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Veronica Roth
Devoted

Published by arrangement with HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Jacket Art and Design by Joel Tippie

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1. Tris

I enter our room at the Erudite headquarters. The words still echo in my head: “My name is Edith Pryor, I wish I could forget it!”

- So you've never seen her before? Even in photographs? asks Christina, whose bandaged leg is neatly placed on the pillow.

Christina was shot during our desperate attempt to obtain the secret file containing the Edith Pryor video. Little did we know at the time that this meant the destruction of not only our factions and our personalities, but also the foundation of the entire city.

– Who is she to you - grandmother or aunt?

“I have no idea,” I answer. “Pryor is my paternal last name, so she’s from our family.” On the other hand, judge for yourself, the name Edith most likely refers to altruists, and the pope’s relatives belonged to the erudites...

“It turns out that she is older than your father,” Kara says, leaning back on the bed.

Now Kara looks an awful lot like Will, her brother and my friend whom I shot. But Kara straightens up and Will's ghost disappears.

- Older. For several generations. She is one of our ancestors.

"Ancestor". The term seems as old as the dilapidated brick fence of a cemetery. I touch the wall of the room: it is cold, white.

So, I inherited complete independence and the confidence that my “I” is much more important than everything else. And now I have received a clear sign that we must leave the city and look for at least something outside of it.

“What I want to know,” Kara mutters, rubbing her forehead, “how long have we been here?” And listen, could you please stop wandering around?

I freeze and raise an eyebrow questioningly.

“Sorry,” she says.

“Okay, let’s go,” Christina enters. “We’ve just been hanging around here too long.”

Several days have passed since Evelyn started a riot at the Erudite headquarters. Then the prisoners fled from their cells on the third floor. One of the factionless women bandaged our wounds and distributed painkillers. We could eat and shower, but no one informed us about what was happening outside. Our requests were ignored.

“I was hoping Tobias would check on us,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. -Where does he hang out?

“Probably angry that you deceived him and secretly collaborated with his father,” Kara suggests.

I glance sideways at her.

- Hardly. Tobias isn't that petty.

“Probably something delayed him,” says Christina. “You haven’t forgotten what he told you, Tris?”

In that bedlam, when the factionless tried to push us back to the stairs, I grabbed the hem of his shirt. I didn’t want to lose Tobias in the crowd, but he pushed me away and shouted: "Believe me!"

“No, of course,” I answer.

And this is the honest truth. I'm really trying to believe. But every part of my body desperately yearns for freedom. And not only from prison, but also from the city. I desperately need to see what's behind the fence.

2. Tobias

I keep replaying my days as a prisoner here in my head. Half naked and beaten almost to the point of loss of consciousness. There are other memories: the nightmarish expectation that Beatrice Prior would soon die. My bloody fists, pounding on the door and her motionless body in Peter’s arms. He warned me that she was on drugs. I hate this place.

Now it’s not very clean here, like it used to be when the building belonged to scholars. Now it has been ravaged by a riot, bullet holes are visible everywhere in the walls, and pieces of broken light bulbs litter the floor. I trudge along the dirty corridor to the cell with the lights flickering in the wrong direction. They let me through without question, because on my forearm I have a black bandage with an empty circle - the symbol of the factionless. Plus, I look a little like Evelyn. Before, Tobias Eaton was a shameful name. Now it is one of the most respected.

Tris is sitting on the floor next to Christina. Kara froze nearby. My Tris always seemed pale and small. But for some reason she manages to fill the entire room. She immediately recognizes me, jumps up, hugs me and hides her face in my chest.

I stroke her hair. I can't get used to the fact that they are short. Although at first I was even happy, because this way she looks like a warrior, and not like a girl. That's what she needed.

-Did you get here without any problems? - she asks.

“I’m Tobias Eaton,” I answer her, and she laughs.

“Exactly,” Tris pulls back a little and looks at me point-blank.

Her eyes change strangely, as if the wind is blowing autumn leaves through them.

- Where have you been? What's happened? - she exclaims.

I understand Tris. She had a hard time. She survived her brother's betrayal, anticipation of execution, and the fear that truth serum would be used on her. I just have to get her out of here.

Kara stares at us, and I feel awkward, like a snake that has shed its skin and is not yet accustomed to its new cover. Having an audience doesn't appeal to me at all.

“Evelyn keeps everyone strict,” I say. “No one dares take a step without her permission.” But she issued a call to unite against outside oppressors.

- Oppressors? - Christina repeats.

She takes a bottle out of her pocket and pours its contents into her mouth. I think some kind of painkiller for the bullet wound.

I frown.

– Evelyn, and, by the way, not only she, believes that we should not wander outside the city. They supposedly could cause us harm. And she is trying to solve our problems. “I’ll give her speech briefly,” I continue. “But I suspect that this is extremely beneficial for my mother.” We are in her power, and if we slip away, she will lose her influence.

“Yeah,” Tris grumbles. - Who would doubt that.

“Her point of view has a right to exist,” Christina interjects. “And we have a lot going on.” Why should we help those who are hiding behind the fence?

