Page 51 of Broken Fate
I caught the woman the next morning as we stopped to rest and eat. She’d moved away from the others, and I took the opportunity to corner her as she ate.
“Yes?” she asked, moving to the side of her chosen log as I sat beside her.
Our food was prepackaged rations that were strapped to our wolves like backpacks. One person remained in human form long enough to hook them up. Then we would leave. Half of us carried it one day; the other half carried them the next. Today was my day, and I pulled a package from my sack and gave it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, taking her ration of hard cheeses and cured meat.
I grabbed my own, and we dug in, eating in silence. Only halfway done, Andi sighed and sat up, looking over at me expectantly.
“What is it?”
The woman flicked her head, the light catching the reddish tint of her hair. “Just come out and ask it, Jada. I can see you wrestling with whatever your question is, so spit it out.”
I grimaced. “That obvious?”
Andi nodded, then smiled. “You aren’t so great at hiding your emotions. It’s okay, though. It’s not a bad thing.”
“Right.” I chewed on my lip for a moment, then did as Andi had suggested and just tossed out my question. “Speaking of hiding things, what’s Kiel’s story?”
“His story?” she asked, taken aback at the change of subject.
What had she thought I was going to ask?
“Yeah. You know, what happened to him? How did he get to be the leader of the rebellion? That sort of thing. His history.”
“Oh.” Andi paused, then shrugged. “I don’t know.”
That wasn’t the answer I expected. “You don’t?”
“Nobody really does, as far as I’m aware,” she said, breaking off a piece of cheese and tossing it into her mouth as she looked across the clearing, where Kiel sat alone, his back to a tree while he ate.
“Have you asked?”
“Of course. Many have. He’s been our leader for as long as anyone can remember. A long time,” she said quietly. “He knows what he’s doing, and he’s managed to keep most of us alive. At some point, you just stop asking, you know?”
I didn’t, actually, but I kept that to myself. The curiosity, the not knowing, it would eat me alive. Especially when I was supposed to follow him and his orders, without question. How did you trust someone when you didn’t know anything about them?
“Okay, different question,” I said. “What have you accomplished in all the time he’s been your leader?”
Andi’s face closed off. “What do you mean?”
“Like, what have you guys done? What sorts of ‘resistance’ acts have you carried out? Have you tried to destroy the Fate Stone before? Why does Kiel think now is suddenly the best time? What happened, Andi?”
“I don’t know,” she said, a warning look flashing in her eyes. I was pushing too hard.
“Something must have changed,” I said softly, unable to stop now. “Right?”
Andi shrugged. “You came along, I guess?”
It was my turn to give a look that wasn’t impressed. “That’s not funny. I actuallydidtry to destroy the stone. But there must have beensomeother chance for you to try to do so before now.”
“Kiel didn’t think the time was right,” Andi said firmly. “So, we didn’t.”
I clenched my jaw at her unwavering belief in him. Couldn’t she see that it was suspicious? That Kiel suddenly thinking that now, or soon, would be a good time to strike was a change from the normal if they’d never tried to do it before?
It couldn’t actually be me. Could it? How could I have changed things?
“Andi … is Kiel not well?” I asked quietly.
