Red Queen

Mare begins the next morning by exploring Whitefire, which is older than the Hall at Summerton and contains more offices, ballrooms, and other rooms than Mare will ever be able to find. She must cut her exploring short in order to fulfill her duties as a future princess, “on parade like a goat at auction.” In the transport on the way to her first appearance of the day, Mare wants to tell Maven about Julian’s secret message and to thank him for taking her blood out of the bloodbase, but there are too many people who might overhear.

Mare is disgusted throughout the day by sights of Silvers mistreating Red servants. In an art gallery she and Maven visit, all the art depicts “Silver strength and Red weakness.” Mare is impressed by the way Maven handles the people staring at him and Mare at every stop. She reflects that, “Cal might be born to rule, but Maven was meant for it.” She finds Maven the preferable prince because he wants to effect change and treat Reds better.

Thinking of the future makes Mare think of Shade and how he was killed before he saw a better future. Mare thinks of all the others she might be able to save from this fate. She tells Maven that they need to find Farley. Maven says it will be difficult, but suggests that any of the Red servants in the crowd might be Farley’s agents.

Mare slips away to try to scout out the right Red to ask about Farley. A child tells her she dropped a piece of paper. Although she does not remember having it, she takes it anyway. A sentinel then sees her and leads her back to the royal party. Seated in the transport, Mare unfurls the note. It says, “Hexaprin Theater. Afternoon play. The best seats.” Mare smiles and hands the note to Maven.

Maven is easily able to get himself and Mare into the theater. He must explain to Mare what a play is because in the Stilts, no one had time for such frivolities. Mare notices that although there are Reds in the crowd, their seats are much less luxurious than those of the Silvers. Mare and Maven sit alone in a plush, enclosed balcony, and Maven tells the Sentinels not to disturb them. Mare wants to kiss Maven but restrains herself, instead taking the opportunity to thank him for the bloodbase.

The ceiling panel above Maven and Mare opens. No one appears, but Mare hoists herself and then Maven up into the ceiling. The panel closes on its own. Will Whistle comes into focus in the darkness. He leads Mare and Maven through a series of ladders and trapdoors into an underground passage. Maven jokes that “You people sure like to be dramatic.” Will tells him, “Just you wait.”

Will leads Mare and Maven to a platform in a tunnel where, after some alarming screeching noises and the feel of building electricity, “A metal worm appears.” Farley is seated inside and calls everyone aboard. She tells them that the metal worm is called the Undertrain. It is very fast and runs on old, abandoned tracks that the Silvers never tried to find. Mare is surprised to learn that the Scarlet Guard employs “techies” the Silvers do not know about.

Mare tries to calm her nausea as the train speeds on. Maven realizes that the train is going south, toward land that is radiated, and he tells Mare to use her power to stop the train before the radiation kills them. The train lurches to a stop anyway, and Farley motions for everyone to get off the train. “How do you know the south, the Ruins, are still radiated?” she asks Maven. She implies that the machines that detect the radiation are built by Red techies who work for the Scarlet Guard. Maven realizes that, “The detectors lie.”

Maven remains wary but allows Farley to lead him and Mare off the train. Mare sees trees and bushes growing amidst the ruins of an old city. It is “the picture of neglect,” but “doesn’t feel abandoned.” Farley welcomes Mare and Maven to “The City of Ruins, to Naercey,” which is what the city was called long ago.

Mare sees special markers around the borders of the city, used to trick the Silvers’ radiation detectors. She wonders how the Scarlet Guard protects its bases in other parts of the country besides Norta. Mare notices more and more signs of Reds quietly carrying on with their lives, hidden in the ruins. In a half-collapsed café, Mare is delighted to see Kilorn. Farley tells them they do not have time for greetings, and she opens the floor for a tactical meeting.

Maven keeps insisting that Farley has painted a target on her back and that Cal will find all of them before long. Farley tells him that she does not care about herself but, rather, about the Reds who are being oppressed in their villages and put on the warfront at age fifteen.

Maven offers to stall the process of putting children on the warfront by proposing extra training. Mare, sure that this will not be enough, pulls out the book from Julian and tells Farley that she must track down the people who are both Red and Silver in order to form an army. Kilorn and Maven insist that this will take far too long to be an effective strategy. Maven slaps the table, saying that they already have an army. He suggests instead that they organize a coup in Archeon.

Maven’s proposal gives Mare and Farley hope, but Kilorn argues that it will be near-impossible to get enough Reds into the capital to fight all the Silver soldiers who have pledged their loyalty to Cal. Mare is about to concede to the impossibility of the plan when Maven suggests that she use Cal’s feelings for her to win him over to their side. She doubts that Cal would choose her over his loyalty to his father and the crown, but Maven insists, “He will always choose you.” Farley says she cannot believe that the fate of the revolution will depend on “some teenaged love story.” Kilorn stares and Mare and whispers, “I can.”