Kingdom of Rivals - The 100 [5]

Chapter 7

Venus's POV

I woke up the next morning feeling disappointed and hungry. We could've been in Shallow Valley by now, with an abundance of food to fill our bellies. But instead, we were still here in this drab and dreary bunker. If only Apollon hadn't stopped us, maybe we could've outrun the bullets...

I rolled over and looked at the cot next to mine. Liv was still asleep. I knew she didn't understand why we tried to deflect. Even while I laid her down to sleep last night, she still muttered about 'Wonkru' in her half-asleep state. I went and kneeled next to her bed.

When she's asleep she looks so young, the way a six-year-old should. When I was six, I remember running through the halls of the Ark with drawings and dolls, and Skylar and I thought boys were the grossest things in the world. That's what I wanted for my daughter, not this. She glorified the fighting pits and played rough with the other boys rather than playing dolls with the other girls. Words like 'battle' and 'war' carried no fear for her, only excitement. Where had I gone wrong?

Her small eyes fluttered open, and both our green eyes met. For a moment it was nice; mother and daughter smiling at each other. "Hey baby."

Liv's smile quickly disappeared, and her eyes shot me a glare. "I'm not a baby!" She pushed herself up and out of her bed, then started for the door.

"Liv wait." I gently grabbed her arm to stop her from going. Still kneeling low to match her height, I turned her towards me. "We need to talk about last night."

Just then, one of the older boys my daughter hung around with despite my protests came in. Urke was about ten-years-old, a Grounder kid. He was big for a kid his age, and next to my little Liv, he seemed like a giant.

"Hey Liv! You coming to training today or what?"

I stood up and placed a protective hand on Liv's shoulder, holding her back before she could reply. "She won't be going today."

"Oh let her go, Venus." Octavia's voice seemed to boom through the bunkroom. "The child should know how to keep her own in battle."

"She won't be going into any battle."

"We'll all be going into battle soon."

"She's a child."

"I'm a warrior!" Liv's young voice piped up.

Octavia smiled down at her. "Yes Liv, you are. And warriors have training. Go." Before I could stop either of them, Liv and Urke ran out of the room leaving me alone with Octavia. Octavia looked to me now, and I did my best not to show the fear I was feeling. She wasn't that young girl from under the floor anymore. She had sentenced people to die in fights to the death, and she had done so for things far less than what I had attempted last night. "I know you tried to deflect."

I tried to swallow, but I found my mouth suddenly dry. "I did it for my daughter. They have food, and the valley-"

"That valley will soon be ours." The smile remained on her lips. I couldn't tell if it meant good or bad. "How would you like to help us claim that valley?"

I looked at her skeptically. "How?"

"Cooper has been working on a way to weaken our enemy. She needs some help, particularly from someone with knowledge of the human body. What do you say, doctor?"

I thought the idea over. All I wanted was to get Liv to the valley, to where she'd have food and safety. If Octavia had a way to weaken the enemy and make the war go quicker – or better yet kill the enemy and skip the war entirely...

"I'm in."

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