Rise An Eve Novel

You were working with Moss—you tried.”
    But the mention of Moss just brought me back to the day I’d left. His body in the elevator. How the bullet had ripped through his back. “I just need this day to end,” I said, starting toward the stairs. “I can’t think anymore.”
    Quinn stood, trying to get in front of me, but I sidestepped her. “Eve—I’m sorry. You see now why I didn’t want to tell you?”
    “No—I’m glad you did,” I said, watching them as I started up the stairs. “I needed to know.” When I got to the top landing I maneuvered through the hallways in silence. Light came in through the windows, dimmed by the plants that grew over the houseboat’s roof. I counted the doors as I went, finally turning in to the room Ruby, Clara, and I shared.
    I curled up on the mattress. The cabin was so dark I could hardly see two inches in front of me. I rested my hand on my chest, trying to slow my heart. I thought of Arden now, of what she must’ve felt when she was in hiding with Ruby and Pip, listening to word of the siege. Of course she had wanted to go. How could I stay here, waiting for word that the fighting had ended? Was I supposed to just hope that somehow my father would be stopped?
    It was a long while before Ruby and Clara came to bed. I shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep.
    “She needed the rest,” Clara whispered. I heard the give of the mattress as she lay down in the bed above me. Ruby settled in, too, turning onto her side, readjusting several times until she was comfortable. An hour passed, maybe two. When I was certain they wouldn’t wake, I stood, turning out into the hall.
    I walked down the corridor, past the wide living area, where a few of the girls slept on the couches. A set of sliding doors let out onto the houseboat’s worn deck. Outside, the moon had disappeared behind a thick layer of fog. The cold air felt good on my skin. I climbed down the side ladder and took off down the dock, carefully stepping around the broken boards.
    I just needed to be out, to be moving—to feel I was going somewhere. I started through the trees, moving quickly over gnarled roots and rocks. Most of the houses were dark. Up ahead, beyond a few high bushes, I could just make out a figure. I was about to turn, winding back down the path, when she spotted me.
    “Eve—what are you doing out here?” Maeve asked. “What’s wrong?”
    I glanced down the trail, realizing I’d nearly made it to her house. She was standing at the base of a massive oak tree. It took me a moment, my eyes adjusting to the light, to realize she was holding Lilac’s doll.
    “I just needed air,” I said. “I couldn’t sleep.”
    “I suppose Quinn’s house has taken some getting used to,” she said. There was the hint of a suggestion in it—why hadn’t I returned to that room beside hers? Why had I been so cold to her when I first arrived? I could see, even now, she wanted to know.
    “Quinn’s house has been great,” I said. “The girls are happy there. I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all. And you?”
    She held up the doll. “Lilac left her out here. I promised I’d organize a search party—one person, but still.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Want to come inside for a minute? I still have the lanterns lit.”
    How many times had I imagined this moment, what I would say if we were alone? I started up the trail behind her, ducking a few low branches. “That night that I left,” I said, keeping my eyes on the thick tree roots that wormed through the dirt. “We were trying to find Caleb.”
    “I assumed that much,” Maeve said. “But we never heard word one way or the other. Like I said—you shouldn’t have gone without saying good-bye.”
    We pushed into the house. Most of the wood cabinets were half open, their contents emptied onto the counter. The kitchen table was covered with unmarked cans, stacks of recovered dish towels, and piles of utensils. There were dozens of wine bottles filled with boiled rainwater. Dried fruit sat in foggy plastic containers, warped and buckling, their tops held on by old rubber bands. “I clean sometimes when Lilac goes to sleep,” she said. “It passes the time.”
    “I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want you to try to keep me here,” I said.
    “And why would I do that?” she asked. She leaned back against the counter, her face softer in the lantern light.
    “We heard you, Maeve. You, Isis, and Quinn. We heard you debating whether