Day 21

CHAPTER 31 Clarke

“Half brothers,” Clarke said for what was probably the twenty-ninth time that night. She reached over and ran a finger along Bellamy’s cheek, as if she might find some sign she’d overlooked that he and Wells were related.

Bellamy smiled as he gently removed her hand, then brought it to his lips to kiss it. “I know it’s hard to believe. I’m just so much better looking.” But then his grin faded. “Does it weird you out?”

Clarke turned to look at Wells and Sasha, who’d returned to camp even earlier than expected. They were sitting on the other side of the campfire, a little apart from the rest of the group. Through the flickering flames, she could see Wells smiling at the Earthborn girl, who seemed to be blushing. A few people were looking at them warily, but now that Octavia was back, it’d been fairly easy to convince the group that she’d been telling the truth about the rogue Earthborns, and most had been quick to forgive Wells for letting her go.

Clarke sighed and rested her head on Bellamy’s shoulder. “The thing is, the fact that you’re related to my ex-boyfriend isn’t even the weirdest thing about you.”

Bellamy wrapped his arm around Clarke’s waist and tickled her stomach. She laughed, and reached around to retaliate, but Bellamy sat up sharp as something on the other side of the fire caught his attention.

“It’s true!” they heard Octavia cry, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder. She’d spent the past hour regaling the group with tales of her time at Mount Weather.

“And how do we know you didn’t come back to spy on us?” a voice asked. Clarke’s muscles tensed as Graham strode over toward Octavia, the fire casting a flickering light on his smirk.

His voice was a mix of playful condescension and hostility, but Octavia didn’t let that faze her. She tilted her head to the side and gave Graham a searching look from under her dark lashes.

“You might find this hard to believe, Graham, but there are far more interesting things to see on Earth than your little spear collection. If I had to spy on you, I’d fall asleep.”

The people sitting near Octavia laughed, and to Clarke’s surprise, Graham actually smiled, though even in the darkness, she could see it didn’t extend to his eyes. “Oh, trust me, my spears are about as big as anyone can handle,” he protested. Octavia giggled.

“Should I go punch that kid in the face now, or later?” Bellamy growled.

“Later,” Clarke said. “I’m comfortable sitting here.” She’d only joined the group around the fire a few minutes earlier, having spent the past hour in the infirmary cabin, making sure Molly, Felix, and the others were well on their way to recovery as the wintershade left their systems. The look of relief on Eric’s face when Clarke helped Felix to stand for the first time since he’d gotten sick was enough to make Clarke forget that she had walked nearly twenty kilometers in one day.

Clarke shifted so she was leaning against Bellamy. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned back, so they were both looking up at the sky. The roar of the fire was enough to muffle the voices of everyone around them, and with their eyes tilted upward, it almost felt like they were the only two people on Earth.

She wondered if her mother and father were looking up at the same sky, feeling the same way. Earlier that day, Bellamy had told her that once Octavia had recovered from her ordeal, they’d both go with Clarke to help her look for her parents. The Griffins had nearly a year’s head start, but it didn’t matter, Bellamy promised. They wouldn’t stop until they found them.

The thought was both thrilling and terrifying, almost too much to wrap her head around. So for the moment, she contented herself with leaning against Bellamy, letting the sound of his steady heartbeat temporarily drown out the rest of her thoughts.

“Look at that,” Bellamy whispered in her ear.

“What?”

He took her hand, gently extended one of her fingers, and pointed it toward a pinpoint of light moving quickly across the sky. “Did you ever make wishes on meteors on Phoenix? Or was that just a Walden thing?” he asked, his breath warm on her skin. “You probably already had everything you wanted.”

“I definitely didn’t have everything I wanted,” Clarke murmured, snuggling against his chest. “Though I think I might be getting close at the moment.”

“So you don’t want to make a wish?”

Clarke looked up again. The speck of light was moving awfully fast, even for a meteor. She sat up a little straighter. “I don’t think that’s a falling star,” she said, unable to keep the note of anxiety out of her voice.

“What do you mean? What else could it be?” But then she felt him grow rigid behind her, a sudden realization settling into his bones. “You don’t think…” He trailed off and tightened his hold around her.

They didn’t have to say it. While the rest of the group sat around the fire in blissful ignorance, Bellamy and Clarke knew the truth. The spot of light wasn’t a star—it was one of the dropships.

The hundred would soon be the hundred no longer.

The rest of the Colony was coming to Earth.