The Phoenix People

Chapter Fifty-Eight

I ducked and weaved through the crowd, scanning for a familiar face. Finally, my eyes fell upon Theo and Griffin, who were chatting excitedly. They caught sight of me as well and eagerly gestured me over.

"Where's Anna?" Griffin asked without preamble, his eyes instinctively searching for the little girl behind me.

I shifted Jack onto my hip, my arms beginning to burn. "I left her in the courtyard. I'm sure she'll be back soon. Where's Melody?"

"Somewhere in here with August," Theo replied distractedly, fixated by the child in my arms. "Hello, little one!"

"Do you want to hold him?" I asked.

Theo quickly nodded and eagerly held out his arms to accept Jack. The baby yawned and rested his head on the man's shoulder. Theo's smile grew even wider.

Griffin pressed himself into his beau's side, murmuring to Jack and stroking his head gently. I smiled fondly at the sweet sight - they looked just like a family.

"You two would be good parents," I told them.

The two men exchanged glances. "Maybe someday," Theo replied thoughtfully. Griffin nodded in agreement.

Melody pushed her way through the crowd to us, August in tow. He waved in greeting and I returned the gesture.

"Who's this?" August asked, staring at Jack. Melody murmured something in his ear and his face fell. "Oh. I am sorry, young princess."

The horrors of the palace dungeon flashed through my mind. I plastered on a smile and shook my head. "It's fine."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Anna wriggled through the throngs of people and grabbed my arm.

"They're here! The council is in the hallway!"

Murmurings started up around us as her words were overheard and the message was quickly passed around. An air of urgent expectancy hung in the room. I wondered how many of these rebels had actually ever seen the council, let alone be addressed by them. I couldn't help but feel a little prideful - after all, I had been trusted to see the faces of some of the councilmembers and speak with all of them.

When the council entered Public Area 1, the room fell silent.

It was an amazing sight to behold - a room full of previously noisy people instantly hushing out of respect for this group they had never even met.

In this world, the council was royalty. My regal title had never felt so void.

A stepped forward. As per usual, it seemed, she would be the one speaking.

"As you doubtless have noticed, we have been increasing missions as our supplies decrease. I am also sure that you understand why, so I'm going to save myself the trouble of explaining. Now, there is an important mission approaching. It is crucial to the future of our people. This means that every single person in this room will be assigned a task."

Everyone began shifting. I felt equal parts nervous and excited. Surely this "important mission" was the mission - the one that, with any luck, would end with my brother dead.

Weeks ago, I would have been appalled at the thought. The corners of my mouth tugged upwards at the irony.

A spoke slightly louder over the rustling that her previous words had caused. "In an orderly fashion, I want you to separate yourselves into three groups. Those younger than twenty-five, to the left. Those twenty-five to forty-five, in the center. Anyone older, to the right." She gestured with her hands as she spoke for further clarification. "If you have any children with you, send them with someone who is under twenty-five to the left."

The room burst into chaos. Theo handed me Jack as he drifted towards the center of the room. The rest of us headed to the left.

I was about to search out the orphan caretaker to assist him when I saw that he was already being helped by several Lowborns. I smiled fondly at their kindness.

Finally, we managed to organize ourselves. We fell quiet once more as A raised her hands. "We will now be coming around to assign you your duties. It is imperative that you tell no one outside of the People about this mission or it will be over before it even begins. And we will kill you."

The room fell completely silent. I swore that I could feel A's penetrating gaze from beneath her hood.

"Talk amongst yourselves as you wait," she finally said pleasantly, as if she hadn't just threatened us all into submission.

"Should I tell them about...everything?" I asked my friends, the question mainly directed at Griffin and Melody. They both nodded.

"They'll ask about it anyhow," Melody pointed out.

I took a deep breath. "True."

When a slender council member made their way over to us, I recognized L's heavily freckled skin as she extended a hand to Melody, in which a card was clasped. It was double-sided, and Melody read both sides carefully before slipping it into her pocket and nodding solemnly.

Once this process had been repeated with Theo and Anna, I extended a hand for my card. Rather than assign me a task, however, L pointed to the front of the room, where several council members stood surveying the scene. Feeling as though everyone was watching me, I gripped Jack close as I wove my way to the front of the crowd.

"Come with me," A whispered, beckoning as she slipped out of the common room. I followed quickly, nervousness building. Although I knew that they just wanted to hear my story, I couldn't help but feel that I was in trouble, for whatever reason.

A led me rapidly through the hallways of the base until we reached what looked like any other doorway. She swung it open and we stepped inside.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Alexia," A said, closing the door as she watched me.

"You want to know how I'm alive," I replied, nodding to show that I was willing to share my tale.

"We'll wait for the rest of the council to arrive, but then, yes."

That reminded me of the happenings in the common room, and how I didn't yet have a card. "A, what will my task be?"

"Front and center. You know the palace better than any of us," A pointed out.

Snakes of nervousness and excitement fought in my stomach as I wondered exactly what "front and center" detailed. All I said in reply, however, was, "Yes, ma'am."

There was a table in the center of the room, and this was where we sat while awaiting the others. The silence soon grew awkward until a thought crossed my mind.

"How did you escape?" I asked. I had sacrificed myself for their safety, but I was clueless about how they had actually managed to get back here.

"Once you left, we departed in singles or pairs. We split up and found various entrances into the garden. From there, we took the exits in the wall intended for palace staff." I could almost hear the self-satisfied smile in A's voice.

It was ingenious - and risky. I was glad that my unexpected reappearance had drawn the presence of nearly every guard in the castle, or else the council surely would have been caught and it all would have been over.

"It's strange," A said thoughtfully, watching me. "Before you joined us, we were safe, moving under the radar. Yet we stood hardly a chance of making a long-lasting difference. Now that you're with us, we're under Audric's scrutiny, but we shall surely prevail."

I was unsure how to respond. Luckily, I was saved from having to think of a reply by the rest of the council, who entered the room. Since there weren't enough chairs to go around, a few of them guarded the door.

"Now," A said briskly, "explain everything."

"When Audric had me thrown in the dungeons..." I took a deep breath. "That's where Grace and I were reunited."