HAVEN ✓

Thirty-One

Rhett and I take an early dinner at the mess hall, and I can't help but salivate as steaming food is heaped onto my plate. A part of me feels guilty for the meal when half the population outside Perseca is starving, but I don't complain when Rhett convinces the server to give me an extra helping of bread, knowing it was always my favorite. After days of meager rations on the road, I am half-starved myself. I grin broadly at my brother.

"I missed you so much, Rhett," I say earnestly before stuffing a roll into my mouth. It reminds me so much of the yeasty rolls they would serve in school, down to the buttery crust.

My brother graces me with a warm smile, his blue-violet eyes crinkled at the corners. "I missed you more, Soph. You have no idea." He shakes his head once, as if dismissing a thought before reaching over and squeezing my hand. "So tell me what I've been missing out on for the past two years!"

After an hour of talking about Herald, Mom and Dad, Miles and Markee, we finish our meal. Rhett brings me up to the room that had been prepared for me in what they call the Dorm. Showing me inside, he hugs me one last time before leaving, promising me that he'd be back in the morning with answers. As I fling myself back on the mattress, the echo of my brother's words fly in circles around my head.

Knowing what I do now, would I go back?

More importantly, why was I sought after and brought here in the first place? Why is my attendance so imperative? My patience is running thin, and I'm suffering for it.

Markee was right. They meant to capture me.

But the information I have is not enough, and I won't gain any more knowledge until the morning. Pushing the incessant thoughts out of my brain, and ignoring the uneasy feeling at the idea of the people of Perseca wanting me all along, I sit up with a huff. I find myself looking straight into an open door, gleaming white tile winking back at me. A bathroom? I jump up.

Shower!

I'm practically naked by the time I enter the room, eager to cleanse myself of the past week. It's all clean white tile and glistening silver fixtures. I have never been more grateful for a toilet and indoor plumbing. More than anything, the shower is calling my name. I silently send out my thanks for the shower having simple controls as I turn on the water—hot water—and step in.

I spend time under the wide spray, letting the water beat into my stiff muscles before washing my hair—twice. Meticulously, I clean the dirt from beneath my fingernails and scrub my skin of grime and tears and guilt.

I am fascinated by the soap I am provided—it is luxurious. Rich and creamy, it creates a fragrant lather that surprises me for even existing in the Outlands. It seems Perseca really is different than other cities outside of Herald.

After a lengthy bathtime, I towel off and wrap myself in one of the fluffy white robes from the closet before exiting the bathroom and surveying my lodgings.

The bed is soft and springy, adorned with warm cream-colored pillows and duvet. Against one wall is a set of drawers beside the bathroom door, and on another wall leans a desk and lamp, sitting just below a glass-paned window. Surrounding it all are four walls that do nothing to keep my curiosity confined.

I approach an unmarked door set into the wall shared by my bed. I turn the knob, but the door won't open. I frown, fidget with the lock, and try again, but the door will not budge. Tossing the problem to the back of my mind, I huff and plop back down on the bed.

My eyes open to a knocking sound. I blink at the absurdity that I fell asleep so early. Then again, both my mind and body have been put under stress lately--Rhett was right about needing rest. I slide out of bed and go to open the bedroom door, except there is no one on the other side. I peer into the wainscoted hallway only to find it empty.