Chapter Fifteen
………………………….
Ily
MY HEART ACHED AS HENRI stormed away.
What had I done wrong?
I thought we’d reached an understanding.
The way he’d hugged me after I’d whispered for him to play along with me. The way his entire body enveloped me in such protection, such hope.
I thought that’d been his answer.
In my GHB high state, I thought it’d been a yes.
Yes, to playing along.
Yes, to the act of using me, abusing me, making me kneel and scream—proving to everyone in this damn place that he was the worst. I would play along and be the best-trained jewel in here. I’d do whatever it took to convince everyone that Henri was one of them and I was his, and then…maybe, just maybe, Victor would let him leave. He’d trust him with the location of this island, and Henri could tell his brother, and reinforcements could arrive and—
I slouched.
It wasn’t a yes.
Dread-filled butterflies churned in my stomach as Henri vanished into the stronghold in the distance. He’d never left me alone before. Never run away as if he couldn’t stand being in my presence.
My bruises and ribs still hurt.
My bones ached with matching pockmarks from nasty bullets, but those wounds were nothing compared to the pain of confusion. The scrambling of the bond I thought we’d formed.
Whatever I’d felt that night—all those stupid, stupid feelings…they were nothing more than a ridiculous fantasy.
Enough.
Climbing to my feet, I groaned as my body protested.
I had far more important things to worry about.
Peter.
Rachel.
The jewels.
I was finally free to visit them.
Brushing a few blades of grass off my black workout shorts and aqua sports bra, I followed Henri’s footsteps through the manicured grass.
A shiver ran down my back as I climbed the deck and cut around all the empty tables.
This fortress was hell on earth when monsters were in residence, but empty—apart from inconspicuous staff and black-suited guards—it was eerie.
No sounds of pain around shadowy corners. No sick laughter as a Master whipped a jewel. No awful beatings in the gardens.
I hadn’t noticed how much every scream and whimper curdled my stomach. The calcification around my heart at the sounds of abuse chipped away a little, thanks to birdsong and silence.
A sharp-eyed guard watched me as I padded barefoot through the dining room. He didn’t stop me, and another guard took up his glower as I cut across the foyer and down the stone corridor leading toward Dr Belford’s surgery on the ground floor.
I added each guard to the ongoing tally in my head.
So far, I’d counted twelve on the ground floor and five scattered in the gardens.
I had no idea how many patrolled the upper levels or the battlements.
For the past few days, I’d started keeping a record of guards and staff, adding their positions to the schematics in my head.
As much as I hoped Henri would snap out of his strange silence and reveal he was still good, deep, deep inside, it wasn’t in my nature to sit around and wait.
We had three weeks before the Masters returned. Who knew when Victor would fly home and if we stood a chance at getting out…this was our best opportunity.
My feet—healed from their shallow cuts from running in caves and forests—slowed outside the carved door of the surgery.
I shuddered with memories of that first day. Of Peter flirting with the doctor and nurse. Of his false happiness doing its best to hide just how afraid and hurt he was.
God.
My heart ached as I knocked.
Guilt pressed heavily.
A week since I last saw him. It wasn’t good enough.
The door swung open. Melanie Belford stared coldly. “Oh, it’s you.”
I flinched at her warm welcome. “C-Can I come in?”
Looking past me, she scanned the empty corridor. “Your Master isn’t with you, I hope. I’m not exactly a fan.”
“No.”
She frowned. “That’s a first. Letting you wander around on your own.”
I shrugged. “I suppose he feels I’m safe enough without other Masters staying.”
“Safe?” She clucked her tongue and moved aside to let me in. “I don’t think it’s anything to do with your safety, Ily, but more about his demented need to possess you.”
Ily.
My name caught me off guard.
Henri had barely talked to me since the night I’d taken pleasure from him. The talkative man who’d broken me with his secrets had turned into a stoic statue who barely grunted responses. And when he did deign to speak to me…he never used my name.
