"Kay, you need to sit still or I'm not going to be able to bandage this."

"It's fine. I told you I'm fine." I slap Jules' prying hands away, wincing when the movement pulls my shoulder. "I need to see Meg."

"As I've already said, she's in surgery and then she's going to need rest. You won't be able to see her for a while." Jules sighs with exasperation as she ties back her long, dark hair. Her normally sunny face is pinched with worry, resulting in a nearly uncanny resemblance to her brother.

"How is she doing?" I reluctantly allow her to swab the cuts on my face with alcohol, wrinkling my nose and shutting my eyes against the sting.

She doesn't answer immediately, instead cupping my chin in her hands as she turns my head this way and that.

"Jules." I demand.

"She has lost a lot of blood." She responds. "I don't know, Kay. What do you want me to say? She's alive. She's getting the best care we can offer. We don't know what's going to happen." Her voice trembles slightly as she turns away from me to grab a needle and thread. I watch her movements, feeling immediately guilty for snapping at her. Of course Jules is just as worried about Meg as I am. Everyone is. Without our Queen...

I shake my head. I can't think about that possibility. Not yet.

Jules sterilizes the needle and gently tugs my arm towards her, tutting as she turns it over and reveals the ugly gash left by Snake's spear. I watch her movements in an effort to distract myself, gritting my teeth and focusing on the pain as she makes neat little stitches along the cut. Technically, Jules is still training to be a full time physician and shouldn't be operating unsupervised, but she was the only one I allowed close enough to tend to my injuries. Any protestations from the infirmary staff were met by curses and thrown objects until they finally left us alone in one of the curtained-off beds.

"Where's your brother?" I ask, for the millionth time.

"I've been here with you, Kay, how could I possibly have any new information? If you ask me once more where Will is this needle may accidently end up in your eye." Her hands are rock steady despite the exasperation in her tone.

She pulls the final stitch tight and I cuss, shooting her a dirty look.

"Don't be such a baby." She cuts the end of the thread off efficiently. "If you can handle a waxing, you should be able to bear a little stitch up."

"You may want to work on that bedside manner, doctor."

She smirks but the action doesn't meet her eyes. "Most of my patients aren't quite so difficult."

"But look at the variety of injuries I give you to practice with." I gesture vaguely to my battered face and body. "You should be appreciative."

"It is sweet that you want to support me in my training, but it doesn't mean you have to go to such lengths." She begins cleaning up my scraped knuckles, a little more gently this time.

We lapse into silence, each adrift in our own thoughts as she works. After a time there is a rustling on the other side of the curtain. Jules frowns slightly before straightening and ducking through, leaving me alone on the bed, stuck with my bad leg propped up on a pillow. There is a quiet murmur of voices and I strain to listen for the sound of Will's voice. I am just about to attempt standing and seeing for myself when Jules pushes the curtain aside, revealing Luca.

My heart drops slightly in disappointment but I keep my face impassive, offering him a cursory nod.

"How do you feel?" He asks, remaining at a respectful distance as Jules returns to cleaning my hands.

"I feel like I just had my ass handed to me by a crazy Waster." I reply, indicating that he should pull up a chair.

He folds his lean frame into the seat by my bed and I notice an ugly purple bruise colouring his forearm. It takes me a moment to piece everything together.

"You took that blow for me." I state, my eyes trailing the line from his arm to his eyes.

"Better my arm than your head." He avoids my gaze as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Thank you."

"Thanks is not necessary. You saved my life once already."

"We really need to stop trading favours like this." I grimace as I help Jules roll up my tunic to reveal my ribs. Her mouth pulls into a tight line at the sight of the heinous blue and yellow markings circling my torso. She checks the bruises carefully, pressing gently here and there.

Luca averts his eyes but continues to talk. "Rowan acted alone. I hope that you understand that. My brother and I had no knowledge that she was planning anything."

"Clearly your brother's authority is not as respected as he believes it to be." I reply, grunting when Jules prods a particularly tender area. "Why did she do it, Luca?"

He shakes his head slowly. "I do not know. Your commander is speaking with her and Jaron now but she will not say anything."

I breathe an internal sigh of relief at his statement. Will is here. He'll handle everything. "She said it was to get Noah back." Looking over at Luca. "What connection could Meg's life have to the kidnappings?"

His brow furrows in thought. "Perhaps we need to consider who would benefit from the death of your Queen."