Tris chews her lip thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” she finally says.

It's already three on my watch. I'm late, and Evelyn is suspicious. I told her that I had to tell Tris that it was over between us. And it doesn’t take time. I’m not sure, however, that Evelyn believed me. I interrupt their argument.

– Listen: they decided to interrogate the prisoners. And they're going to inject you with truth serum. Then you will be condemned as traitors. We need to come up with some practical plan.

- What? – Tris is amazed. – Since when has the search for truth been regarded as a betrayal?

– Whatever one may say, you opposed our leaders. Evelyn and her henchmen don't want anyone to leave the city. That's why they are not happy with the video of this... Edith Pryor.

“They're just like Janine,” Tris snorts. “We are ready to do anything to suppress the truth.” And for what? To reign in your microscopic world? Rave.

I’m not going to admit to them that I share my mother’s opinion in some ways. I don't owe anything to people living outside our city. It doesn't matter whether I'm a divergent or not, I'm not going to sacrifice myself to save humanity.

But I long to escape from here - like a wild animal trying to escape from a trap. A rabid wolf, ready to bite off its own paw.

“In general,” I begin carefully, “if the truth serum works on you, you will be convicted.”

– What does “if it works” mean? – Kara narrows her eyes.

“Divergent,” Tris says, pointing a finger at her own head.

“Yes... amazing,” Kara puts her hair in a knot at the back of her head. – Although atypical. In my experience, most Divergents can't resist a chemical cocktail. I don't know how you do it, Tris.

“The other scholars who stuck their filthy needles into me were also surprised,” Tris interrupts her sharply.

- Please, let's concentrate. You need to be released from prison,” I say and grab Tris’s hand.

Her fingers intertwine with mine. We are not strangers, and her touch fills me with energy and hope.

- And how? – she softens.

“I’ll ask Evelyn to interrogate you first,” I explain. “Then all you have to do is create a convincing story that exonerates Christina and Kara.” You will succeed, I have no doubt.

- Really?

“I was hoping you’d figure something out on your own; compared to me, you’re a real champion of lying.”

My words hit the eye, not the eyebrow. She's deceived me before. She promised that she would not go to her death at the headquarters of the erudites, and did the opposite. Moreover, I collaborated there with Marcus, my father.

“Okay,” she nods and looks gloomily at the floor.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

- I have to go.

- Well, thank you.

I feel a familiar rush and my mind literally merges with hers. It's a bit like my desire to kiss Tris every time I see her - the slightest distance between us drives me crazy. Our fingers intertwine even tighter, her palm is still glued to my rough skin. Tris may be pale and thin, but her eyes remind me of the endless expanses that I have always dreamed of.

“If you’re going to lick me, do me a favor and warn me so I can turn away,” Christina mutters.

“Turn away,” Tris smiles slightly.

I touch my lips to her cheek and slowly find her mouth. We kiss. I enjoy her breath. I really want to tell her something. I hold back, but not for long. Whatever happens, though.

“I wish I could be alone with you,” I say, leaving the cell.

- Me too.

As I close the door, I notice Christina pretending to be sick and Kara laughing. Tris's arms are hanging limply.

3. Tris

“In my opinion, you are complete idiots,” I blurt out.

After being injected with truth serum, the body becomes heavier and turns leaden. The forehead is covered with sweat.

“You should be thanking me, not questioning me.”

- For what? Because you ignore the instructions of the leaders of our faction? Maybe I should also thank you for deciding to prevent the liquidation of Janine Matthews? You acted like a traitor.

Evelyn Johnson hisses like a snake. Everything takes place in the boardroom of the Erudite headquarters. I've been in custody for at least a week.

I see Tobias. He hides in his mother's shadow. He hasn't taken his eyes off me from the moment I sat down in the chair and my wrists were tied with plastic tape. Okay, we should already act out the “comedy”.

Now that I know I can do it, it's much easier.

“No,” I mutter. “And I thought Marcus was working for the reckless faction.” I couldn’t fight like a soldier should, but I wanted to help.

- Why couldn’t you be a soldier?

A fluorescent lamp shines from behind Evelyn. I can't concentrate on anything for a second and shake my head angrily.

“Well...” I drawl.

I don’t know when I learned to act. I guess I have an innate talent for lying.

“I can’t hold a weapon in my hands.” After shooting... at him. In Willa. Since then, one type of weapon has filled me with panic.

Evelyn grins. I suspect that in the very depths of her heart there is not a drop of sympathy for me.

“So Marcus admitted that he was working on my orders,” she mutters. – Did you believe him, even without knowing about his tense relations with both reckless drivers and factionless people?

“It’s clear why you didn’t choose the erudites,” she laughs.

My cheek starts to twitch. I want to hit Evelyn, as I'm sure many of the people in the room do, although they would never dare admit it. We have fallen into a trap. We are trapped in a city patrolled by factionless. They seized power. After Janine Matthews died, there was no one left who dared to challenge her. From the frying pan into the fire, from one tyrant to another - this is our world.

