Maxon turned to the two other hooded figures. “This is Juan Diego and Abril. Until today they have worked in the palace. Now you will be trading places with them. Marlee, if you and Abril will go into the corner, the gentlemen and I will avert our eyes while you trade clothes. Here,” he said, handing me a cloak similar to hers. “This will help with some privacy.”

I looked at Abril’s timid face. “Of course.”

We moved to one corner, and she pulled off her skirt, then helped me put it on. I slipped off my dress and handed it to her.

“Carter, we’re going to have to put pants back on you. We’ll help you stand.”

I kept my face turned, trying not to get anxious over the sounds Carter made.

“Thank you,” I whispered to Abril.

“It was the prince’s idea,” she replied quietly. “He must have spent the entire day going through records and searching for anyone who came from Panama when he found out where you were going. We sold ourselves into service at the palace to provide for our family. Today we’re going home to them.”

“Panama. We were curious where we’d end up.”

“It was cruel of the king to send you there on top of everything else,” she murmured.

“What do you mean?”

Abril looked over her shoulder at the prince, making sure he wasn’t listening. “I grew up as a Six there, and it wasn’t pretty. Eights? They end up being killed for sport sometimes.”

I gaped at her in disbelief. “What?”

“Every few months we’d find someone who’d been begging on a corner for ages dead in the middle of the road. No one knows who does it. Other Eights maybe? The rich Twos and Threes? Rebels? But it happens. There’s a very good chance you would have died.”

“Now just hold on to my arm,” Maxon coaxed, and I turned to see Carter hunched into the prince, a hood already covering his head.

“All right. Abril, Juan Diego, the guards should be coming to this room. Use the bandages and walk like you’re hurt. I think they plan to put you on a bus and ship you off. Just keep your heads down. No one’s going to look at you too closely. You’re supposed to be Eights. No one will care.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Juan Diego said. “I never thought we’d see our mother again.”

“Thank you,” Maxon replied. “Your willingness to leave the palace is saving their lives. I won’t forget what you’ve done for them.”

I looked at Abril one last time.

“Okay.” Maxon pulled on his hood. “Let’s go.”

With Carter limping and leaning into him, Maxon led us into the hall.

“Won’t people be suspicious?” I whispered.

“No,” Maxon answered, checking around each corner all the same. “Lower-level staff, like kitchen workers or general cleaners, aren’t supposed to show their faces upstairs. If they absolutely must come up, they’re covered like this. Anyone who sees us will think we’re done with a task and heading back to our rooms.”

Maxon took us down a long stairwell that opened to a narrow hallway lined with doors. “In here.”

We followed him into a small room. There was a bed shoved into one corner and a tiny stand next to it. It looked like a carafe of milk and some bread was waiting, and my stomach roared just from seeing food. A thin rug had been placed neatly in the middle of the floor, and a few shelves lined the door-side wall.

“I know it’s not much, but you’ll be safe here. I’m sorry I can’t do better.”

Carter shook his head. “How can you be apologizing to us? Our lives were supposed to end hours ago; but we’re alive, together, and we have a home.” He and Maxon shared a look. “I know that what I did was technically treason, but it had nothing to do with a lack of respect for you.”

“I know.”

“Good. So when I say that no one in this kingdom will ever be as loyal to you as me, I hope you believe it.” Carter winced as he finished speaking and fell into the prince.

“Let’s get you to the bed.” I moved under his other shoulder, and Maxon and I laid him on his stomach. He took up most of the bed, and I knew I’d need to sleep on the rug tonight.

“A nurse will come check on you in the morning,” Maxon explained. “You can have a few days of rest, and you should stay in here as much as you can during that time. In three or four days, I’ll have you put on the official work orders, and someone from the kitchen will give you something to do. I don’t know what your exact jobs will be, but just do your best at whatever you’re asked.

“I’ll check on you as often as I can. For now, no one will know you’re here. Not the guards, not the Elite, not even your families. You will interact with a small group of people on the palace staff, and the chances of them recognizing you are slim. Still, from now on your names are Mallory and Carson. This is the only way I can protect you.”

I looked up at him, thinking that if I could hand choose a husband for my best friend, it’d be him.

“You’ve done so much for us. Thank you.”

“I wish it was more. I am going to try to get some of your personal items if I can. Beyond that, is there anything I can give you? If it’s within reason, I promise I’ll try.”

“One thing,” Carter said tiredly. “When you get a chance, can you find us a preacher?”

It took a second for me to understand the intention behind that request, and the moment I did, my eyes filled with happy tears.

“Sorry,” he added. “I know that’s not the most romantic proposal.”

“Yes, all the same,” I murmured.

I watched his eyes get wet, and I temporarily forgot Maxon was even in the room until he spoke up.

“It’d be my pleasure. I’m not sure how long that will take, but I’ll make it happen.” He pulled the medicines from upstairs out of his pocket, setting them beside the food. “Use the salve again tonight, and rest as much as you can. The nurse will see to anything else tomorrow.”

I nodded. “I’ll take care of us.”

Maxon backed out of the room, smiling as he went.

“Do you want some food, fiancé?” I asked.

Carter grinned. “Oh, thank you, fiancée, but I’m actually kind of tired.”

“All right, fiancé. Why don’t you sleep for a bit?”

“I’d sleep better if my fiancée was with me.”

And then, forgetting I’d been hungry at all, I wiggled my way onto the tiny bed, half hanging off the edge and half squashed beneath Carter. It was shocking how easily I found sleep.

PART II

I FLEXED MY HANDS OVER and over. They had finally healed, but sometimes when I had a long day, my palms swelled and throbbed. Even my little ring was pulled too tight tonight. I could see where it was fraying on one side and made a mental note to ask Carter for a new one tomorrow. I’d lost count of how many twine bands we’d gone through, but it meant a lot to me to have that symbol on my hand.

Picking up the scraper again, I scooped the loose flour off the table and into the trash. A few other members of the kitchen staff were scrubbing floors or putting away ingredients. Everything for breakfast was prepped, and soon we could sleep.

I inhaled sharply as a set of hands wrapped around my waist. “Hello, wife,” Carter said, kissing my cheek. “Are you still working?” He smelled like his job: cut grass and sunshine. I had been sure he would be stuck in the stables—somewhere he would be hidden away from the eyes of the king—just as I’d been buried in the kitchen. Instead, he was walking around with dozens of other groundskeepers, hiding in plain sight. He came in at night with the outdoors hanging on him, and for a moment, it was like I’d been outside, too.

I sighed. “I’m almost done. After I tidy up here I’ll come to bed.”

He nuzzled his nose into my neck. “Don’t overdo it. I could rub your hands if you want.”

“That’d be perfect,” I crooned. I still loved my end-of-the-day hand massages—maybe more so now that they were given to me by Carter—but if my day ended well after bedtime, it was a luxury I typically went without.