вЂњWould you do me a favor and go anyway? If you were hurt and I didnвЂ™t do something to help, IвЂ™d feel awful about it.вЂќ His blue eyes were terribly convincing. вЂњMaybe we should take you to the hospital wing, just to be safe.вЂќ вЂњNo, really,вЂќ I insisted. вЂњMy hip hurts a little where I fell, but otherwise I feel perfect.вЂќ Which was true. YouвЂ™re sure you arenвЂ™t hurt?вЂќ He looked me over anxiously, вЂњThank you.вЂќ I started brushing my hair back and smoothing out my dress. ItвЂ™s a miracle the whole lot of you donвЂ™t have broken ankles all the time.вЂќ I giggled as he offered me his hand. вЂњI donвЂ™t know how ladies walk in those shoes. Nothing injured but my pride,вЂќ I said, blushing. вЂњMiss!вЂќ I looked up to see a guard running toward me. I hadnвЂ™t spent much time with Maxon, but he seemed kind and funny and- вЂњAhh!вЂќ My heel snagged on theД®dge of the stair, and I fell with a smack onto the marble floor. I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I approached the first floor and went back to focusing on whether there was more that I was supposed to be doing. I didnвЂ™t see anything, so I moved on, eager to get to the WomenвЂ™s Room. One of the heels seemed to be snagging on the carpet. I paused on the stairs to look at my shoe. Did Queen Amberly do this? She seemed effortlessly stunning all the time. I also wanted him to think I was beautiful, so it felt like I wanted Maxon to think that I was smart and well-rounded. IвЂ™d even written some of it down to keep handy if I forgot something. IвЂ™d memorized everything from SilviaвЂ™s history lesson earlier this week. I merely needed to keep trying, that was all. I felt like I had missed some important lesson, and now I was woefully behind. They had spent their time talking about clothes, and makeup, and boys-while I had paid more mind to my tutorsвЂ™ lectures. I realized I should have paid much more attention to myДЇriends back home who had always seemed to be in a rush when it came to finding a husband and settling down. But now that I was in the middle of a bunch of other girls whose daily mission was to impress one particular boy, I felt dim and dull and less. Before being Selected, I had thought that I was funny and pretty and smart. Was there something wrong with me? While I was certainly having a wonderful time in the palace, I kept feeling like there was something the other girls-well, some of them at least -understood that I didnвЂ™t. Maxon was polite and friendly, but I didnвЂ™t think I had a connection with him the way some of the other girls did. And at that point, of course, IвЂ™d reapply all my makeup and change my outfit anyway. I knew it was silly -Maxon wouldnвЂ™t even see me again until the evening. Still, nearly every day after breakfast, I felt like I had to go back to my room and touch up my makeup before heading to the WomenвЂ™s Room. Carter, what have we done? I didnвЂ™t think I was a vain person. How had this happened? How had I gone from being one of the beloved members of the Selection to being labeled a traitor, awaiting my punishment? Oh, Carter. This the end? I shut my eyes quickly, trying to hold back my tears. Something stirred in the hallway, and my heart started racing. Even now, alone in this cell, all I wanted was for his pain to stop. IвЂ™d rather have my last memory be of his death than suffer knowing that his last memory was of mine. A noose? A bullet? Something much more elaborate and painful? I couldnвЂ™t help wishing that CarterвЂ™s silence meant he was already gone. How could we have stopped? I wondered how we would die. Another tear slid down myД¬heek, and I was grateful for it if only because it was warm on my skin. I shivered as I drew my knees closer to my chest. It had been horrific to hear his grunts of pain as the guards beat the hope out of him, but at least then I knew he was breathing.

Carter was quiet now, and his silence sent deeper chills through my body than the lack of heat in the palace cells did. PART I I PULLED THE TOP LAYERS of my dress a little tighter over my shoulders. CONTENTS Part I Part II Excerpt from The Siren One Two Back Ads About the Author Books by Kiera Cass Copyright

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