The Elite (Selection)

royal line. Please advise on best response.
    My body went cold. I scanned both sides of the paper, looking for a date. Another attack this morning? Even if this was a few days old, it was at least the second one. And the demand was again ending the Selection. Was this what all the recent attacks had been about? Were they trying to get rid of us? If so, were both the Northern and Southern rebels pursing that end?
    I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t supposed to have seen this message, so it wasn’t like I could talk to anyone. But did the people who were supposed to know already have this information? I decided to put the paper back on the ground. Hopefully, a guard would come around soon and get it to the right place.
    For now I would just be optimistic that someone was responding.

CHAPTER 24
    I TOOK ALL MY MEALS in my room for the next two days, managing to avoid Kriss until dinner on Wednesday. I thought I wouldn’t feel so awkward by then. I was sadly mistaken. We gave each other quiet smiles, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I almost wished I was across the room sitting between Celeste and Elise. Almost.
    Just before dessert was served, Silvia came sprinting in as fast as her heeled shoes could carry her. Her curtsy was particularly brief before she made her way to the queen and whispered something to her.
    The queen gasped and ran with Silvia out of the room, leaving us alone.
    We’d been taught never to raise our voices, but in the moment we couldn’t help ourselves.
    “Does anyone know what’s going on?” Celeste called, abnormally concerned.
    “You don’t think they’re hurt, do you?” Elise said.
    “Oh, no,” Kriss breathed, and put her head down on the table.
    “It’s okay, Kriss. Have some pie,” Natalie offered.
    I found myself speechless, afraid even to think about what this could mean.
    “What if they were captured?” Kriss worried aloud.
    “I don’t think the New Asians would do that,” Elise said, though I could see she was worried. I wasn’t sure if her concern was strictly for Maxon’s safety or because any aggression on the part of the people she had a connection with would ruin her chances.
    “What if their plane went down?” Celeste said quietly.
    She looked up, and I was surprised to see genuine fear on her face. It was enough to silence us all.
    What if Maxon was dead?
    Queen Amberly returned with Silvia in tow, and we all watched her eagerly. To our intense relief, she was beaming.
    “Good news, ladies. The king and prince will be home tonight!” she sang.
    Natalie clapped as Kriss and I simultaneously fell back into our chairs. I hadn’t realized how tense my body was for those few minutes.
    Silvia chimed in. “Since they’ve had such an intense few days, we’ve decided to forgo any big celebration. Depending on when they leave New Asia, we might not even see them before bedtime.”
    “Thank you, Silvia,” the queen said patiently. Really, who cared? “Forgive me, ladies, but I have some work to do. Please enjoy your desserts and have a lovely night,” she said, then turned and flew out the door.
    Kriss left seconds later. Maybe she was making a welcome home card.
    After that I ate quickly and made my way back upstairs. As I was walking down the hall toward my room, I saw a little flash of blond hair under a white cap and the fluttering black skirt of a maid’s uniform running toward the far-side stairs. It was Lucy, and it sounded like she was crying. She seemed so determined to get away unnoticed that I decided not to call out after her. Rounding the corner to my room, I saw that my door was wide-open. Without it to block their voices, Anne and Mary’s argument spilled into the hallway, where I overheard everything.
    “—why you always have to be so hard on her,” Mary complained.
    “What was I supposed to tell her? That she can have whatever she wants?” Anne shot back.
    “Yes! What would the harm be in simply saying you had faith in her?”
    What was going on? Was this why they had all seemed so distant lately?
    “She aims too high!” Anne accused. “It would be unkind of me to give her false hope.”
    Mary’s voice bled with sarcasm. “Oh, and everything you told her was so kind. You’re just bitter!” she accused.
    “What?” Anne lashed back.
    “You’re bitter. You can’t stand that she might be closer to something you want than you are,” Mary yelled. “You’ve always looked down on Lucy because she wasn’t raised at