A prickle of worry shot down my spine.
Was it because of what it meant?
Was he that allergic to love that he couldn’t even say the damn word…even in an acronym?
“Is Peter awake?” I asked, brushing aside her comment.
Sighing heavily, she removed a pair of latex gloves and beckoned me to follow. “He is.”
My soul leapt with relief. “So…he’s okay?”
She gave me a hard look as she guided me to a second door and led me down another hallway. “Define okay.”
“Healing? As happy as can be expected?”
“He’s a long way from happy, I’m afraid.”
“But he’s not going to die?”
“Not from this incident.”
Her pessimism soaked into me.
It suffocated all my other questions.
My teeth locked together the farther we travelled. The scents of disinfectant grew stronger as we spilled out into a long narrow gallery. The ancient castle that Victor stole his blueprints from would’ve used this sort of space as an art display or promenade track. But now, in this modern hellhole, it housed a long row of single beds all facing a bank of interconnecting windows. Each window was wide open, allowing sunshine and fresh air to circulate.
A few jewels I recognised looked up from where they crowded around a bed.
With no Masters to serve and no Victor to command them, they huddled around the only leader they actually respected.
Rachel smiled and waved.
Mollie gave me a nod.
Citra and Caishen, Nancy and Corinne. Some of them had made the choice to go their own way in the caves, and others had left us out of panic. I held no grudges. Only relief to see so many faces.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Dr Belford said. “I need to help Rose change Yumeko’s bandages.”
She retraced her steps and left me alone.
Drifting forward, my pulse pounded.
As much as I was one of them with our matching collars and cuffs, I was still removed—thanks to Henri refusing to let me sleep in the slave quarters.
What if they thought I wasn’t to be trusted? What if they no longer welcomed me?
Fear clutched my throat as I reached the end of the bed, and my eyes landed on a soulmate in friend form. I’d been wrong that he wasn’t a soulmate. I’d forgotten what my family had taught me. Soulmates came in all forms. My brother and parents were soulmates.
And this man too.
Undoubtedly.
And Henri? What’s he?
“You’re destined to destroy each other…”
I sighed heavily.
If Peter was my soulmate as surely as Krish was…what did that make Henri?
Was he my twin flame like the astrologer said?
While Henri typed away on his laptop the past few days, I’d done my best to remember what I’d researched after we’d gotten home that day. Krish had helped me, and together, we’d found texts full of dire warnings. Things like: You’re drawn to each other against your wishes. When you meet, you just know. Your twin flame will feel different from everyone else. Unbearable sexual chemistry. Reflection of darkness and light. Difficult and painful. Can amplify feelings of loneliness and loss. Cause discord and hurt. Can only be a lover and most often as not, ruin each other if that is the karmic pattern.
Finding your twin flame never seemed to work out well.
Shaking my head from useless thoughts, I blinked and focused on Peter.
His dark brown eyes met mine, his dusky skin drawn with pain.
Bare-chested and propped up by white pillows, he shifted his legs beneath the sheets and gave me a wobbly smile. “Hi…”
Every worry.
Every concern.
Gone.
Tears instantly erupted, and my knees threatened to collapse. “Aap theek hain.” (You’re okay.)
He shrugged a single shoulder. “I’m alive.”
“Alright, guys.” Rachel suddenly stood and clapped her hands. “Let’s give them a few minutes.”
With soft smiles and sweet kisses on my cheeks, each jewel gave me a quick hug as they moved from Peter’s bedside and went to visit the other jewels healing down the row.
I never took my eyes off Peter as Rachel hugged me last.
Pressing her lips to my ear, she whispered, “Meet me in the kitchens once you’re done. We need to talk.”
I squeezed her hand and nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“Mollie and I will be waiting.” Turning to blow a kiss at Peter, she added, “See you later, Pete.”
