Chapter 19- Forked Passages

*All rights to Kiera Cass*

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Virtue01- Thank you so much! Can't wait for you to read this one!

Boredboredboredd- thank you so much! I love love love my girls and adore their sisterhood-def wanted to highlight that last chapter.

K12- never worry about not commenting! Love that you enjoyed reading them both! You'll have to wait and see what happens with Celeste and Amberly. We have between five and eight? chapters left so it'll be fun to play with my loves.

To all of you that read, liked, followed, favorited, or reviewed BC thank you forever and ever. I love y'all so much and i'm so incredibly thankful that you guys like this story.

Hi loves! I actually wrote this chapter when I sat down to write the last chapter and it was a whole crazy thing to write. Kinda crazy that I'm updating so soon after the last one lol, but I wanted to get it up today. Call it a lil Fourth of July surprise present :) Thank you again and again for all of your reviews and being just the best readers I could ask for. I am so grateful for all of you! As I said in my reply to K12, there are between 5 and 8 chapters left in BC after Forked Passages. I really, really hope that you enjoy this chapter and I hope to update again soon!

Sooo… without further ado,

Chapter 19- Forked Passages

I woke up to the rebel alarm blaring in my ears. I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. The darkness in the room was thick. This was the third rebel attack in a week and a half. All of them came with ear-splitting bells in the middle of the night. I was so tired of this. Especially when I still hadn't talked to Maxon. Every tug of my ear went unnoticed and he hurried out of the room at meal-times. The silence between us felt like the wall I knew far too well from our normal arguments but something about this silence felt… final.

I couldn't help but think that it wasn't worth it anymore. Before, even with the rebel alarms and toxic girls and the spikes of jealousy in my chest when I saw Maxon laughing with someone else, I had him. I had the promise of us together at the end of this. But that silence… I was done with the Selection-whatever that meant.

One hand groped for the entrance to the safe room tunnels while I shoved my other hand through my robe. The door banged shut behind me and the quiet of the tunnels met me. I hurried down the stairs. The tunnel was empty. Guards ran through the tunnels normally or I would hear another one of the Elite going down to the safe room. But it was silent.

I swore and broke into a run. I turned a corner and smacked into someone. Books clattered to the floor. I stepped back with an apology on my lips. I looked up. An unfamiliar girl stood in front of me. Grime edged her fingertips and the sides of her face. She wore all denim and there was some symbol on her sleeve. It almost looked like a star. I frowned.

"Who are you?" The words fled unbidden from my mouth.

The girl's eyes locked on mine. She bowed deeply and put a hand to her heart. My brow furrowed.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

She smiled sadly. "Someone fighting for the same things as you, Lady America. We're pulling for you."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my mouth from dropping. A pit deepened in my stomach. They were fighting for the same things as me. I was fighting for justice and equality. I could help people as Queen of Illea. I couldn't just walk away-from that or from Maxon-because I was annoyed about losing some sleep.

The girl was gone when I looked back up. Footsteps echoed through the passage behind me. I turned to catch a pair of familiar green eyes. They lit up with a mixture of panic and relief when he spotted me.

"Where have you been, Mer?" He demanded. I opened my mouth to reply but Aspen kept talking, "Maxon is close to a heart attack. He thinks you're lying dead in a pool of your own blood or something."

Normally I would laugh. But it wasn't so wild a conclusion. Aspen pulled me through the passage.

"How late am I?"

He flipped his wrist to check the uniform watch, but he didn't stop walking. He made a face. "Almost half an hour, Mer. I don't know how you're going to explain your way out of this one."

I sighed. I didn't know either. I spotted the guards lined in front of the Royal Safe Room. They nodded at Aspen and I and slid a card in front of a sensor. The door clicked open.

"I thought the doors couldn't open once they were closed." My brow furrowed.

Aspen nodded as we approached. "Usually," he said, "but when they tried to close it and you weren't there your prince threatened to wait outside for you. They figured out a way."

I bit my lip.

I was barely through the doors of the safe room when someone pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I smiled as Maxon's familiar cologne met my nose. He whispered something I couldn't make out. I pushed him away slightly to look at him.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. A flash of pain flared in his eyes. No, he wasn't. He really thought I was halfway to the grave again. "I'm safe, Max."

He took a deep, shuddering breath. I nodded as he placed a hand to cup my cheek.

"I thought I lost you again." His voice broke. "I thought you were gone. I can't do this anymore. I can't wonder."

I stilled. I can't do this. He was going to end us. He was going to send me home. The pit in my stomach deepened. The Selection was over for me. Tears welled in my eyes. I wiped them away before Maxon could see.

He squeezed my shoulder and stalked to his father in the corner. King Clarkson glanced up from a pile of papers he was looking through. His lips twisted into something like a small smile when he saw me and turned back to Maxon. My lips twitched up. At least the king liked me. At least there was that.

Flashes of gold and brown wavered on the edges of my eyes and two more enveloped me in a hug. I laughed.

"Girl, you really like being almost killed." Celeste quipped.

Marlee laughed too. "Well then it's good she's going to be Queen instead of us, isn't it?"

"Well…" I sighed. "That's the hope."

They dragged me back to the other girls and we sat together in a clump like sisters after a long day of work. I never thought I'd find my best friends in the Selection, but I did: my sisters and the love of my life. If he let himself be.

Maxon strode back towards us. "Ladies I have an announcement."

My breath caught in my throat. He said he was done. And he had said he was looking for someone else. He was looking for anyone that could make him happy without me. Maybe he found her. I swallowed hard.

"I have made my decision and I have spoken to my father. The final decision ceremony will be on Saturday. Your families will be flown in along with the eliminated members of the Selection should they wish it. However, for safety reasons, the rest of Illea must watch the broadcast for the Special Edition Report. For the ceremony, I will be 'picking' between Lady Elise and Lady America. Thank you all for your time and the energy you have put into the Selection. I hope we shall remain friends despite my choice."

He looked at me on his last line. I couldn't tell if he meant to say that I was his choice… or if he wished to remain friends when he picked someone else. I tugged my ear. Maxon's eyes caught mine and he slowly raised his arm to tug his ear back.

I hoped more than anything that it meant that I was the One. His One.