Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)

by Victoria Aveyard

I flip open the cover, expecting to find some new histories, but instead, handwritten words stare up at me from the title page. Red and silver. It’s in Julian’s unmistakable swirling scrawl. The sight line of my room’s cameras beat into my back, reminding me I am not alone. Julian knew that too. Brilliant Julian. The book looks normal, a dull study of relics found in Delphie, but hidden among the words, in the same type, is a secret worth telling. It takes me many minutes to find every added line and I’m quietly grateful I woke up so early. Finally I have them all, and I seem to have forgotten how to breathe. Dane Davidson, Red soldier, Storm Legion, killed on routine patrol, body never recovered. August 1, 296 NE. Jane Barbaro, Red soldier, Storm Legion, killed by friendly fire, body cremated. November 19, 297 NE. Pace Gardner, Red soldier, Storm Legion, executed for insubordination, body misplaced. June 4, 300 NE. There are more names, stretching over the last twenty years, all of them cremated or their bodies lost or “misplaced.” How anyone can misplace an executed man, I don’t know. The name at the end of the list makes my eyes water. Shade Barrow, Red soldier, Storm Legion, executed for desertion, body cremated. July 27, 320 NE. Julian’s own words follow my brother’s name, and I feel like he’s next to me again, slowly and calmly teaching his lesson. According to military law, all Red soldiers are to be buried in the cemeteries of the Choke. Executed soldiers have no b...