Chapter 79

CLAUDIA. The next morning passes by in a blur, just like the night after the meeting. Achilles took me to his room and we slept together, and it feels like the most peaceful sleep I have ever had. We stayed like that, tangled in each other’s arms for the rest of the night, but the bubble pops when the lights start to slant through the windows. We both wake up, and together we get dressed, barely saying a word to each other because of the nerves hanging in the air. Someone has laid out a dress for me, and the heaviness of the situation hits me hard when I see the black dress on me. The haziness and the speed of the events made things seem less serious and harder to grasp, but now that I have my wits about me, I start to realize the difficulty of the things that are about to come. Still, my hand is clasped in his, and that makes all the difference in the world. We head out of the palace, still hand in hand. Before us are two carriages, both black and silver. I notice that the other