"You mean, besides the former Courtiers?" Jules speaks up. My head snaps towards her, staring as she calmly unrolls a length of bandage.

"It is true that some of them are unhappy with the new order." I say slowly. "But would they really go so far as to commit murder?"

Jules scoffs. "They're much too soft-handed and prissy to do something so messy themselves. However, employing a Waster to do their dirty work?" She shrugs, placing the end of the bandage against my stomach. "Sounds right up their alley."

I am about to reply when the sound of a familiar tread echoing down the tiled hall commands my attention. I jerk upright, wincing at the motion and causing Jules to drop the bandage.

Will materializes next to us, looking scruffy but alert. He is still dressed in the civilian clothes he was wearing at the bar and his eyes are bloodshot, rimmed by heavy shadows. His presence has an instant calming effect and I find myself feeling grateful that he is here, despite the fact that he is probably furious at me for bringing Meg to The Beacon.

His grey eyes linger on my face, taking in my appearance. After glancing down towards my brightly-coloured ribs and propped-up leg he finally speaks. "I'm glad you're all right."

I regret my small smile when it pulls at my cut lip. I suppose 'all right' is a relative term when it comes to me.

He turns to Jules. "Anything serious?"

"Some cracked ribs." She scoops up the fallen bandages and retrieves a fresh set, professionally oblivious. "There was a dislocated shoulder that's been reset. I stitched up her arm and she'll have to stay off that knee for a few days but other than that.."

"Business as usual." He finishes. Glancing to the side he seems to notice Luca for the first time. There is the slightest of pauses before the men exchange a cursory nod.

"Did she tell you anything?" I ask, holding one of my arms awkwardly as Jules wraps my ribs.

The muscles in Will's jaw tense. "Nothing. She won't say a word, not even to Jaron." He looks back towards Luca, addressing him, "Would she act alone or do you think someone put her up to this?"

"Rowan does not gain anything if your Queen dies." Luca waits a beat, thoughtful. "Her act was desperate but she is no fool. Some person wants your Queen dead and used Rowan."

"You'll understand if I don't believe you." Will's tone is as polite as ever but carries an unmistakable trace of malice. I look up abruptly, forgetting about Jules circling my torso and nearly knocking her with my elbow.

"Will." I admonish, glaring at him.

He ignores me, his eyes never leaving Luca. "Your people tore a hole in our wall and injured innocent civilians. You shot down my airship and killed two of my soldiers. You stuck my head on a block after we declared peace. You took Kay." He doesn't embellish on this point but draws a visible breath before continuing. "And after we open our gates to you, our Queen is attacked and nearly killed by a supposedly trusted member of your party."

Even the ever-busy Jules has paused, her eyes wide as saucers as she watches her brother. No one moves an inch until Will danes to speak again. "So, Luca. You may see why I am having a difficult time trusting your intentions."

Luca's neck has reddened beneath his dark beard. Other than that and his clenched fists he gives no sign of how deeply he feels Will's words, but I recognize his reaction and pray fervently that he can keep his temper.

"You are right." He says finally. My brows shoot up in surprise, barely recognizing this Waster who would normally leap at the opportunity to mock someone outright. Luca appears somber, humble even. "We have not given you a reason to trust us yet."

"They saved us in the alley." I break in. "If Luca and Jaron hadn't shown up when they did, Meg and I would both be dead."

Will's eyes dart down to the bruise covering Luca's arm and back up. "That's a start."

"We can figure this out." I stress, keeping an even tone, feeling as though I am balancing on the fine point of a knife. Jules ties off my bandage and slips away, squeezing Will's hand and shooting me an apologetic look before disappearing. "Someone wanted Meg dead, and likely it wasn't Rowan. Will, we need to consider the possibility that someone in the City put her up to it."

He quits his strange power struggle with Luca for long enough to pull up a chair and sit down on the other side of the bed. He rubs a hand forcefully over his face, gradually easing back into my familiar, deliberate Will.

"If she is working with the Courtiers, then they must mean to seize back the throne and reinstate the old system. Without Meg, there is no natural heir. Her lineage would be usurped." His voice is muffled behind his hands as he muses aloud.

"Who would rule if not Meg?" I ask, somewhat surprised that I have never considered this situation before. It always seemed so right and natural to me that Meg be Queen; the idea of someone else sitting in her throne causes an unwelcome lump to grow in my throat. I swallow bodily, actively pushing away the panic and instead forcing myself to focus on a something I can reason my way through. "Maybe one of the regents?"

