Splintered

Chapter Forty-Nine: Cracked Blinds and Unlearned Lessons

"Marlowe, you alright?" Leo tilted his head at her wide-eyed stare.

"I..." she started to answer, but her words trailed off. Her mouth opened again, but nothing came. The weight of what Cress had said chained her tongue in place, and her thoughts splintered under the pressure of trying to sort it all out.

I don't even know where to start.

"She's got a lot on her mind," Cress reclined against the chair, seemingly satisfied with his work.

"What did you say to her?" Leo demanded, searching her with an interest that was too genuine.

The corners of Cress's lips twitched upwards as he looked between the two.

"Just opened the blinds, boy."

Hazel barely had time to register the words when a pair of glacial irises caught hers over Leo's shoulder.

"Coriolanus," she whispered.

Ice blond hairs stuck to his forehead. Rosiness brightened his skin, the cold burn from running around in the raw winter air. A smear of black stained his elbow along with a smattering of red on one shoulder.

Relief swam in those sapphire pools as he soaked her in. Though the briskly buried expression, along with the whiplash of Cress's conversation, flogged her nerves.

It would all have to wait.

A small smile blossomed on Snow's lips. One which immediately wilted when he spotted Bellona and the man chained to the table.

"Who's this?" Snow asked, surging past Leo.

"Cresswell Fields," the older man recited too calmly, though his smile had disappeared.

"Ah, the tractor mechanic from Nine. Guess some lessons just never stick," Snow crossed his arms.

"Thick skull, I've been told," Cress tapped his temple.

Snow moved further inward, "Unfortunately for you, it won't be thick enough."

Sable appeared in the doorway. Sweat dotted his brow, and his normal ruddy skin tone was like a fully ripened tomato. Even in the poor light, it was clear he was layered in dirt and grime and, of course, blood. His haggard gaze fell on the unconscious guard cocooned in Hazel's bed.

The look that settled over Sable's face made Hazel's heart throb. The dauntless guard's ever-present armor was pierced. It was something soul-deep and uncontainable even to the jaded soldier. He'd likely seen plenty of death and destruction through the years, but the girl he'd known since her birth, broken before him, seemed to shake him to the core.

"Bellony?" His words were almost too deep and too soft to hear. The way her name cracked over his vocal cords was dreadful.

Sable's arms went slack as he stepped closer to the bed, eying the nearly empty IV bag. "Is she?"

"Alive, Pytash," Leo trailed the older guard, patting Sable's shoulder. "Just barely, but she's fighting."

"She needs to be evacuated immediately. She needs a hospital," Hazel interjected, pulling her gaze away from a crumbling Sable.

Snow sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We were able to send an emergency communication out to the Capitol. If the signal got through, they should be on their way."

"Impressive," Cress piped in. "How'd you all manage that?"

"Drayton," Snow's ferocity centered on Leo, "Get this rebel out of here. Now. Secure him with the others."