Prodigy

this dream state, my fingers are numb and I can’t feel the strands running against my skin. “It doesn’t make sense. They should have called off the assassination. Razor shouldn’t have gone through with it at all, not after I disrupted it. They would’ve gone back to their quarters, thought things through again, and then attempted another strike. Maybe in a month or two. Why would Razor put his position at risk if the assassination was in danger of failing?”
    Metias watches as a Republic soldier runs past us. The soldier tilts his head up at Razor standing on the roof and salutes.
    “If the Colonies are behind the Patriots,” my brother says, “and they know who Day is, shouldn’t you both have been taken straight to talk with whomever is in charge?”
    I shrug. I think back on the time I spent with Anden. His radical new laws, his new way of thinking. Then I remember his tension with Congress and the Senators.
    And that’s when the dream breaks apart. My eyes snap open. I’ve figured out why Razor bothers me so much.
    The Colonies aren’t sponsoring Razor—in fact, the Colonies have no idea what the Patriots are up to. That’s why Razor went ahead with the plan—of course he had no fear of the Republic finding out that he worked for the Patriots.
    The Republic had hired Razor to assassinate Anden.

AFTER THE SOLDIER AND I LEFT THE BALCONY AND the throng of people outside our hospital room, I made sure guards stood outside our door (“In case any fans come barging in,” the soldier said before she left), then requested extra blankets and medicine for June. I didn’t want to get up and see Kaede still standing below the balcony. Gradually, the shouts outside started to die down. Eventually, everything sank into silence. Now we’re completely alone, except for the guards standing outside our door.
    Everything’s ready to go, but I stand unmoving at June’s bedside. There’s nothing in here I can make into a weapon, so if we really do need to make a run for it tonight, all we can hope for is that we won’t have to fight anyone. That no one will notice we’re gone until morning.
    I get up and walk to the balcony. The snow on the ground below is completely trampled and dark with the dirt of boots. Kaede isn’t there anymore, of course. I soak in the Colonies landscape for a while, puzzling once again over Kaede’s sign.
    Why would Kaede tell me to return to the Republic? Is she trying to trap me or warn me? Then again—if she wanted to hurt us, why did she hit Baxter and let us go in Pierra? She’d even urged us to escape before the other Patriots could get to us. I turn to June, who’s still sleeping. Her breathing is more even now, and the flush on her cheeks is less pronounced than it was several hours ago. Still, I don’t dare disturb her.
    More minutes drag by. I wait to see if Kaede will try again. After the dizzying speed of everything that’s happened to us, I’m not used to being stuck here like this. Suddenly there’s too much time.
    A thud sounds out against the balcony doors. I jump to my feet. Maybe a branch broke off a tree, or a shingle fell from the roof. I wait now, alert. Nothing happens for a while. Then there’s another thud against the glass.
    I get up from June’s bed, walk over to the balcony doors, and carefully peek out through the glass. No one’s there. My eyes skip to the balcony floor. There, in plain sight, are two small rocks—one with a note tied to it.
    I unlock the balcony door, slide it open a little, and grab the note from the rock. Then I lock the door again and open the note up. The words are hastily scrawled.
    Come outside. I’m alone. Emergency. Here to help. We have to talk.—K
    Emergency.
I crumple the note in my hand. What does she think is an emergency? Isn’t everything an emergency right now? She
had
helped us escape—but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to trust her.
    Not a minute has passed before a third rock hits the door. This time, its message reads:
    If you don’t talk to me now, you’re gonna regret it.—K
    My temper rises at the threat. Kaede does have the power to turn us in for messing up the Patriots’ plans. I stay where I am, rereading the note in my hands.
Maybe just for a few minutes,
I tell myself.
That’s it. Just long enough to see what Kaede wants. Then I’m coming back inside.
    I grab my coat, take a deep breath, and step back over to the balcony doors. My fingers quietly undo the latch. A cold wind hits