She was exactly where the scout said she'd be; not that I needed to look very hard to find her. I could see her from 200 feet, upright in the midday sun. She was walking in a straight line – I wouldn't have needed to waste more than a single arrow on her, no one could miss that shot. As I moved closer I saw bent branches, crushed saplings and deep footprints along her trail.

I tracked her through the undergrowth for a short distance, disgusted. How old was she, eighteen, maybe? I had no idea how she'd managed to survive this many years, regardless of what kind of leader she was. She was a walking advertisement for dinner to the predators. She was almost an invitation to the other clans leaving Tondc who disagreed with my decision: here I am, she was saying by walking around in the open like this. I dare you, shoot me.

I could only bear so much of it before it was so pathetic that I had to say something. She was going to get herself killed.

I dropped out of the trees in front of her, and stood. To her credit, she didn't even flinch. She just stopped in place, glaring at me. She didn't attack me; I would have. If someone had betrayed me the way I'd betrayed her, I'd have cut them from hip to gullet the second I laid eyes on them. I'd have stripped them of all of their flesh, piece by piece, while they struggled, screaming, begging to have their throat slit. She didn't even try to lunge at me, though. She just stood there, strands of her wavy blonde hair fluttering in the breeze.

I looked her up and down. She seemed tired. "You shouldn't be here," I told her. "Our alliance with the Sky People is over. The other clans will kill you if they find you now."

She looked unfazed. "No, they won't."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Who was she kidding? "Look." I pointed back behind her at her footprints leading into the distance. When she didn't turn, I straightened, eye-to-eye with her. "You think they're not going to find you? Even you could find you. I'm doing you a favour. Leave."

She half-smiled, but there was no humour in it. "You're doing me a favour," she repeated. I didn't like her tone. "You're doing me a favour? Should I thank you for it, Lexa?"

I stiffened. "You don't know anything about survival," I found myself saying. It was weak. I didn't owe her an explanation for what I did; I shouldn't be giving her one. "I did what I had to do to protect my people. Sometimes I wonder if you know how to even protect yourself. Anyone could see you out here, any of the clans. It's like you want to be found."

She looked me directly in the eyes. Jaw forward, she said clearly, "Maybe that's exactly what I want."

It was only at the last second that I realised there was a knife in her hand.