- Why were you silent? she asks.

“I don’t like admitting weakness,” I answer. “And I also understood that Four wouldn’t like it: the fact that I worked with his father.

And suddenly I go cold: the truth serum is working on me too.

- Why do you need to wallow in the trash heap that you created here yourself! What kind of throne do you have here? – I blurt out.

Evelyn's face distorts into a grimace of disgust.

She leans towards my face, and I guess her real age. I see her wrinkles and unhealthy pallor - the result of many years of abstinence in food. But she is still beautiful, just like her son.

- I'm trying to build new world“,” she rumbles and suddenly switches to a whisper. “I was an altruist, Beatrice Prior.” I can’t imagine what will happen to you next, but I promise that there will be no place for you, especially next to my boy.

I'm smiling. This cannot be done, but with this rubbish in the blood it is terribly difficult to suppress gestures and facial expressions. She thinks Tobias belongs to her. But in general, he belongs only to himself. Evelyn straightens up.

“You may be stupid, but you are not a traitor.” The interrogation is over. You are free.

- What about my friends? – I object weakly. - Christina, Kara...

“We will deal with them in the very near future.”

I stand up, feeling weak and dizzy from the injection. The people in the hall are like sardines in a barrel, and for several long seconds I can’t get my bearings until someone takes my arm. A boy with dark skin. Uriah. We're heading for the exit. Someone's loud exclamations accompany us.

We walk down the corridor to the elevator. Uriah touches the button and the doors slide open. My knees are weak.

– And about the trash heap and the throne, wasn’t that too much? – I’m interested.

- Fine. She thinks you are hot-tempered and unbalanced.

Everything inside me is trembling. Have they really let me go and will we find a way out of the city? You no longer need to wait, pacing your cell and quarreling with the guards.

By the way, this morning the guards were chatting something about the factionless rules. Former faction members are required to move into the vicinity of the Erudite headquarters and mix, so that there are no more than four members of the same faction in each dwelling. We should also exchange clothes. As a result, I was already given a yellow shirt of the Partnership and black trousers of truth-tellers.

- Here we go...

Uriah leads me out of the elevator. On the Erudite headquarters floor, the glass walls shine. sunlight refracts in them, and rainbow spots play on the floor. I cover my eyes with my palm. Uriah and I enter a narrow room with beds, wardrobes and small tables arranged along the walls.

“It was the erudites who were the first to organize dormitories,” explains Uriah. “I’ve already reserved beds for Christina and Kara.”

Three girls in red shirts sat near the door. I assume that they are from the Partnership. Lying on the far bed elderly woman spectacled. Probably an erudite. We should stop determining whether people belong to one faction or another, but this is an old habit and it’s difficult to break it right away.

Uriah flops onto the bed. I sit down on the next one. Happy and relaxed.

“Zeke says the girls will come later,” Uriah reports.

For a moment I feel relieved. But I quickly remember that Caleb will remain in the cell. He was Janine's henchman, and they would probably never acquit him. How far will they go? Actually, I don’t care... Although this is a lie, of course. He's still my brother.

- Thank you, Uriah.

He nods.

- How are you? I mean... Lynn and...

Uriah was friends with Lynn and Marlene, and now both are dead. I understand how he feels now, because I also lost friends. Al died at the very beginning, unable to withstand the initiation, Will died during the simulation of the attack due to my stupid haste. But I'm not trying to pretend that I suffer the same way as Uriah. Why pretend?

“I don’t even want to think about it,” he shakes his head. - I will live on.

- OK. If you need to talk, let me know.

“Okay,” Uriah promises and stands up. - Are you okay? I told my mother that I would visit her in the evening. Oh, I almost forgot. Four said that he would meet you later.

I jump up.

- Where and when?

– After ten, in Millennium Park. On the lawn,” he grins. - Don’t worry, you’ll burst into flames.

4. Tobias

No matter what my mother sits on - on a chair, on an armchair, or even on a ledge - she always chooses the very edge, as if she is ready at any moment to break loose and run somewhere. This time she was perched on Janine's desk at the Erudite headquarters. The toes of the shoes rest on the floor, and dim city light falls from behind. The lean, muscular body is tense.

“Let's talk about your loyalty,” she says.

“You helped Tris and had a hand in the appearance of that video,” she continues. “Fortunately, the others remained in the dark.”

“Listen,” I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, “I had no idea what information was stored in the file.” I trusted Tris more than I trusted myself.

I thought that if I told my mother that I broke up with Tris, I would achieve my goal. And I was not mistaken - she became warmer, even a little more open and caring.

- Now that you've seen the recording? – Evelyn asks. – What do you think about her? And we... do we really have to leave town?

It is clear what she wants: for me to say that I see no reason to go out into the outside world. But I only dare to tell half-truths.

“I’m afraid,” I answer, “and I’m not sure it’s wise, given the dangers that may await us.”

She considers my words, biting her lip. I have the same habit. I did this while waiting for my father to return and wondering who would come home: a benevolent and respected altruist or someone who would beat me. I run my tongue over the bite scars. My memories taste bitter and bile.

