The Girl Who Dared to Think 7: The Girl Who Dared to Fight

Leo ran a hand through his hair and then sighed. “I guess… maybe you’re right. Maybe it is better this way, but, dammit, Liana, I don’t want you to go. It’s dangerous out there!”

I smiled, but it was bittersweet. I could hear the love pouring out of him, making his concern for me more intense than for the average citizen, and while I ached to go to him, I remained where I was. “You see what I mean? You’re still too emotionally invested in me, Leo. You have to learn how to treat me like any other citizen of the Tower, and I have to accept that you’ll never be mine. Time. Space. We need it.”

Leo’s jaw tightened for a second, and I could sense he still wanted to fight, but a second later, he sighed, his shoulders slumping. “You’re right. I know you’re right, I just… I hate it. I hate this, and I hate—”

“No more hate,” I instructed him, taking a step closer. “It’s exhausting and accomplishes nothing. Just… give me your permission to go, when it comes up in the council meeting.”

Leo closed his mouth slowly. “Of course,” he said sadly. “Anything you want. I just think you should know that no matter what happens, there will always be a part of me that loves you. It will never go away, no matter how much time and space we take.”

This time I couldn’t hold the tears back, and my vision grew blurry around the edges. I wasn’t crying—more like seeping—but still. His words both stung, and filled me with a warmth I had no way of stopping. “I know,” I said honestly. “And you should know that I’ll always feel the same way. But this is for the best.”

He smiled sadly, but accepted it with a nod. “Yes. Good luck on your adventures, Liana. Please… be safe.”

“You too,” I replied, feeling like there was a deeper context to our words that no one but the two of us could understand, one filled with love, remorse, understanding, and underneath it all—a sad farewell. I turned to leave, and managed to make it all the way outside before I had to stop and cry. But it was a good cry, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.



After that, I threw myself back into my work with full force, trying to make sure the Patrus agreement didn’t fall apart. It helped, and even though I hadn’t left yet, I began to start hurting less, and finally began letting myself heal.

Grey and I had kept our distance until about seven months ago, when we bumped into each other at Quess’s first attempt at an inter-departmental function. Barely anybody from the other departments had come, but the Diplomacy Corp had made our own fun, anyway. The night had started off awkward, but somehow, Grey and I had managed to fall into a rhythm like the one we’d had before all this craziness had started, and it was both familiar and new all at the same time. We spent half the night talking about the future, discussing other problems that were cropping up in the wake of all the changes, and then the other half talking about us.

It was nice. It was grown-up. It was mature.

And it had taken many more conversations, coupled with several outings, before we finally agreed to give it another try.

Now he and I stood staring at each other for a second, and then he tossed down the items he was carrying with a loud thump and held his arms out to me. I went to him immediately, letting him envelop me, and took a deep breath, inhaling his spicy scent.

“How you holding up?” he asked, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Good,” I replied. “Tired, but good. Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Yeah, well, I plan for you to make it up to me by sleeping in with me for the first week we’re in Patrus,” he replied, smoothing a hand over my hair and shoulders. “You’ve been running yourself ragged trying to get this whole thing together, and while I know it’s very important to you that this exchange succeeds, it’s important to me that you’re taking care of yourself. And since you’re incapable of doing even that, it’s up to me to make sure you do.”

I chuckled, and pulled my head away from his chest to look at him, something in his voice making me suspicious. “What are you up to?”

“Me?” he asked in mock innocence. “Oh, nothing…”

My eyes narrowed, but I was already smiling, knowing that whatever Grey had up his sleeve, it would be magical. He was good at creating little moments for us to enjoy together.

“Grey,” I said after several seconds, when my glare had failed to get him to talk more. “What did you do?”

“He called me up in the middle of the night and got me to ask the Patrians for a small place for the two of you to spend a week alone,” my twin supplied, and I turned in Grey’s arms to see that Alex had walked over from the pile of gear on the roof to join us. For what, I wasn’t sure, but I was too interested in the answer to ask right that second.

“A small place to spend a week alone?” I asked, turning back to Grey.

He was glaring at Alex like he would happily toss my brother off the Tower, but he replied to my question anyway. “Like I said, you’ve been running yourself ragged. Since I know you won’t take the time off for yourself, I arranged it for you. Besides, you and I have been putting off some relationship conversations, and I’ve been patient, but that patience is coming to an end.”

Oh boy.

It was no secret Grey wanted to marry me. He’d already asked me once, but it had been at Zoe and Eric’s wedding, and I had been so sure he’d just been caught up in the moment that I’d laughed it off and called him crazy. That hadn’t gone over well, but we’d talked the misunderstanding out, and been all the better for it.

Except he hadn’t asked me to marry him again.

Now I felt certain that he was going to use this week he had planned to do it, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to get there. “It sounds amazing,” I told him, going up to my tiptoes to plant a light kiss on his lips before turning back to my brother. “Did you need something?”

“No, but I wanted to give you a heads-up that Thomas and Melissa are five minutes out. Quess already netted Doxy so the council members can be here for the official meeting, so… just get ready for all the pomp and circumstance, I guess.”

I grinned. It was the one part of our roles that he hated, but I had loved putting together. We had created our first cross-cultural welcoming ceremony, and I was eager to see what the Patrians thought about what I had come up with. I hoped that the ceremony and speech would make them feel welcome and comfortable, if it was possible for an event to do such a thing, but that remained to be seen. “Thanks,” I told him. “I’ll be right over.”

He flashed me a thumbs-up as he moved to return to the others, and I turned back to Grey, a warm glow forming in my chest. “You’re going to ask me to marry you again, aren’t you?” I asked, suddenly too impatient to wait for our time alone together to confirm it.

He opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it again with a soft click of his teeth. “I’m not saying,” he taunted, but I knew I was right. He was planning to ask me again.

And this time, I’d get it right and say yes.

I placed my head back on his shoulder and closed my eyes, letting myself imagine what the next six months would hold. I was excited and nervous, but the future of the Tower had never looked so bright, and I was just grateful that I had people I loved around me, helping me, supporting my dream for the Tower’s future. This moment had been everything I had been fighting for, and now that it was here, I couldn’t be happier.

Because now, we could finally start a new chapter. One that began with: After the Tower.





What’s next?





Dear Reader,

Thank you for accompanying Liana through to the end of her journey, and I hope you enjoyed the grand finale.

Leaving behind the Tower and its residents is emotional and bittersweet, but I’m happy about where I’ve left the characters.

I’m also very excited about my next dystopian story!: The Child Thief, releasing June 11th 2018.

I’ve included the first two chapters of The Child Thief at the back of this ebook, as a special bonus sneak peek, so keep turning the pages to read them!

And here's a preview of the awesome cover: