The Hidden Route Picked the Friend novel · Chapter 16 of 24
Chapter 16: The Rooftop
He took her up through her own window at midnight.
"Trust me," Sevrin said.
"I do."
"Then don't look down."
The laundry roof was steep and slick with dew.
He went first, barefoot, with a rolled blanket over one shoulder.
He climbed the slate, and he reached down a hand for her at every gable.
Her stomach swooped.
She clutched his sleeve, and he laughed under his breath, and she wanted to hit him.
Then the roof flattened.
Between two chimney stacks lay a small square of lead, sheltered on three sides, with the whole sky open above.
He shook out the blanket and spread it flat.
Briony stood on the edge of it with her hair blowing, and forgot to be afraid.
The stars were thick as spilled sugar.
There was no moon.
Far below, the palace was a dark shape pricked with a few lit windows.
Beyond it lay the black line of the lake and the silver road.
"Four days," she said.
"I know."
"I've been counting them all day."
"Don't count tonight."
He sat on the blanket and pulled her down between his knees, her back against his chest, and wrapped both arms around her waist.
He was warm.
She could feel his heart through his shirt.
"I found this place when I was seventeen," he said into her hair.
"I came up here after the first time I was sent out."
"What happened?"
"Nothing.
I did the job.
I came up here and I didn't know what to do with my hands."
"What did you do?"
"Looked at the sky."
His arms tightened.
"I've never brought anyone."
She turned in his arms until she knelt facing him.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Hidden Route Picked the Friend are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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