Red Queen(108)

My thoughts fly to my family and the Stilts, remembering the dull look in a thousand eyes as we passed. “What have you heard?”

“Nothing good.”

Kilorn’s head jerks up, though his fingers still swirl on the table. “Double work shifts, Sunday hangings, mass graves. It’s not pretty for the ones who can’t keep up the pace.” He’s remembering our village, just like I am. “Our people at the war front say it isn’t much different up there either. The fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds are being put into their own legion. They won’t survive the month.”

His fingers draw an X in the dust, angrily marking what he feels.

“I can stall that, maybe,” Maven says, brainstorming out loud. “If I convince the war council to hold them back, put them through extra training.”

“That’s not enough.” My voice is small but firm. The list seems to burn against my skin, begging to be let free. I turn to Farley. “You have people all over, don’t you?”

I don’t miss the shadow of satisfaction cross her face. “I do.”

“Then give them these names.” I pull Julian’s book from my jacket, opening to the beginning of the list. “And find them.”

Maven gently takes the book, his eyes scanning over it. “There must be hundreds,” he mutters, not looking away from the page. “What is this?”

“They’re like me. Red and Silver, and stronger than both.”

It’s my turn to feel smug. Even Maven’s jaw drops. Farley snaps her fingers and he hands it over without a thought, still staring at the little book that holds such a powerful secret.

“It won’t be long until the wrong person figures this out, though,” I add. “Farley, you must find them first.”

Kilorn glares at the names like they offer him some kind of insult. “This could take months, years.”

Maven huffs. “We don’t have that kind of time.”

“Exactly,” Kilorn agrees. “We need to act now.”

I shake my head. Revolutions cannot be rushed. “But if you wait, if you find as many as you can—you could have an army.”

Suddenly, Maven slaps the table, causing us all to jump. “But we do have one.”

“I have many under my command here, but not that many,” Farley argues, looking at Maven like he’s gone mad.

But he grins, alive with some hidden fire. “If I can get an army, a legion in Archeon, what could you do?”

She just shrugs. “Very little, actually. The other legions would crush them on the field.”

It hits me like a thunderbolt, and I finally realize what Maven is getting at. “But they won’t fight on the field,” I breathe. He turns to me, smiling like a crazed loon. “You’re talking about a coup.”

Farley frowns. “A coo?”

“A coup, a coup d’état. It’s a history thing, a before thing,” I explain, trying to wave off their confusion. “It’s when a small group quickly overthrows a large government. Sound familiar?”

Farley and Kilorn exchange glances, eyes narrowed. “Go on,” she says.

“You know the way Archeon’s built, with the Bridge, the West side, and the East side.” My fingers race along with my words, drawing a rough map of the city in the dust. “Now, the West side has the palace, command, the treasury, the courts, the entire government. And if somehow we can get in there, cut it off, get to the king, and make him agree to our terms—it’s all over. You said it yourself, Maven, you can run the whole country from Caesar’s Square. All we have to do is take it.”

Under the table, Maven pats me on the knee. He’s buzzing with pride. Farley’s usual suspicious look is gone, replaced by real hope. She runs a hand over her lips, mouthing words to herself as she eyes the dust-drawn plan.

“This might just be me,” Kilorn begins, falling back to his usual snide tone, “but I’m not exactly sure how you plan to get enough Reds in there to fight Silvers. You need ten of us to bring down one of them. Not to mention there’s the five thousand Silver soldiers loyal to your brother”—he glances at Maven—“all trained to kill, all trying to hunt us down as we speak.”

I deflate, falling back against the seat. “That could be difficult.” Impossible.

Maven brushes a hand over my dust map, wiping away West Archeon with a few strokes of his fingers. “Legions are loyal to their generals. And I happen to know a girl who knows a general very well.”

When his eyes meet mine, all his fire is gone, replaced now by bitter cold. He smiles tightly.