“Yeah, you too.” He grimaced as if speaking took too much energy. “Do what I said and ask Mel to order you some prenatal vitamins.” He swallowed hard, pushing himself to care about others instead of himself, even now. “Just because it’s his doesn’t mean it’s not yours too.”
Rachel rolled her eyes as if she’d heard it before. “Let’s just focus on you first, okay?”
With another quick smile at me, she clasped Mollie’s hand.
They headed back the way I’d arrived.
I didn’t move until the other jewels had scattered.
I tried to see who survived that awful game, but my heart pounded, and I couldn’t take my eyes off how frail Peter had become. How his body held no vitality. How his hands rested like white tombstones on the bed, wrapped in thick padding and bandages. How that damn, damn collar seemed extra heavy and extra cruel, cutting into his neck.
Moving closer, I sat carefully by his hip and drank him in. Tears plopped off my chin as I forced a smile. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
He laughed, then winced. “Meh, I’m feeling decidedly mixed about that.”
The urge to fling myself on him and hug him stupid came far too strongly.
I managed not to fling, but I still hurt him as I folded close and wrapped my arms around his slender shoulders. He felt even less substantial than before. No longer wiry with strength but thin with sickness.
“Hey.” His arms came up, his thickly wrapped hands bouncing against my back. “I’m okay, jaanu.”
I burst into tears at the name. A name reserved for lovers or husbands and wives. A name that didn’t belong in this place or in our relationship, but I couldn’t find the strength to stop him. “I’m so, so sorry I haven’t been to see you. I tried. I wanted to. I’ve thought about you every second of every day and—”
“Ily…hush.” He chuckled tightly as I pulled away, leaving a few of my tears glittering on his pillow. “I’m fine. It’s fine. I understand why you couldn’t come.”
“Can I get you anything?” I looked around the suddenly rather empty gallery. “Some painkillers? Some water? I can get you something to eat—”
“Ily…” He smirked. “Seriously. Stop it.”
I slouched with a heavy sigh. The mania of finally seeing him faded a little, and I laughed under my breath. “Sorry. I’m just…really, really happy to see you.”
“Same.” With a trembling arm, he reached up and pressed his bandaged hand to my cheek. Using it as a tissue, he sopped up my tears before the exertion got the better of him, and he dropped it down again. “You okay?”
I flinched. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
He scowled. “The past week has been the best in half a decade.” He cocked his chin at the other jewels in the beds. “No Masters to summon us. No gongs going off. No games to be endured. It’s a fucking holiday.”
Plucking the starched sheets, I asked quietly. “Who…who didn’t return?”
He stiffened. “You sure you want to know?”
It was my turn to scowl. “Just because I’m not allowed to sleep with you guys doesn’t mean I’m not one of you. Of course I want to know.”
“Sorry…I didn’t mean it like that.” He swallowed hard. “I only meant the minute you know their names and how they died, it’ll haunt you.” He looked away. “I have so many ghosts inside me, Ily…so many I’ve seen die in that fucking temple. It’s made even worse by knowing their names, knowing them. The minute I tell you, you won’t be able to forget.”
Lowering his voice, he added, “Right now, all you know is some of us passed on. If it were me, I’d want to stay in that place where it doesn’t become too real.”
My shoulders braced. “Tell me so it is real. They deserve to be mourned. They deserve to be remembered. Their families have no idea what’s happened to them. It’s up to us to carry their memory.”
“You’re right.” Shuffling higher up his pillows, his voice turned almost cold. “The six jewels who are healing with me are Yumeko, Morgan, Harper, Gail, Jo, and Kirk. I won’t go into our injuries, but let’s just say a few are hurt worse than others. As for the five who didn’t come back…” He swallowed hard and glared out the window. “Suri, Dane, Kirk, Rebecca, and Nancy did try to swim. I don’t know how far they got before the guards went after them in a speedboat. Where they moored that thing, I have no idea, but we should find out for…future attempts. They dragged Rebecca and Nancy out of the water. They got Kirk next with a fishing net, but Suri and Dane snapped. They duck dived. The guards opened fire.”
I sucked in a breath, my aching ribs stabbing my lungs.
“Their bodies floated back up, and Kirk…” Peter shuddered. “Kirk lost it. He was beaten, and…he hasn’t said a word since.” His haunted eyes met mine. “I didn’t realise how deep his feelings for Suri went. He did a good job of hiding it, but now…now, I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid.”
Looking down the row of beds, I spotted one with a larger blond guy, huddled in a ball and facing away. God…the pain of seeing the girl you’d fallen in love with shot to death. The horror of not being able to stop it—
Rubbing at my tears, I whispered, “So Suri and Dane are dead. Who…who else?”
“Sonya, Phillipa, and Bet. According to the gossip mill, Sonya had her throat cut, and Pip had been—” He shuddered and cut himself off. “Bet was always quiet. Her mind broke on her second week here. She had no injuries, so…I’m guessing she probably jumped.”
I swallowed hard.
If only she’d waited.
If only the jewels trusted we’d get them out.
If only we actually could…
Taking Peter’s chunky bandaged hand, I placed it on my lap and did my best to take away his thoughts of pain and worry. “Those are the last names you’ll ever recite, okay?” I shivered at the sheer determination in my voice. “No one else will die here.”
He sniffed. Exhaustion from his wounds, his fever, and the past five years of hell pressed him deeper into his pillows. “You still believe we can do it?”
I didn’t bother looking at the cameras above us.
I just kept my gaze on my friend as his eyelashes dropped and his breathing slowed. “It’s almost over, Paavak.” I kissed his bandaged knuckles. “I feel it.”
“That’s nice.” Giving me a dreamy smile, he sighed and fell into a sick-heavy sleep.
I sent him healing light and strength.
And then I went to find the girls to begin a war.
* * * * *
“This is absolutely crazy,” Rachel said the moment I stepped into the kitchens.
May, the kind cook who’d given us muesli bars before Emerald Bruises, cocked her chin at a shadowy corner by the huge larder full of herbs, spices, and a mountain of pasta boxes.
“Go talk there, girls.” She shooed us away with a tea towel. “There’s a dead spot in the camera’s sight. But…for the love of our maker, please keep your voices down.”
Obeying May, the three of us huddled close in the larder’s shadow, keeping our heads as near as possible, speaking with the quietest whisper. Even with all the boiling, steaming, chopping, dicing, and extraction fans, who knew how sensitive the cameras were.
Without guests staying, the kitchen still worked at a furious pace to feed the guards and Henri. I didn’t know if the staff got the same meals, but they still needed food, and after my headcount over the past week, I’d tallied at least twenty of them, possibly more counting the gardeners and maintenance crew who didn’t come into the castle.
“Are you guys okay?” I whispered.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Rachel quipped again, shaking her head.
“You were the one who started growing a countdown clock in your womb.” Mollie smirked, brushing aside her blonde fringe. “Nine months and counting you said. Get me out before this spawn is born…isn’t that what you whispered a few nights ago?”
“I know, but—”
“We have to try, Rach.” I gave her a soft smile. “But I understand if you’d rather—”
“No. I’m in. I am.” She braced her shoulders. “Doesn’t mean it’s not crazy, though.”
“Oh, it’s crazy.” I nodded. “And dangerous.”
“And that’s why if we’re doing this…we have to be slow, smart, and steady,” Mollie said. “Nothing is in our favour. We’re outnumbered, out-gunned, and out-powered. But…if we plan it well and luck smiles down on us, then it’s possible.”
“I agree.” I smiled. “Adversity only makes us stronger.”
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Sun Tzu.” Mollie grinned.
Memories of my father quoting his favourite poet spilled quickly. “Wonders happen if we can succeed in passing through the harshest danger. Rainer Maria Rilke.”
“God, can you two stop trading bumper sticker slogans?” Rachel rolled her eyes.
