Morning Star (Red Rising, #3)

by Pierce Brown

“All that time among us. Years. You couldn’t talk to anyone, could you?” “No. Too risky. Kind of a conversation killer. Hello, I’m a Red spy.” He doesn’t laugh. “You still can’t. And that’s what kills you. You’re among your own people and you feel a stranger.” “There it is,” I say, raising a glass. I hesitate, wondering how much to confide in him. Then whisky talks for me. “It’s hard to talk to anyone. Everyone is so fragile. Sevro with his father, with the weight of a people he hardly knows. Victra thinks she’s wicked and keeps pretending like she just wants revenge. Like she’s full of poison. They think I know the path here. That I’ve had a vision of the future because of my wife. But I don’t feel her like I used to. And Mustang—” I stop awkwardly. “Go on. What about her? Come on, man. You killed my brothers. I killed Fitchner. It’s already awkward.” I grimace at the weirdness of this little moment. “She’s always watching me,” I say. “Judging. Like she’s keeping a tally of my worth. Whether I’m fit.” “For what?” “For her? For this? I don’t know. I felt like I proved myself on the ice, but it hasn’t gone away.” I shrug. “It’s the same for you, isn’t it? Serving at the Sovereign’s pleasure when Aja killed Quinn. Your mother’s…expectations. Sitting here with the man who took two brothers from you.”