Free The Scent of Lilac: An Arrow's Flight Novella by Casey Hays Page A

arms, and I melt.
                This time
when I push open the gate, Chad only momentarily hesitates. I check the vicinity for jailers or guards, and together,
we step out into the night. I hear Chad ’s
breath catch in his chest, and I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
                We stand
hand in hand, my eyes on him, his eyes on the sky above us. Just past the edge
of the Pit, the moon lingers on a blanket of stars, and Chad ’s
mouth hangs open as he takes it in. Squinting one eye, he reaches out,
measuring the moon between his thumb and forefinger.
                “It’s so
bright. Amazing.” His eyes settle on me and then sweep down the line of gates.
“It’s been so long...” His voice trails. I tighten my grip on his hand.
                “I would
like to take you to the river, if I could,” I whisper, and he swivels his eyes
back to meet mine. “If this amazes you, the river would leave you speechless.
Blue and white... and foamy. In one moment, it’s powerful and full of life and
terrifying, and in the next, it’s calm and clear and full of peace. It is the
most beautiful creation.”
                “I would
like to see it.” His response is laced with a heaviness that crushes my heart,
and I suddenly wish I hadn’t mentioned it. But he keeps talking, and I focus on
him. “I remember the nannies taking us there before we...” His words fade. He lowers
his eyes, wiggles a bare toe into the dirt. “I don’t remember much about it.
Just that it was wonderful.”
                “It is,”
I answer.
                He’s very
still. After a minute, he drops my hand and disappears back inside the cave. I
press my fingertips to my lips and wrestle with my tears.
    *
                A week
later, two locksmiths decide to resume their duties. They arrive with their
tools. The work is slow, and by the time they leave the Pit on the first day,
only five caves in the front section are repaired.   I tell Chad the minute I reach his cave. He grows strangely quiet.
                “What is
it?”
                Chad has been different ever since the night we stepped outside the gate. Quieter.
More serious. I can’t remember the last time I saw his grin, and I miss it. He
makes me wary.
                I drop to
my knees next to where he sits on the mat. “ Chad ,
I know something is bothering you. Please tell me.”
                He
settles his stony gaze over me. There’s just enough light tonight to see his
eyes dancing fervently. I wait, my brow creased with an anxious fear.
                He opens
his mouth to speak, closes it. I rest my hand on his knee.
                “How long
do you think it will be before the locksmiths reach my cave?”
                Surprised
by the question, I lean back. “I don’t know.   A few weeks. Maybe more. Why?”
                He
swallows, studies me cautiously. “I want to see the river.”
                My breath
eases out. “You do?”
                “Yes,” he
shrugs. “I know my place is here, and I won’t forget that. I told you, I will
never leave you, Mia.”
                I nod.
                “But I
want to see the river,” he repeats. “Before they lock me in again.”
                My heart
races, and I rise to my feet, pacing. This would have been much less harrowing
a week ago, before guards were assigned to the Pit and the locksmiths decided
to behave. Taking Chad outside the gate was risky enough as it is. This? Breeder or not, this is a
death sentence if I’m caught.
                Chad lumbers to his feet halting me in my spot, and the look of anticipation riding
in his eye shoves me right over the edge. I know. His freedom is inextricably
tied to my own, and if he doesn’t have a small taste of it, I will never know
what freedom