Evelyn jumps off the table.

“I have received alarming reports about the existence of a rebel organization among us,” she raises an eyebrow. – People tend to form groups. But I'm amazed at this speed.

– What kind of organization?

– Those who want to leave the city. They distributed a manifesto in the morning. They call themselves faithful,” she says and adds, noticing my confused look. “They claim to be true to the original goals of the founders of our city, you know?”

– Was this mentioned in Edith’s video? So we should send people outside the outer walls when there are a lot of divergents in the city?

- Yes. And the rebels believe that being divided into factions is our destiny,” she wonders. – Some people will always be afraid of any change. But we have no right to indulge them.

After the liquidation of the factions, I felt like a person freed after a long imprisonment. And I don't want to forever wonder whether my thoughts or actions fit into the ideology prescribed to me by the faction. That's all.

But Evelyn just made us pretend to be factionless. She plays her own game. So I'm glad that there are those who dare to challenge it.

I put on an impassive expression on my face, but my heart is beating like crazy. I have to be careful and stay in Evelyn's good graces. It's easy for me to lie to anyone, but not to her. She is the only person who knows all the secrets of our “peaceful” home of altruists.

– What are you going to do with them? - I ask.

-Get them under control.

I shudder involuntarily. In the city, “control” means needles and serums, imposed hallucinations, and therefore a change in the psyche. The same thing that once almost made me kill Tris. Such methods were used by reckless drivers in their army.

– Using modeling? – I clarify.

She frowns.

- Of course not. I'm not Janine Matthews.

A flash of anger prompts me to stab her.

“Don’t forget that we barely know each other, Evelyn.”

– I will never resort to modeling to achieve my goal. “Death is better,” she says proudly.

But it is quite possible that the demonstrative killings of the dissatisfied will begin. Evelyn will easily strangle the revolution. Whoever the faithful are, they must be warned, and quickly.

– What if I try to go on reconnaissance? - I ask the question.

- Great. I’m sure you can handle it,” she agrees.

What if she's checking on me? Or does he fish with live bait? My mother is one of those for whom the end justifies the means. Just like my father and at times myself.

Finally, I stand up, but her twig-thin fingers clutch my wrist.

- Thank you.

I force myself to look her in the face. Her eyes are close set and her nose is slightly turned up, like my own, but her skin is darker than mine.

For a moment I see her sitting opposite me at the dinner table, wearing the gray clothes of altruists. Her Thick hair secured with a dozen hairpins. She squats down in front of me, fixing the wrong buttons on her shirt before I head off to school. Then she looks out the window at our faceless street, waiting for my father’s car to appear. Her hands are clenched so tightly that her knuckles are white with tension. Then we were united by a common fear. Now it hurts me that I am betraying her, my former ally. But I hasten to turn away before I feel like repenting.

I get out of the erudite headquarters and find myself in a dense crowd. I mechanically look for the usual faction colors, but of course I can’t find them. Yes, and I’m wearing a gray shirt now, blue jeans, black boots. But under the new clothes are old tattoos. It is impossible to erase your past.

Veronica Roth

Devoted

I enter our room at the Erudite headquarters. The words still echo in my head: “My name is Edith Pryor, I wish I could forget it!”

So you've never seen her before? Even in photographs? - asks Christina, whose bandaged leg is carefully placed on the pillow.

Who is she to you - grandmother or aunt?

“I have no idea,” I answer. - Pryor is my paternal surname, therefore she is from our family. On the other hand, judge for yourself, the name Edith most likely refers to altruists, and the pope’s relatives belonged to the erudites...

It turns out that she is older than your father,” Kara says, leaning back on the bed.

Now Kara looks an awful lot like Will, her brother and my friend whom I shot. But Kara straightens up and Will's ghost disappears.

Older. For several generations. She is one of our ancestors.

"Ancestor". The term seems as old as the dilapidated brick fence of a cemetery. I touch the wall of the room: it is cold, white.

“I want to know,” Kara mutters, rubbing her forehead, “how long have we been here?” And listen, could you please stop wandering around?

I freeze and raise an eyebrow questioningly.

Sorry,” she says.

Okay, let's go - Christina enters. - We've just been hanging around here too long.

“I was hoping Tobias would check on us,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. -Where does he hang out?

Probably angry that you deceived him and secretly collaborated with his father,” Kara suggests.

I glance sideways at her.

Hardly. Tobias isn't that petty.

Probably something delayed him, says Christina. - You haven’t forgotten what he told you, Tris?

No, of course not, I answer.

Now it’s not very clean here, like it used to be when the building belonged to scholars. Now it has been ravaged by a riot, bullet holes are visible everywhere in the walls, and pieces of broken light bulbs litter the floor. I trudge along the dirty corridor to the cell with the lights flickering in the wrong way. They let me through without questions, because on my forearm I have a black bandage with an empty circle - the symbol of the factionless. Plus, I look a little like Evelyn. Before, Tobias Eaton was a shameful name. Now it is one of the most respected.

