And Glass and her friends were safe. They were free.
A hot gust of wind blew suddenly from the direction of the Stone. Glass pictured the flames devouring everything and everyone in their path, starting with the space that used to be an orchard… Then she sucked in a breath and forced her eyes away, turning instead to gaze out at the eastern side of the river. Dawn was breaking, the broad orange sun bright enough to extinguish all images of the burning fortress from Glass’s mind.
She blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted, turning a murky silhouette into a tall young man… someone impossibly, heartbreakingly familiar.
Glass’s mouth fell open.
He smiled and a sob lodged itself in Glass’s throat. She touched her own face first to make sure this was happening in real life… that she was actually alive and conscious and actually, truly seeing him standing in front of her… Then she reached out and touched his cheeks with the tips of her fingers, carefully, as though he might break.
He wasn’t a hallucination. He was solid, his pulse thrumming steadily, his breath a little shaky as she ran her hands along his lips, his neck, his chest.
Then and only then did she dare say it: “Luke.”
Her eyes teared up at the sound of the name and even more at the sight of his answering grin. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him, and as their kiss deepened, all fear dropped away, replaced by wonder and burning, all-consuming gratitude.
“You’re cold,” he said, just as she was thinking how warm he was. He pulled away, brow knitted. “Are you going to be okay?”
Glass let out a dazed laugh. “Everything is perfect.”
“Okay, folks,” a confident male voice shouted. It was Paul, one of the guards from their camp. “It looks like the fire might spread, so we should walk alongside the river to be safe.”
Luke scoffed and shook his head, exchanging bemused glances with Bellamy. “That guy is unbelievable.”
Clarke let out a short laugh. “Unfortunately he’s right, though. Shall we?”
They made a quiet procession, considering how many of them there were, but the air around the entire group was charged with relief and hope.
Luke glanced around, eyes wide. “Where did all these people come from?”
“All over,” Glass said, her glance landing back on Anna and Octavia, walking along with a number of other girls from the dormitories. “Some were taken from their homes, like we were, and dragged here. Some are Colonists from a dropship that went off course and crashed.”
“What?” Luke’s head whipped around. “Anyone you know?” She knew he was thinking of all the friends he left behind on Walden to accompany Glass to Earth.
“No, but I haven’t had a chance to meet everyone yet.”
He swiveled his head from side to side, then let out a quiet sigh when he didn’t spot anyone he recognized.
They walked in silence around the curve of the river bend. As they went, they saw one last Protector stare after them with empty eyes.
Ahead of her, Wells shuddered to a stop.
“Do you know him?” Glass asked.
Wells nodded. “He was my trainer. Oak.”
After a long moment, Oak turned and limped back toward the Stone.
“They’ll regroup,” Luke said, his voice tight. “We should expect a skirmish as soon as we start back west—”
“I doubt it,” Glass cut in quietly. “They don’t have anyone commanding them anymore. It’ll take them longer than a few hours to figure out how to start thinking for themselves. They’ll have to find their way back to other groups of Protectors, and there aren’t any other settlements near here, at least not from what I’d gathered. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them again.” She paused, thinking about everything they’d just experienced. “The explosions. Were those you?”
Luke grinned. Then his brow furrowed. “It wasn’t my neatest work. We only had an hour to plant the explosives and I never got a clear look at the foundations…”
“You saved all these people, Luke,” Glass said, squeezing his arm.
“I’m glad. But honestly…?” He pulled her closer. “There was only one person I was thinking about saving. I didn’t expect it to do that much damage, Glass. If you hadn’t come out of there all right… I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Don’t think about that,” Glass said quickly, pushing a curly lock of hair out of his eyes. “You did what you had to do. Now just… look forward.”
Luke’s gaze was distant as his mind worked. Glass’s heart swelled at the familiar look. It felt so good to be back by his side.
“Let’s head toward the woods at the next bend in the river and set up a camp with a well-guarded perimeter. Light a fire, get these people warm.”
Glass smiled in approval, but Luke was still thinking.
“And then we can head west, back to our camp tomorrow.” He shook his head, his eyes landing on hers. “But what about the rest of them?”