Chapter 55 #2
“It was an accident,” she moans. “I used that plant you told me about. Crimlock. I crushed up the root and boiled it and put it in my mom’s bottle.” She tips her head toward me, her expression one of genuine distress. “You said it caused stomachaches!”
My breath catches. “Oh fuck. You were trying to make her sick?”
Poppy grows paler. “I just wanted her to leave the party early so I could have a good time and breathe for five stupid minutes.”
“Poppy—”
“I pretended to go and refill her bottle, and then I gave it to her, but Teriq called her over and she put it down somewhere. I tried to take it back, except Lu swatted my hand away and said I was too young for grange—” Poppy is panting so hard she can barely speak.
“I don’t know how it got to you. But the moment you collapsed I knew it was my fault. ”
I nod, a heavy breath slipping out. I can’t even muster up any anger at her confession. It was an accident, and she’s clearly punished herself enough for it.
“You said it just makes your stomach hurt,” Poppy accuses again, unshed tears glistening on her eyelashes.
“It does,” I say gently. “Or at least, crimlock does. You dug up the wrong plant, Poppy. It’s an honest mistake. The red flowers look nearly identical, but heartroot has a red root. Crimlock is brown.”
She blinks faster, as if trying to ward off the tears. “I just stood there and watched my mom try to heal you. I thought you were going to die, and it was all my fault. I’m so sorry. I feel so awful.”
“Poppy, it’s okay—”
“It’s not! I almost killed you.”
“But you didn’t. And you weren’t acting maliciously.” Which, to be honest, is a relief to me. Now I no longer need to be suspicious of every liquid I consume.
“I wanted to tell you so many times, but I kept losing my nerve because I knew you would hate me.”
“I don’t hate you,” I promise her.
She releases a soft noise that’s halfway between a sob and a breath of relief. I reach for her hand again, holding it firmly, but she only allows it for a few seconds before shrugging out of my grip.
“Can I take a shower now?” she mumbles. She sounds exhausted.
“Of course. And we can share the bed, if you don’t mind. The couch isn’t very comfortable.”
Once the lav door closes behind her, I strip out of my soot-stained clothing. I’m slipping into a fresh pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt when the alert on my comm pops up.
REPORT TO THE WAR ROOM
“Take a seat, Wren,” Kallister says.
I glance around the table, unnerved by how few people are here. Kallister sits at the head, as far away from Adrienne as possible. Other than them, only Gray and Karra are present.
I sit next to Gray, who reaches for my hand beneath the table, giving it a squeeze. I wish he had telepathy so I could ask him what I just walked into.
“Talk us through what happened tonight,” Kallister says, but he’s not speaking to me.
He’s speaking to Adrienne.
In a wooden voice, she relates everything that happened at Bramble Base, from the explosion to the assault, to Teriq’s capture and Evlynne’s betrayal.
When it’s my turn, I clear my throat and explain how Teriq ordered me and Mako to help Fiona clear the medical bay and evacuate people through the civilian hatch.
When I describe the firefight during which Fiona was fatally shot, Kallister fixes his scathing eyes on Adrienne, who stares back at him, expressionless.
I feel bad for her. His fury is palpable, every pulsing wave of it directed at the red-haired woman across the table.
“And in the main hatch?” he prompts, his voice tight.
Adrienne starts to speak, but he holds up his hand to silence her.
“Colfer,” he says, glancing at Karra. After she describes how the Silver Block ground troops breached the bunker, he asks, “Was Elite there?”
My breath catches. When Gray stiffens beside me, I know he feels the tension in my body, but his profile is hard, revealing nothing.
“I don’t know,” Karra answers. “I was too busy trying not to get shot to death.”
“I don’t think Elite was in the bunker,” I put in. “But they were definitely on the ground. I took one out before Poppy and I got away.”
I feel Gray’s eyes boring a hole in the side of my face. I don’t turn to look at him.
“Elite is usually reserved for more covert ops,” Gray says. “This sounds like a full-blown assault.”
“It was,” Karra says flatly. “I don’t think their orders were to kill, though, but to capture.”
Adrienne nods. “They recognized Teriq. They probably had dossiers on all of us.”
My gaze finds Kallister’s. “What happened to the Bramble civilians? Nobody’s told me if Mako is okay.”
“He’s fine,” Kallister says gruffly, and relief flutters through me. “We struck a deal with Jasper. He convinced the leader of the Hollow to take in the civilians.”
“Kitty agreed to that? How many made it out of the bunker?”
“Sixty-two.”
My stomach sinks. I remember Adrienne telling me there were two hundred civilians living in Bramble. That means more than half of them were killed or captured.
“We’re not sure on the final casualty count yet,” Adrienne murmurs, as if reading my mind. “I counted about twenty.”
Kallister’s lips tighten. “Let’s just hope the rest were taken prisoner and not lined up against the wall and shot. I suppose it all depends on what your good friend Travis Redden decides, doesn’t it?”
The raw vitriol on his face catches me off guard. Adrienne doesn’t flinch, though.
“I notice you keep ignoring the fact that one of our own people is the reason this ambush even happened,” she says coldly.
Gray’s fingers tighten in mine. His other fist is clenched, pressed against his knee. Evlynne was his friend.
Across the table, Karra doesn’t try to hide how upset she is. “Evlynne would never do that.”
“Evlynne did do that,” I retort. “She linked with me before she went dark.”
Everyone swings their heads toward me, gazes sharp. “She did?” Kallister says. “What did she say?”
“She said, ‘I’m sorry.’ ”
I nearly blurt out the rest of our exchange, but at the last second, I curb the impulse.
Fisher is Travis Redden’s son.
Under any other circumstances, I might say something, but the tension between Kallister and Adrienne is eclipsing everything at the moment. This information is too sensitive. It feels like something I need to keep close to the vest right now.
“ ‘I’m sorry,’ ” Gray repeats. “That’s it?”
I nod, and the room goes silent for several beats.
“Whatever Evlynne did is moot right now,” Kallister finally says, shaking his head at Adrienne.
“I told you to wait with this mission. With this ridiculous plan of yours to work with our enemy. We had three Authority members at Bramble tonight. Now one of them is dead and the other is a prisoner. You put our leaders at risk, Adrienne. You put every single person in that bunker at risk.”
Her jaw twitches at the sharp rebuke.
“I’ve been holding my tongue,” he spits out, and he reminds me so much of Uncle Jim right now with his unforgiving tone, those cold eyes.
“I voted to work with Redden to take down his father, but I warned you he had no intention of cooperating with us long term. He was using you for your power, so you could corrupt his father. He used you and then he strung you along, acting like a peace deal was actually on the table. I saw through it from the very start, and it disappoints me, Adrienne, that you couldn’t see past that bullshit. ”
Her cheeks hollow, as if she’s grinding her teeth. “Don’t speak to me like I’m a child, Kallister.”
He ignores her. “Now, thanks to you, we’re down to a council of three. Your lack of leadership and your haste landed us in this position, and as much as I hate to do it—”
“Yes, it sounds like you hate every minute of this,” she cuts in, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“I’m going to invoke Order Five.”
Gray’s shoulders stiffen, while Karra looks startled.
Me, I’m just confused.
“What does that mean?” I ask before I can stop myself. “What’s Order Five?”
Adrienne releases a humorless laugh. “It means he’s calling for a vote to disband the Authority.”