Page 496 - Fourth Wing

As for the 107 innocents, the children of the executed officers, they

now carry what shall be known as the rebellion relic, transferred by
the dragon who carried out the king’s justice. And to show the
mercy of our great king, they will all be conscripted into the

prestigious Riders Quadrant at Basgiath, so they may prove their
loyalty to our kingdom with their service or with their death.

—ADDENDUM 4.2, THE TREATY OF ARETIA

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

Walking the parapet on Conscription Day is a certifiable risk.
Walking the parapet in a dress uniform, barefoot, in the dark? Now this is

madness.

The first ten feet, while I’m still inside the walls, are the easiest, and as I
reach the edge, where the wind ruffles my skirt like a sail, I start to doubt

my plan. It’s going to be hard to get to Xaden if I fall to my death.
But I see him sitting about a third of the way across the narrow stone

bridge, staring up at the moon like it somehow adds to the burden he

carries, and my heart fucking hurts. He had the lives of all one hundred and
seven marked ones carved into his back, taking responsibility for them. But

who takes responsibility—takes care—of him?
Everyone across the ravine is celebrating his father’s death, and he’s out

here mourning it alone. When Brennan died, I had Mira and Dad, but

Xaden’s had no one.
You don’t really know me. Not at my core. Isn’t that how he replied when

I told him that I’d end up falling for him? As if knowing him would

somehow make me want him less, but everything I learn about him only