I enter our room at the Erudite headquarters. The words still echo in my head: “My name is Edith Pryor, I wish I could forget it!”

So you've never seen her before? Even in photographs? - asks Christina, whose bandaged leg is carefully placed on the pillow.

Who is she to you - grandmother or aunt?

It turns out that she is older than your father,” Kara says, leaning back on the bed.

Now Kara looks an awful lot like Will, her brother and my friend whom I shot. But Kara straightens up and Will's ghost disappears.

Older. For several generations. She is one of our ancestors.

"Ancestor". The term seems as old as the dilapidated brick fence of a cemetery. I touch the wall of the room: it is cold, white.

“I want to know,” Kara mutters, rubbing her forehead, “how long have we been here?” And listen, could you please stop wandering around?

I freeze and raise an eyebrow questioningly.

Sorry,” she says.

Okay, let's go - Christina enters. - We've just been hanging around here too long.

“I was hoping Tobias would check on us,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. -Where does he hang out?

Probably angry that you deceived him and secretly collaborated with his father,” Kara suggests.

I glance sideways at her.

Hardly. Tobias isn't that petty.

Probably something delayed him, says Christina. - You haven’t forgotten what he told you, Tris?

No, of course not, I answer.

Now it’s not very clean here, like it used to be when the building belonged to scholars. Now it has been ravaged by a riot, bullet holes are visible everywhere in the walls, and pieces of broken light bulbs litter the floor. I trudge along the dirty corridor to the cell with the lights flickering in the wrong way. They let me through without questions, because on my forearm I have a black bandage with an empty circle - the symbol of the factionless. Plus, I look a little like Evelyn. Before, Tobias Eaton was a shameful name. Now it is one of the most respected.

I stroke her hair. I can't get used to the fact that they are short. Although at first I was even happy, because this way she looks like a warrior, and not like a girl. That's what she needed.

Did you get here without any problems? - she asks.

“I’m Tobias Eaton,” I answer her, and she laughs.

Exactly,” Tris pulls back a little and looks at me point-blank.

Her eyes change strangely, as if the wind is blowing autumn leaves through them.

Where have you been? What's happened? - she exclaims.

I understand Tris. She had a hard time. She survived her brother's betrayal, anticipation of execution, and the fear that truth serum would be used on her. I just have to get her out of here.

Kara stares at us, and I feel awkward, like a snake that has shed its skin and is not yet accustomed to its new cover. Having an audience doesn't appeal to me at all.

Evelyn keeps everyone strict,” I say. “No one dares take a step without her permission.” But she issued a call to unite against outside oppressors.

Oppressors? - Christina repeats.

She takes a bottle out of her pocket and pours its contents into her mouth. I think some kind of painkiller for the bullet wound.

I frown.

Evelyn, and by the way, not only she, believes that we should not wander outside the city. They supposedly could cause us harm. And she is trying to solve our problems. “I will convey her speech briefly,” I continue. “But I suspect that this is extremely beneficial for my mother.” We are in her power, and if we slip away, she will lose her influence.

Yeah,” Tris grumbles. - Who would doubt that.

Her point of view has a right to exist,” Christina interjects. - And we have a lot going on. Why should we help those who are hiding behind the fence?

Tris chews her lip thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” she finally says.

Listen: they decided to interrogate the prisoners. And they're going to inject you with truth serum. Then you will be condemned as traitors. We need to come up with some practical plan.

What? - Tris is amazed. - Since when has the search for truth been regarded as a betrayal?

Whatever one may say, you opposed our leaders. Evelyn and her henchmen don't want anyone to leave the city. That's why they are not happy with the video of this... Edith Pryor.

“They’re just like Janine,” Tris snorts. - We are ready to do anything to suppress the truth. And for what? To reign in your microscopic world? Rave.

But I long to escape from here - like a wild animal trying to escape from a trap. A rabid wolf, ready to bite off its own paw.

In general,” I begin cautiously, “if the truth serum works on you, you will be convicted.

What does “if it works” mean? - Kara narrows her eyes.

“Divergent,” Tris says, pointing a finger at her own head.

Yes... amazing,” Kara puts her hair in a knot at the back of her head. - Although atypical. In my experience, most Divergents can't resist a chemical cocktail. I don't know how you do it, Tris.

Other scholars who stuck their filthy needles into me were also surprised,” Tris abruptly cuts her off.

Please let's focus. “You need to be released from prison,” I say and grab Tris’s hand.

Her fingers intertwine with mine. We are not strangers, and her touch fills me with energy and hope.

And how? - she softens.

“I’ll ask Evelyn to interrogate you first,” I explain. “Then all you have to do is create a convincing story that exonerates Christina and Kara.” You will succeed, I have no doubt.

Really?

I was hoping you would figure something out on your own; compared to me, you are a real champion of lying.

“Okay,” she nods and looks gloomily at the floor.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

I have to go.

Well, thank you.

If you’re going to lick me, do me a favor and warn me so I can turn away,” Christina mutters.

Turn away,” Tris smiles slightly.

