongside the other inmates. The claustrophobic metal walls no longer

caused panic to simmer within me. They were a sanctuary compared to the hunters that awaited us on the grounds.

This time, when the buzzer sounded and the walls slid away to let us out into the dazzling brightness of the midmorning sun,

August allowed me to help him across the field but shrugged me off as soon as we entered the tree line.

“I need to be able to get around on my own,” he explained when I wrinkled my brow in confusion. “When we get out of here,

I have to be strong enough to make the trek to the settlement.”

A new thought struck me like a punch to the gut. Did August know? He’d kept information from me since I’d arrived, slowly

feeding me piece by piece as he began to trust me. But he couldn’t know that we were working with a councilor’s son, could

he?

But he’d known Vale before Endlock.

Had worked with him, when Vale volunteered at his medical center.

I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time.

Focus, Raven.

“August, that’s ridiculous,” I insisted. “You’re still recovering. And we’ll be with you the whole way to the settlement.

We can help.”

I tried not to let him see how supporting him the small distance across the field had winded me. I’d lost muscle since entering

Endlock—the smaller rations and strenuous workloads, not to mention the stress of being hunted, had taken their toll on my

strength.

August bent down and picked up a stick, studying it. He tossed it aside, deeming it unfit for his purposes.

“I don’t want to rely on anyone,” he said, selecting another stick. This one was nearly as tall as him, and he wrapped his

fingers around it with a nod of approval. “We don’t know what we’ll face out there.”

“August—” I started to protest, but he interrupted me, using the stick as an improvised crutch to support his weight.

“Let me do this, Thorne, okay?” he pleaded. The wind kicked up, sending ripples through his curls and filling the air with

the scent of crisp pine needles. “I’ll tell you if I need help.”

Hearing the desperation in his tone, I didn’t argue further. The walking stick might have actually offered more support than

my shoulder because August kept pace with me easily. And I couldn’t fault him. I would’ve wanted the same independence if

I were in his position, though I wasn’t sure I could have made it look as effortless as he did.

The next buzzer sounded, signaling the release of the hunters.

“Should we head to the tunnels?” I asked, scanning our surroundings for any sign of the approaching hunters.

“No.” August shook his head, his brow slick with sweat. “We don’t want to draw attention to them. It’s too risky when we’re

this close to leaving.”

“Okay,” I conceded, nodding. He was right, but I also didn’t want him to push himself to the point of worsening his injury.

He gritted his teeth. “I think my best bet is to put as much distance between myself and Endlock as possible and keep aware of my sur roundings. Get to the Blood Tree as quickly as I can. You don’t have to stay with me, though—you’re faster.”

“As if I’d leave you behind,” I said, rolling my eyes. Last month, I might have done it. But even with what I’d just learned...

I felt betrayed by Vale. Betrayed by August, and yet I still believed that we were on the same side somehow.

We picked up the pace, August in the lead. I trailed behind, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any hint of danger.

Just get through today.

I repeated the words to myself. If we could survive this hunt, we’d be on our way to the North Settlement in a few days.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about what I knew. That the person I’d been falling for was the son of my enemy . Didn’t that make him my enemy, too? Wouldn’t he have told me the truth if he wasn’t?

Ahead of us, the landscape opened into a meadow surrounded by trees. Rays of sunshine filtered through the leaves, casting

a golden glow over the multitude of wildflowers and tall grass. The clearing was interrupted by a small bed of moss at its

center.

Strangely out of place among the grass.

“Wait,” I cried out, my heart in my throat.

Too late.

August’s foot plunged through the moss, and he tumbled into the trench below. The sickening snap of bones and his muffled

cry of pain reached me from where I stood rooted to the spot.

I hadn’t told him.

Vale’s warning about the trenches had entirely slipped my mind; my head had been swirling with other thoughts, and it had

taken me a heartbeat too long to recognize the mossy covering. A groan broke me from my wild thoughts, and I rushed to the

edge of the pit, heart pounding.

“August?” I whispered, true terror gripping me, the likes of which I hadn’t felt since I’d learned of Jed’s arrest.

Another groan was my answer. I scrambled to pull the rest of the mossy covering away and peered into the trench, gripping its side and waiting for my eyes to adjust.

It was bad. Really, really bad.

August’s injured leg was twisted grotesquely, a shard of bone piercing through the skin below his knee.

“It’s okay,” I said, swallowing my nausea. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll get you out.”

“Raven, I can’t stand,” he said matter-of-factly. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead.

“It’s all right—it’s okay,” I said again, as if repeating the words would make them true.

My mind raced, rushing to find a solution before a hunter stumbled upon us. Dirt broke off and tumbled into the trench from

where I was gripping the ledge, and I scrambled back to avoid falling in.

“Listen to me,” August rasped, his breath coming in ragged bursts. “You need to leave me here.”

“What are you talking about?” I protested, baffled by his words. “I’m not going to leave you. I’ll get you out.”

“Raven, don’t be stupid. Listen to me. You need to get Momo out of here. Promise me. ”

“Stop,” I whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

This time, I didn’t even believe my own words.

They sounded shallow and breakable like the lie they were.

But this was August we were talking about.

“Even if you manage to get me out, the force field will be closing in soon and there’s no way a hunter wouldn’t catch up to

me in this state. And if I survive this hunt, I can’t make the trip to the settlement like this,” August murmured, defeated

but leaving no room for argument.

“You deserve to get out of here alive,” I whispered. He was the person who held us all together. He was the reason we’d made

it this far. “I can’t let you die.”

“This isn’t about you,” he hissed. “You don’t get to decide what happens here. I’m never leaving Endlock, but that doesn’t mean I just have to sit here and wait for a hunter to kill me. But I need you to listen .”

My mouth snapped shut. Of course he was right. Of course he couldn’t make the trip across the Wastes and me refusing to acknowledge

that wasn’t helping anything.

“I’m listening,” I whispered, furiously blinking away my tears.

“First, swear to me you’ll get Momo out of here,” August insisted, staring into my eyes intently. “He has to get out. He has

to live . Protect him like you’d protect Jed.”

“I swear,” I vowed. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

August closed his eyes, nodding, a small, impossible smile touching his lips. “Okay. Then I need your help.”

“Anything.”

“Councilor Elder’s out on these hunting grounds. Right now. I’m never getting out of this alive, never going to get to see

Momo grow up. But I can do something for him. I can kill Elder.”