Boundary Read Online Free Page A

Archons. But you must mark this place in your internal map, as you will be making use of the Vault, where past records of excavations are stored.”
    I nod, my heart thumping. This is the exact sort of place Lukas told me to locate. But I hadn’t dreamed that I’d find it on my first day, or that I’d be granted access to it. Trying not to sound overly curious, I ask, “What sort of workwould you like me to perform in the Vault?”
    He smiles a little. “Ah, I hear the disappointment in your voice, Archon Eva. You’d rather train in the Yard than spend your ticks poring over dusty archives?”
    “No, Archon Theo. I didn’t mean—”
    “You don’t have to apologize. I know the Yard is where most young Archons want to be.”
    I can’t help but think of Eamon’s long bells in the Library, researching past Testings for his own preparations—of all the wealth of information it yielded him and me. “I thought the records of past excavations were kept in the Library.”
    “Some Testing documents are indeed collected there. Other Testing records are kept in the Vault, as well as the Archons’ own private excavations.”
    “Of course.” I fall silent.
Careful
, I tell myself. I must keep my excitement, my interest, guarded.
    He pauses. “Don’t you wonder what you’ll be doing up there in the Vault?”
    I almost smile, but I’m frightened. “Yes, Archon Theo.”
    “The Site to which you’ll be traveling with Archon Laurence has been excavated once before. Many years ago. But then the ice shifted, and for the safety of the Archons, the Site was closed. Only now have the Gods decided to open the crevasse once more. So you will be researching that earlier excavation. The research will likely be dull. But we must make certain that we don’t retread the ground of those earlier Archons. Or miss any areas they deemed promising.”
    I nod again, hoping my face is as impassive as my voice. “I’m honored to be doing such important work, Archon Theo.”
    “When you’re coughing on the dust and ice particles ofthe past, you won’t feel so honored,” he replies.
    I wonder why he’s trying to make me feel bad about this assignment. Is this his subtle way of telling me what he really thinks about a Maiden as Archon? Or is some other message at work? Is he trying to tell me what he really thinks of Laurence and that he’s on my side? I can’t guess, and it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I’m going to be granted access to the Vault.
    “When was the Site last excavated? The one to which I’ll be traveling?” I ask.
    “In Year 98, after the Healing, It was a Testing excavation,” he says as he leads me up the stairs.
    Interesting
, I think, and for all kinds of reasons. I know that Testing year. It was the year that one of only two other females besides me Tested. It was the year of Madeline.

VI .
Junius 24
Year 242, A.H .
    I excuse myself before the Attendants serve the final course of sweets—dried figs, cheese, and honey cakes, which used to be my favorite. But I haven’t craved sweets since the Testing; they taste too cloying, too intense. Even though my parents and Jasper offer their understanding when I say I am exhausted, I know they are disappointed. They hunger for details about my first day as Archon. I am in no mood to share, nor do I have to—everyone here knows that much of what goes on inside the Hall belong to Archons alone.
    Mostly, though, I want to avoid any mention of Archon Laurence’s abandonment of me to Archon Theo. I can’t stand another tick of the contrivance.
    My parents stand by the arched doorway to the dininghall as Jasper and I part, chaperones as The Lex commands. Only after our Union can we be alone.
    “I’m just happy that you’ll be in the Aerie for at least two more weeks,” Jasper whispers as he bows and kisses my outstretched hand.
    “Me, too,” I whisper back.
    “Our Union cannot happen soon enough,” he says and looks into my eyes. I see