I touch my lips to her cheek and slowly find her mouth. We kiss. I enjoy her breath. I really want to tell her something. I hold back, but not for long. Whatever happens, though.

“I wish I could be alone with you,” I say, leaving the cell.

As I close the door, I notice Christina pretending to be sick and Kara laughing. Tris's arms are hanging limply.

“In my opinion, you are complete idiots,” I blurt out.

After being injected with truth serum, the body becomes heavier and turns leaden. The forehead is covered with sweat.

You should be thanking me, not questioning me.

For what? Because you ignore the instructions of the leaders of our faction? Maybe I should also thank you for deciding to prevent the liquidation of Janine Matthews? You acted like a traitor.

Evelyn Johnson hisses like a snake. Everything takes place in the boardroom of the Erudite headquarters. I've been in custody for at least a week.

Now that I know I can do it, it's much easier.

No, I mutter. - And I thought that Marcus was working for the reckless faction. I couldn’t fight like a soldier should, but I wanted to help.

Why couldn't you be a soldier?

A fluorescent lamp shines from behind Evelyn. I can't concentrate on anything for a second and shake my head angrily.

Well... - I drawl.

I don’t know when I learned to act. I guess I have an innate talent for lying.

I can't hold a weapon in my hands. After shooting... at him. In Willa. Since then, one type of weapon has filled me with panic.

Evelyn grins. I suspect that in the very depths of her heart there is not a drop of sympathy for me.

So, Marcus admitted that he was working on my orders,” she mutters. - Did you believe him, even without knowing about his tense relations with both reckless drivers and factionless people?

It’s clear why you didn’t choose the scholars,” she laughs.

Why were you silent? - she asks.

“I don’t like to admit weakness,” I answer. “And I also understood that Four wouldn’t like it: the fact that I worked with his father.

And suddenly I go cold: the truth serum is working on me too.

Why do you need to wallow in the trash heap that you created here yourself! What kind of throne do you have here? - I blurt out.

Evelyn's face distorts into a grimace of disgust.

She leans towards my face, and I guess her real age. I see her wrinkles and unhealthy pallor - the result of many years of abstinence in food. But she is still beautiful, just like her son.

“I’m trying to build a new world,” she says and suddenly switches to a whisper. - I was an altruist, Beatrice Prior. I can’t imagine what will happen to you next, but I promise that there will be no place for you, especially next to my boy.

You may be stupid, but you are not a traitor. The interrogation is over. You are free.

What about my friends? - I object weakly. - Christina, Kara...

We will deal with them in the very near future.

We walk down the corridor to the elevator. Uriah touches the button and the doors slide open. My knees are weak.

And about the trash heap and the throne, wasn’t that too much? - I’m interested.

Fine. She thinks you are hot-tempered and unbalanced.

Everything inside me is trembling. Have they really let me go and will we find a way out of the city? You no longer need to wait, pacing your cell and quarreling with the guards.

Here we go...

Uriah leads me out of the elevator. On the Erudite headquarters floor, the glass walls shine. Sunlight is refracted through them, and rainbow spots play on the floor. I cover my eyes with my palm. Uriah and I enter a narrow room with beds, wardrobes and small tables arranged along the walls.

It was the erudites who were the first to organize dormitories, explains Uriah. - I've already reserved beds for Christina and Kara.

Three girls in red shirts sat near the door. I assume that they are from the Partnership. An elderly woman wearing glasses lies on the far bed. Probably an erudite. We should stop determining whether people belong to one faction or another, but this is an old habit and it’s difficult to break it right away.

Uriah flops onto the bed. I sit down on the next one. Happy and relaxed.

Zeke says the girls will come later, Uriah reports.

Thank you, Uriah.

He nods.

How are you? I mean... Lynn and...

Uriah was friends with Lynn and Marlene, and now both are dead. I understand how he feels now, because I also lost friends. Al died at the very beginning, unable to withstand the initiation, Will - during the simulation of the attack due to my stupid haste. But I'm not trying to pretend that I suffer the same way as Uriah. Why pretend?

“I don’t even want to think about it,” he shakes his head. - I will live on.

OK. If you need to talk, let me know.

Okay,” Uriah promises and gets up. - Are you okay? I told my mother that I would visit her in the evening. Oh, I almost forgot. Four said that he would meet you later.

I jump up.

Where and when?

After ten, in Millennium Park. On the lawn,” he grins. - Don’t worry, you’ll burst into flames.

Let’s talk about your loyalty,” she says.

You helped Tris and had a hand in the appearance of that video,” she continues. - Fortunately, the others remained in the dark.

Look,” I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, “I had no idea what information was stored in the file. I trusted Tris more than I trusted myself.

I thought that if I told my mother that I broke up with Tris, I would achieve my goal. And I was not mistaken - she became warmer, even a little more open and caring.

Now that you've seen the recording? - asks Evelyn. - What do you think about her? And we... do we really have to leave town?

It is clear what she wants: for me to say that I see no reason to go out into the outside world. But I only dare to tell half-truths.

“I’m afraid,” I answer, “and I’m not sure it’s wise, given the dangers that may await us.”

