[ BOOK ONE ]
Sawyer Wesley fought to survive everyday of her life. On the Ark, it was either comply or die. To put it lightly, Sawyer was never one to throw in the towel. She did everything in her power to live in a world that awaited her death. And...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
NOT LONG AFTER the first flames of the torch touched the ceremonial pyre, the entire wooden structure and the bodies rested around it were reduced to nothing but ashes. Sawyer adopted Clarke's position next to the Commander when the fire began to fade and the smoldering remnants settled on the packed earth. Clarke still remained at her side, but Sawyer knew that the Commander wanted only one of them to consult with through alliance negotiations.
A daunting task for the Queen of Thieves. Sawyer became a leader to a bunch of ragtag delinquents who wanted nothing more than to survive a world bent on their demise. Not the entirety of the Ark. How could she lead so many people?
The three girls were all that were left as the rest of the pyre crumbled, disappearing among the soil at their feet. The guards who followed the Commander at all hours were still around, but Sawyer tried to ignore them.
Silence encased TonDC after the Grounders moved on to fulfill their daily tasks. The rest of Sawyer's people were ushered to a building on the other side of the village, waiting near its entrance for her and Clarke to rejoin them. Sawyer did not know how long they stood there, but she would stay for as long as it took to convince the Grounders that she understood their pain and felt truly apologetic over their dead.
"I lost someone special to me, too," the Commander voiced, breaking through the quiet as she stared at the white smoke that continued to swirl up from the ashes. "Her name was Costia. She was captured by the Ice Nation, whose queen believed she knew my secrets. Because she was mine – they tortured her. Killed her. Cut off her head."
That caught Sawyer's attention. She did not expect the Commander to reveal something so personal about herself. Since she first laid eyes on the girl, Sawyer failed to believe she held an ounce of emotion, let alone loved someone. It seemed the surprises never stopped with the Grounders. Sawyer wondered just how much she did not know about them.
"I'm sorry you lost her," Sawyer told the girl. She may not know what it was like to lose a significant other, but she lost enough people throughout her life to empathize with her pain.
The Commander kept her stare on the ashes as she said, "I thought I'd never get over the pain, but I did."
Clarke looked to her, before her gaze drifted back to the destroyed pyre. "How?"
"By recognizing it for what it is," the Commander stated, tearing her eyes away from the ruins of the dead and glanced between the Sky girls. "Weakness."
Clarke's brows creased. "What is? Love?"
The Commander nodded.
Sawyer blinked, but the statement did not shock her as much as Clarke. The Grounders were not a cuddly group of people. They were ready to kill them all without a second thought. Not only that, but Lexa lost someone she loved. Costia did not just die. She was tortured, murdered for the simple fact that she had been with Lexa. Sawyer understood why she believed love was a weakness.
