Chapter 33: The Run, Part 1

NINE

Seven days pass in a flurry of lessons I don't retain, and long, lonely hours cooped up in Kade's bedroom. I flick through books that are much too hard to read and watch tiny, blue dancers in the flames of the fireplace as it turns chunks of wood to ash. Two days later, I'm requested in the laundry to help cover for a handful of Unfortunates made bedridden by illness, and I jump at the opportunity to do something. Anything.

I shove a pillowcase into the murky depths of the tub and rub the fabric together. Hunching, I swipe my forehead over my bicep, wiping at the beading sweat that coats my skin as the noisy driers spew humidity into the room. Unfortunates mill about, like goldfish in a pond, doing their daily duties and paying me no attention as I make my way through the pile of pillowcases. The fabrics are uncomplicated, white with no stains, making my job relatively straightforward. I breathe a sigh of relief. It's easy down here, hidden among piles of washing. If I overheard