The streets of Polis were lined with people cheering the victorious return of their heda from battle. She and Clarke remained on their horses to make it easier for their guards to protect them from the crush of bodies.
They went to the arena, and Ontari stood in the center of the risers as people filled the space. When it was full to capacity, she raised her hands and the crowd quieted.
"The Skaikru rebellion is over. Those who attacked us are dead. Their bodies will feed scavengers, and their bones will be separated before they sink into the earth. Our armies fought with valor and honor, and the warriors who fell were honored at the site of the battle. Many were injured, and many wounded were saved by the knowledge of Skaikru's fisa.
"Some Skaikru were prisoners to those on the wrong path, and they have been spared. We can learn much from Skaikru. They are my guests in Polis and will be treated as such while the future of their status as a kru is decided. Until then, speak to them. Teach them our ways and learn theirs. We are not as different as you think.
"Blood has had blood. The debt is settled. Tonight, we feast in honor of our fallen and in celebration of our victory."
The crowd began cheering again, and when Ontari went down into it, her guards stayed close, but let her greet everyone. Clarke watched her until she couldn't pick Ontari from the crowd, and walked at the edge of the arena to the street that would take her back to the tower. Her guards walked beside her, but for once, no one was interested in Clarke. Walking through the streets in something like anonymity was a relief.
Murphy waited in their quarters. "Nice of you to show up, Princess."
"Sorry. Ontari ordered me back here before I had a chance to talk to anyone."
"Your mom isn't happy."
"I'm not happy, either, Murphy. Did you hear anything about Jaha?"
"They looked for them, but didn't find anything, not even tracks. They left a bunch of troops guarding the Ark, though, so they won't be able to come back if they left."
"What if they didn't leave?"
"What?"
"What if they're hiding on the upper levels or in the ventilation system?"
"They'll have to come out for food and water. Why does it matter?"
"You're not stupid, Murphy. You know why it matters."
"It doesn't matter to me, though."
"It should."
"All I want, Griffin, is to live my life without being somebody's bitch."
"Life's never that simple. Go get cleaned up. There's a feast tonight."
"For the record, I hate grounders, I hate horses, and I don't like you too much."
"The feeling's mutual. If you don't shut up, I'll show Roan a hangnail."
"Go float yourself," Murphy muttered, and headed for his room.
Clarke sat in a chair and thought about her afternoon. It seemed like Lexa was overriding Ontari, replacing the Azgeda with Lexa's thoughts and feelings, but during Ontari's speech to Polis, Clarke felt none of that. Perhaps Ontari, too, was sick of war, or feared Roan enough to walk the path he dictated.
When she and Ontari were close enough to touch, Clarke heard Lexa clearly and understood her Trigedasleng. Clarke learned quite a bit, but was still a long way from fluent, and some words she heard in her head were new to her, so she couldn't understand why she didn't need to ask someone what they meant.
She sighed and picked up the pile of papers waiting at her seat. She found nothing new or important in the reports, and went to her room to undress so she could get a bath.
When she returned from a lengthy soak, a second pile of bedding was on her bed, as was a new outfit, again in black. The shirt with it was blue, at least. She saw a third trunk near the other two and pushed the bedding aside to sit and think. Clarke was still undecided about Ontari's motives for giving her all of Lexa's things. She didn't know when she would ever look at them without feeling like she'd been sucker punched.
She forced herself to her feet and dressed. Outside her door, the guard who braided her hair before waited, and Clarke let her lead her to a chair and sat while she put her hair in braids. Roan came out of his room and smiled at Clarke. "You made quite an impression on Heda."
"That's me, making friends everywhere I go."
Roan laughed. "You still don't see how you affect people, Wanheda."
"What are you going to do with Murphy?"
"I think I will take him back to Azgeda with me for a while. It will do him good to see the world."
"He's seen more than I have."
"Oh?"
"He's been to the City of Light."
"Why did you not tell me this before?"
"You didn't ask."
He gestured for the guard to finish and leave. Before she left, he cautioned her, "Not a word, or I will take your tongue myself."
"Murphy would not speak of Titus' interest in him without your approval. I assume it has something to do with that."
"Maybe."
"Clarke, keeping such secrets can get you killed."
"Sharing them with you can get all of us killed."
"I can keep a secret. You can keep a secret. Can Murphy?"
"I don't know."
"Don't talk about me behind my back," Murphy said as he entered the room.
"What did you tell him?" Clarke asked.
"Nothing."
"I told you, Clarke, he would not share anything until he spoke with you."
"Tell Roan about the City of Light."
"I didn't actually go there but I traveled to it. Jaha is just as crazy as Titus. He swears the city of Light is real. All you have to do is swallow a computer chip."
"What is a computer chip?"
"It's a piece of technology with a set of instructions. These chips are advanced. They interact with your brain. Jaha was recruiting people to go to the City of Light. He brought back the AI that controls the chips. The same A.I. that launched the nuclear weapons that ended the world."
Before Roan could ask, Clarke said, "Artificial Intelligence. It's a computer program that simulates human thinking. It doesn't have emotions so all of its decisions are purely based in logic. That's probably why it launched the missiles."
"What does that have to do with Titus?"
"When the guards picked me up, they found a chip when they searched me. Then they started asking what I was doing with the commander's sacred symbol. There's nothing sacred about it. It's a mathematical symbol for infinity, but on the chip, it's a manufacturer's logo. It tells you who built it," Murphy explained.
Clarke removed the chip Marcus gave her from her pocket and displayed it on her palm. "Like this, right?"
"Yeah. Where'd you get that?"
"Marcus had it. I don't know how he got it, and I haven't had a chance to talk to Mom or him about it."
"May I?" Roan asked.
Clarke nodded and he gently removed it from her hand and examined it. When he was finished, he returned it to her and Clarke put it back in her pocket. "Tell him the rest, Murphy."
"The guards brought me here. I woke up tied to a chair and Reverend Crazy started beating the hell out of me, demanding answers. I told him the truth, and he kept beating me and whipping me. There's a shrine down there, and an escape pod, and some crazy pictures on the wall."
"An escape pod is a small vehicle designed to be launched from a space station in an emergency," Clarke explained to Roan. "It holds one or two people. The pod Murphy found has the name Polaris on it, except some of the letters burned away and all you can see is Polis. Polaris was the 13th space station, but it never joined the Ark, and no one would ever say why."
"What pictures are on the walls?"
"I saw two big ones. One has a woman standing under a mushroom cloud, which is the signature of a nuclear detonation. The other had the same woman calling a bunch of something to her. They may have been people, but it's hard to tell."
Roan looked from one to the other. "There is more you are not telling me. Why did Titus imprison both of you when Lexa's death was announced?"
"Tell him about the City of Light," Clarke told Murphy again.