Evelyn jumps off the table.

“I have received alarming reports about the existence of a rebel organization here,” she raises an eyebrow. - People tend to form groups. But I'm amazed at this speed.

What kind of organization?

Those who want to leave the city. They distributed a manifesto in the morning. “They call themselves faithful,” she says and adds, noticing my confused look. “They claim to be true to the original goals of the founders of our city, you know?”

Was this mentioned in Edith's video? So we should send people outside the outer walls when there are a lot of divergents in the city?

Yes. And the rebels believe that being divided into factions is our destiny,” she wonders. - Some people will always be afraid of any change. But we have no right to indulge them.

But Evelyn just made us pretend to be factionless. She plays her own game. So I'm glad that there are those who dare to challenge it.

What are you going to do with them? - I ask.

Take control of them.

Using simulation? - I clarify.

She frowns.

Of course not. I'm not Janine Matthews.

A flash of anger prompts me to stab her.

Don't forget that we barely know each other, Evelyn.

I will never resort to modeling to get my way. “Death is better,” she says proudly.

But it is quite possible that the demonstrative killings of the dissatisfied will begin. Evelyn will easily strangle the revolution. Whoever the faithful are, they must be warned, and quickly.

What if I try to go on reconnaissance? - I ask the question.

Great. I’m sure you can handle it,” she agrees.

What if she's checking on me? Or does he fish with live bait? My mother is one of those for whom the end justifies the means. Just like my father and at times myself.

Finally, I stand up, but her twig-thin fingers clutch my wrist.

Thank you.

I force myself to look her in the face. Her eyes are close set and her nose is slightly turned up, like my own, but her skin is darker than mine.

For a moment I see her sitting opposite me at the dinner table, wearing the gray clothes of altruists. Her thick hair is held together with a dozen bobby pins. She squats down in front of me, fixing the wrong buttons on her shirt before I head off to school. Then she looks out the window at our faceless street, waiting for my father’s car to appear. Her hands are clenched so tightly that her knuckles are white with tension. Then we were united by a common fear. Now it hurts me that I am betraying her, my former ally. But I hasten to turn away before I feel like repenting.

Chosen One [Divergent] - 3

Chapter 1. Tris.

I pace around our cell in the Erudite headquarters, her words echoing in my head: My name will be Edith Prior, and that is much I will be glad to forget.

So, you've never seen her before? Even in photographs? - Christina asks, her injured leg resting on a pillow. She was injured during our desperate attempt to show Edith Prior's video to our city. At that time, we had no idea what she would say or that she would be able to destroy the foundation on which our factions, our personalities, were built. - Could she be a grandmother, an aunt, or something else? “I said no,” I say and turn around when I reach the wall. “Prior is a surname on my father’s side, so she could be his relative.” But Edith is an Abnegation name, and my father's relatives must be Erudite, so...

“So she must be older,” Kara says and leans her head against the wall. In this pose, she looks like her brother, Will, my friend, whom I shot. When she straightens up, his ghostly outlines evaporate. - Several generations ago.

"Ancestor." This word seems as old to me as a crumbling brick. I touch the cold white wall and turn around. My relative, and this is the legacy she passed on to me: freedom from factions, the knowledge that Divergent was more important than I could know. My existence is a signal that we must leave this city, and offer our help to those beyond.

“I want to know,” Kara says, running her hand over her face, “I need to know how long we’ve been here.” Could you stop for just a minute?

I stop in the middle of the cell and raise my eyebrows questioningly.

“Sorry,” she mutters.

“It’s okay,” says Christina, “we’ve been here for a very long time.”

Many days have passed since Evelyn created chaos in the hallway of the Erudite headquarters and placed all the prisoners in cells that are located on the third floor.

A woman from the faction brought a doctor to us, who gave us painkillers and examined our wounds, we ate and washed many times, but no one told us what was happening outside. It didn't matter how much I asked them.

“I thought Tobias was supposed to arrive now,” I say, sitting down on the edge of my bed, “Where is he?”

Maybe he's still angry that you lied to him and worked with his father behind his back,” Kara says.

I look at her angrily.

“Four won’t act like he’s small,” Christina says, maybe she wants to tell Kara off or reassure me, but I’m not sure. “There's probably something going on that's causing him to linger.” He said that you should trust him.

During the chaos, when screams were heard from everywhere, and the Afraccineers tried to push us towards the stairs, I grabbed him by the hem of his shirt so as not to lose him. He grabbed my wrists and pushed me away and those were the only words he said.

Trust me. Go where they tell you.

I'm trying, I say, and it's true. I'm trying to trust him. But every part of me, every hair and every nerve is yearning for freedom, and not only from this cell, but from the prison of the city, beyond its borders. I need to see what's behind the fence.

Chapter 2. Tobias

I can't walk these corridors without remembering how I spent my time here, barefoot, pain pulsing through me with every step. And the memory of Beatrice Prior going to her death, my fists hitting her door, her limp in Peter's arms when he said she was just drugged.