Will shakes his head. "The regents are elected officials; they have no right to ascension. Besides, I can't buy that any of them are capable of something so underhanded. Meg trusts her advisors too implicitly."

"Who then?"

"If the royal lineage is terminated then the rule of the City shall defer to the governance of the Outer City." He speaks robotically, looking upwards with his brow knotted, as though he is reading from some old text in his head.

I stare at him incredulously. "Is that a law?"

"A very old one that hasn't been enforced for generations." He replies grimly. "But that's how it works."

"So, if your leader does not have any family members, then leadership is transferred to the next tribe?" Luca speaks up, his even voice somewhat jarring in the midst of the conversation. "That is a terrible structure."

"It's a work in progress." Will snaps defensively. "We're only a few months out from a Revolution, give us some credit."

Luca shrugs, sitting back in his chair but not saying anything more. I manage with some effort to keep from rolling my eyes at the exchange and instead return my mind to the task at hand, thinking aloud. "Before the City merged with the Outer City, the Outer City was governed by a noble family." Realization dawns and I glance up at Will, who is nodding slowly.

"Grayson." He confirms. "Lynal Grayson."

"Who?" Luca breaks in again, not one to be left out.

"Before the Revolution, the King wanted Meg to marry Grayson." I explain quickly for Luca's benefit. "He was very nearly the next in line for the throne." I am struck suddenly by a thought. "Would he have access to our airships?" I ask Will.

I can almost see the gears in his head turning. Likely, he is already several steps ahead of me. "It's entirely possible." He confirms. "We supplied the Outer City's army with all of their technology. There's no telling where some of those ships 'lost' in the Wastelands ended up."

"My gods." I breathe, forgetting for a moment that I have a busted lip and biting down painfully. "Could the missing Wasters be in the Outer City?"

Luca rises to his feet so quickly that his chair topples over, clattering loudly against the tiled floor. "We should go now."

I stare at him and gesture obviously towards my battered body and the infirmary bed. "I'm going to need a minute."

"Will and I can go." I don't miss that he doesn't refer to Will as 'the commander' anymore.

"Listen, it's just a theory that the Outer City has anything to do with this. Granted it's extremely plausible but we don't have enough to go on right now." Will's cool tone is instantly recognizable from the countless times I have pushed him to charge forward. For once I don't feel the usual rebellious reaction and instead find myself agreeing with him. Perhaps it is because this time I am not the one on the receiving end of his lecture, or perhaps it is because I don't want them going anywhere without me. Either way, it feels good to be seeing eye-to-eye with him again.

"My brother is out there." Luca's hands curl into fists again.

"I understand that. Truly, I do." Will keeps Luca's gaze locked with his, as though facing down a feral animal. "But if we raise an army and charge the Outer City without knowing what we are facing then we risk losing what little we have to go off of."

"I agree with Will." Jaron speaks up suddenly from the foot of the bed. I jump, startled. How can someone so large be so quiet?

"Jaron, every moment we wait is one Noah suffers." Luca forces some calmness into his voice but his tightly drawn shoulders tell another story.

"Peace, brother. We cannot help Noah if we create more enemies." Jaron glances between Will and I. "Your people and Queen Megra have shown us nothing but peace and hospitality. You have shown faith in a union when we have given you no reason to trust. Even now, you have every right to cast us out but have not. I wish I had the words to express what that means to me." He looks meaningfully towards Luca. "To us."

Will, for once, seems at a loss for words. I jump in. "Thank you, Jaron. If Meg were here she would thank you as well. I know that she would not blame you for what happened."

At the mention of Meg something pulls at the Waster chief's mouth. "How does she fare?"

The fluttery panic builds in my chest again. I manage to shake my head and shrug with one good shoulder. "We don't know yet."

"We have a very good healer back at my camp. If it is agreeable to you, I would like to send for him. He is skilled with herbs and a poultice, I believe he can help." Jaron offers.

I think back to Luca's leg and how quickly it healed after a day in the Waster camp. Will and I exchange a glance and I raise an eyebrow to him in question.

Will sighs, rubbing a hand over his head. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"I will send for him immediately." Jaron signals to Luca and makes to turn away but Will calls him back.

"Jaron?"

The chief stops in his tracks, waiting expectantly.

