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making us pay. This is the same man who put a boy on trial for saving your life,” he reminded me.
    Put a chosen one on trial , I thought. When I had first entered the community, I expected life to be utterly different. But in a lot of ways, the most important ways, the people of the community and the members of the council weren’t so different at all. Many in the community distrusted Henry and me for simply being outsiders, and we’d had to work hard to gain their trust.
    When I had fallen ill and James had come to rescue me, they treated us both with such unbelievable hatred. I sometimes found it hard not to wonder if hatred was the only thing all humans shared. I wasn’t entirely sure everyone was capable of love, but I had seen enough hate to last me a lifetime. The people of the community shunned and judged James and me. Not to mention they tried to kill him for simply being a chosen one. They hadn’t even bothered to see what kind of soul lived inside.
    The community hardened itself in order to survive; they weren’t the most understanding species.
    The community. The place I thought I would never see again was less than a mile from where we stood, shrouded in the protective cover of night and the camouflage of the trees. I could faintly see the wooden fence and lit torches that surrounded the safe haven.
    “Somehow, I don’t think my father’s too worried about it,” I replied, tearing my eyes from the place I wanted so desperately to return to, trying to make my voice sound blasé. I could feel Louisa shake beside me. As I looked down at her, I saw her eyes widen, darting toward where the lights of the community crept into the woods. We stood hidden in the darkness of the tree line. Robert and Henry huddled near the edges of my father’s group. There, he stood, furiously whispering his orders to his standing army.
    Appearing to sense my sister’s nervousness, Lockwood cleared his throat. “You’re right, Tess. I don’t know what I was worrying about. Charlie seems to have everything under control,” he said, nodding toward my father.
    Henry and Robert joined our line. “So, what’s his brilliant plan?” Eric asked.
    “You’re not going to like it,” Henry said.
    “Charlie wants you and Lockwood to walk ahead of us and call out to the men on watch,” Robert said.
    Eric laughed bitterly. “You mean he wants to put the most expendable people in front in case they shoot first and ask questions later?”
    “He feels that if the guards first see people they know, people they trust, they will be more likely to listen to what they have to say.”
    “Will they hurt you?”
    Her voice was so small my ears barely registered it. I turned my head to find Louisa staring up at Lockwood. If there was any fear on Lockwood’s face at hearing my father’s plan, it disappeared before her words were fully out. A slow grin spread across his face. “Shoot me? I’m too important. Your sister must not have told you. I was in charge of the livestock.”
    “He milked cows,” Eric added drily.
    “Yes, I did. And I was damn good at it. Now, how about we go broker peace, shall we?” he said as he began to walk toward the camp. He held his head up and walked without an ounce of fear.
    “If your father gets me killed, I’m going to haunt you,” Eric said before joining Lockwood on his trek.
    I gave my sister’s hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry. Lockwood can talk anyone into anything.”
    “More like talk you to death so you just give him what he wants,” Henry joked. “Your sister’s right, though. He’ll be fine.”
    I could feel the weight of my father’s presence behind me without seeing him. It was like a sixth sense that I couldn’t shake ever since we started heading toward the community. His eyes were burning holes in the back of my head; I wondered if it was like this for all fathers and daughters. I turned around, offering him a small smile. He merely nodded in response. He was back in commander