I hate this place. It is not as pure as it was during the Erudite reign; now it is ravaged by war, with bullet holes in the walls and broken glass from broken light bulbs everywhere.

Veronica Roth

Devoted

I enter our room at the Erudite headquarters. The words still echo in my head: “My name is Edith Pryor, I wish I could forget that!”

So you've never seen her before? Even in photographs? - asks Christina, whose bandaged leg is carefully placed on the pillow.

Who is she to you - grandmother or aunt?

It turns out that she is older than your father,” Kara says, leaning back on the bed.

Now Kara looks an awful lot like Will, her brother and my friend whom I shot. But Kara straightens up and Will's ghost disappears.

Older. For several generations. She is one of our ancestors.

"Ancestor". The term seems as old as the dilapidated brick fence of a cemetery. I touch the wall of the room: it is cold, white.

“I want to know,” Kara mutters, rubbing her forehead, “how long have we been here?” And listen, could you please stop wandering around?

I freeze and raise an eyebrow questioningly.

Sorry,” she says.

Okay, let's go - Christina enters. - We've just been hanging around here too long.

“I was hoping Tobias would check on us,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. -Where does he hang out?

Probably angry that you deceived him and secretly collaborated with his father,” Kara suggests.

I glance sideways at her.

Hardly. Tobias isn't that petty.

Probably something delayed him, says Christina. - You haven’t forgotten what he told you, Tris?

In that bedlam, when the factionless tried to push us back to the stairs, I grabbed the hem of his shirt. I didn’t want to lose Tobias in the crowd, but he pushed me away and shouted: “Trust me!”

No, of course not, I answer.

Now it’s not very clean here, like it used to be when the building belonged to scholars. Now it has been ravaged by a riot, bullet holes are visible everywhere in the walls, and pieces of broken light bulbs litter the floor. I trudge along the dirty corridor to the cell with the lights flickering in the wrong way. They let me through without questions, because on my forearm I have a black bandage with an empty circle - the symbol of the factionless. Plus, I look a little like Evelyn. Before, Tobias Eaton was a shameful name. Now it is one of the most respected.

I stroke her hair. I can't get used to the fact that they are short. Although at first I was even happy, because this way she looks like a warrior, and not like a girl. That's what she needed.

Did you get here without any problems? - she asks.

“I’m Tobias Eaton,” I answer her, and she laughs.

Exactly,” Tris pulls back a little and looks at me point-blank.

Her eyes change strangely, as if the wind is blowing autumn leaves through them.

Where have you been? What's happened? - she exclaims.

I understand Tris. She had a hard time. She survived her brother's betrayal, anticipation of execution, and the fear that truth serum would be used on her. I just have to get her out of here.

Kara stares at us, and I feel awkward, like a snake that has shed its skin and is not yet accustomed to its new cover. Having an audience doesn't appeal to me at all.

Evelyn keeps everyone strict,” I say. “No one dares take a step without her permission.” But she issued a call to unite against outside oppressors.

Oppressors? - Christina repeats.

She takes a bottle out of her pocket and pours its contents into her mouth. I think some kind of painkiller for the bullet wound.

I frown.

Yeah,” Tris grumbles. - Who would doubt that.

Her point of view has a right to exist,” Christina interjects. - And we have a lot going on. Why should we help those who are hiding behind the fence?

Tris chews her lip thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” she finally says.

Listen: they decided to interrogate the prisoners. And they're going to inject you with truth serum. Then you will be condemned as traitors. We need to come up with some practical plan.

What? - Tris is amazed. - Since when has the search for truth been regarded as a betrayal?

Whatever one may say, you opposed our leaders. Evelyn and her henchmen don't want anyone to leave the city. That's why they are not happy with the video of this... Edith Pryor.

“They’re just like Janine,” Tris snorts. - We are ready to do anything to suppress the truth. And for what? To reign in your microscopic world? Rave.

But I long to escape from here - like a wild animal trying to escape from a trap. A rabid wolf, ready to bite off its own paw.

In general,” I begin cautiously, “if the truth serum works on you, you will be convicted.

What does “if it works” mean? - Kara narrows her eyes.

“Divergent,” Tris says, pointing a finger at her own head.

Yes... amazing,” Kara puts her hair in a knot at the back of her head. - Although atypical. In my experience, most Divergents can't resist a chemical cocktail. I don't know how you do it, Tris.

Other scholars who stuck their filthy needles into me were also surprised,” Tris abruptly cuts her off.

Please let's focus. “You need to be released from prison,” I say and grab Tris’s hand.

Her fingers intertwine with mine. We are not strangers, and her touch fills me with energy and hope.

And how? - she softens.

“I’ll ask Evelyn to interrogate you first,” I explain. “Then all you have to do is create a convincing story that exonerates Christina and Kara.” You will succeed, I have no doubt.

Really?

I was hoping you would figure something out on your own; compared to me, you are a real champion of lying.

“Okay,” she nods and looks gloomily at the floor.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

I have to go.

Well, thank you.

If you’re going to lick me, do me a favor and warn me so I can turn away,” Christina mutters.

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