"You may want to keep a low profile. Our citizens are angry and I cannot be held accountable for any actions they may take against you or your people."

Jaron's jaw clenches and he gives a tight nod. "Understood."

"One final thing." Will looks at me once and then back at the brothers. "I have not made up my mind about your intentions yet. Your one saving grace is that Kay trusts you, and I trust Kay. Tread carefully."

Jaron waits a beat before nodding again and disappearing silently back down the hall, Luca following in his wake and protesting urgently.

Will watches them go, waiting until their figures recede before turning back to me. His steely eyes rove over my face again and he shakes his head ever so slightly.

"I don't know if it's much consolation, but Rowan looks just as bad as you do." He says finally. "And Penn's nose will never heal straight."

It takes me a moment to realize that he is talking about Snake and I smirk, feeling no trace of remorse for either of them. "That does make me feel better."

The half-grin pulls at his face, dissipating some of the tension. He moves from his chair to sit next to me on the bed, resting his hand near mine. I want nothing more than to lace my fingers through his, bruised knuckles be damned but the few inches of distance between us may as well be a mile.

"Thank you for saying that." I glance up from the sight of our hands to look at him. "That you trust me. It means a lot."

"I have always trusted your judgement. No one reads people as well as you." He speaks matter-of-factly.

"That is simply untrue." I shift on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position for my leg. "What about Lara?"

He helps to adjust the pillow propping up my knee. "You saw what little good there was in her."

I watch him carefully, breathing a sigh of thanks when the pressure on my leg is released. "That's a nice way of looking at it."

"You were right about Meg." He meets my gaze meaningfully. "If you hadn't seen her potential the City could not exist as it does today."

At the mention of Meg my heart pulls. "Do you think she'll be all right?"

He doesn't answer immediately, twisting my heart further. "Meg is strong." He says eventually. "She has a very good chance."

"A diplomatic diagnosis." I sigh, falling back against the cushions with a sudden exhaustion. Looking up at him. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Isn't this the part where we argue? Here, I'll start you off. Say, 'I told you so'."

The slightest flash of his dimple. "I'm not going to say that."

"Are you sure? It's a good line. Then maybe you could start in about how I should have paid better attention in training."

His brow furrows slightly. "Is that what you think of me? That I do nothing but lecture you?"

My heart softens. "I suppose you have some other qualities." I tilt my head at him. "You're a hell of a commander, for one. I think you may have taught Jaron his first lesson in humility."

"He knows how to pick his battles. I just hope he can keep Luca from doing anything stupid." He glances over his shoulder, looking in the direction the brothers retreated.

"Me too."

He returns his gaze to me. "I'm sorry I'm so hard on you, Kay."

"No you're not." I smirk at him. "But it's all right. I just wish you wouldn't take it so personally when I don't follow your advice to the letter."

He gives a small shake of his head, the smile slipping from his face. "I don't want to argue about this anymore." He sounds tired as he gently lays a hand on top of my bandaged knee, fingering the frayed fabric. Even the indirect contact sends a shiver through my body.

"I don't either." The fight with Rowan has drained every combative instinct I have left. I shift my knee out of his grasp. "I think you were right about us needing some time apart."

He sighs heavily, suddenly appearing older. I feel an ache at seeing him this way, knowing that without Meg his responsibility has increased tenfold. I can't add to the weight of his burdens.

His hand draws away from where it rests near mine.

"I wish I knew how to be enough for everyone." He says, running a hand over his scruffy head. "Commander, lover, friend." He sighs and I am reminded of a certain rebel Courtier, the one holding the weight of a rebellion on his broad shoulders.

"You are enough." I tell him. He doesn't look at me. "Will."

His eyes meet mine reluctantly.

"You are enough." I say, more firmly this time. "But there are more important issues to figure out than whatever it is between you and I."

"I'm not giving up on this." His voice is low, hoarse in his throat.

"Neither am I." My lip throbs again when I offer up a small smile.

"Good." His half grin is tentative. "Hang tight, first thing's first. We need to shake down Grayson and find those missing Wasters." He rises to his feet. "In the meantime, rest that leg and try not to piss off any more would-be assassins."

"I don't go looking for fights, you know." I tell him, mock-defensively.

He lingers by the curtain, tall and impassive. He would appear every inch the commander he was born to be if it weren't for the trace of regret lingering in his normally clear grey eyes.

"You may not go out looking for fights, Kay. Somehow, though, they always manage to find you."