Page 10 of Marks of Rebellion

---

"No. I'm okay though."

"When did you eat last?"

Disgust crosses her face. "At my dinner with Santiago."

Her dinner with...

My gut flips.Why didn't I kill him? Did he touch her?

Stay calm, don't freak her out.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I got fed well. The other girls...well, give them my food."

The tent suddenly feels suffocating.

"Do you want to get some air?"

"With you?"

"Yes. Ummm...unless you're not comfortable, then I can have someone else go with you."

"I was teasing."

"Oh. Sorry."

Get a grip.

"Yes."

I glance at her feet. "Hold on a minute." I go to where my backpack is and pull out a pair of socks and flip-flops. I bend down to put a sock on her.

"You don't have to do that. I can do it."

"It's not a problem." I place my hand on the back of her calf, and she jumps. I glance up. "Sorry."

She blinks hard and takes another step backward then holds out her hand. "Thank you for the socks. Is it okay if I put them on myself?"

"Sure." I hand them to her and she tugs them on.

I drop my flip-flops on the ground.

She softly laughs. "I think my feet are half the size of yours."

"True. But you can wobble around. I'll make sure you get shoes tomorrow."

"All right. Thank you."

I take my blanket out of my backpack and hold it open. "Put this around you. It's not super cold, but the bugs will be out."

She wraps it around her shoulders, and we step outside. There's an area with a tree log, and I lead her to it so we can sit.

Some nervous butterflies take off in my gut. "Ma'am—"

"Are you going to call me ma'am the entire night?"

"Ms. Castillo," I tease.

---