Mollie and I snickered, grateful to be able to laugh after everything Peter told me and all the lives that’d been lost.
A short silence fell before we all sucked in a breath and unanimously got to work.
“So…anything I missed this past week?” I asked.
Mollie shook her head. “Nothing. Been one of the most boring weeks I’ve ever spent here. It’s been sublime. I feared without Victor around, the guards would get a little trigger-happy, but…they don’t seem to care.” She flicked a look at one of them lounging by the exit to the kitchens. “No one has stopped us when we’ve done errands for Dr Mel and Rose. We haven’t been reprimanded for getting soup for the patients. It’s like we don’t exist.”
Rachel sighed with relief. “Mols is right. The past week has been a bit of a dream. For those of us not healing, of course…or dead.”
We all flinched.
I sent a thought to those who were gone.
Clearing my throat, I said quietly, “Peter said the same thing about the castle being slow and guards being lax. That’s a good thing. If they don’t care about us moving around, and there’s no Masters to serve…then this is the perfect time to—”
“Yeah, about that.” Mollie cut in. “Rachel and I have been talking and…even if we could get our hands on cleaning supplies to make our little presents, we have no idea how we’d get them set up around the castle. We’ve sat up night after night wondering how we can build a big enough ‘present’ to achieve the best possible ending, and the fact is…we can’t.”
My heart fluttered. My bruises ached. I had no idea how to plan an insurrection, but…my family had always taught me strength came in bigger numbers. Our community always came together to help each other. The elders shared their knowledge, and the young ones helped the elders.
That’s what we need.
Mollie, Rachel, Peter, and I couldn’t do this on our own.
We need help.
It’s risky—
Shutting up that fearful voice, I whispered, “We need to expand our little war effort.”
“You what?” Rachel’s eyebrows shot into her dark hair. “You want to tell more people? Are you insane? The more ears that know, the more mouths that speak.”
“The other jewels already know,” I said. “Most of them heard Peter’s ranting when we ran.”
“Yes, but no one actually believes he’ll try.”
“They will if we show them our plan.”
“We have no plan,” Mollie muttered. “We have the know-how, but without supplies and distribution—”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “Having the other jewels in on this is all well and good, but they’re just as restricted as us in what they can and cannot do.”
“So…we’re doomed from the start?” Rachel asked.
“No. We just need to think outside the box.”
Mollie caught my eyes and cottoned onto what I meant. “Y-You can’t be serious.”
“What? What can’t she be serious about?” Rachel cocked an eyebrow.
Squeezing her arm, I whispered, “You said it yourself, we need cleaning supplies for our ingredients. Therefore…we need a cleaner.”
Both girls went still.
“We need someone who can move about with far more freedom than us. Someone who has access to the chemicals you need.”
“You’re saying we enlist one of Victor’s maids?” Rachel hissed. She flicked a look at Mollie. “They never talk to us. They’re warned to stay far, far away. I heard Victor threaten them once that if they spoke to his jewels, he’d ensure they instantly became one of us.”
Nervousness fluttered in my belly. “So he’s formed a class system in here?”
“No one wants to wear a golden collar, Ily.” Rachel sighed.
“Good point. Well, we have three weeks to ensure no one else ever does.”
May drifted closer from where she’d been eavesdropping. Hugging a mixing bowl, she stirred some sort of wet dough with a wooden spoon. “Did you just say you need a cleaner?”
I stiffened, but the other girls nodded, their trust in May obvious. “Know anyone who would be keen to help us with our extracurricular activities?”
May smirked and wiped the back of her hand on her cheek, smearing flour. “Faiza.”
“Faiza?” Mollie asked.
“She arrived about six months ago. Said she was head housekeeper in a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi. She went into Victor’s room to clean. She thought he’d checked out, you see. Unfortunately for her, he was still there.” May shivered. “He had one of his guards drug her and smuggled her here. She’s been working with his maids—bringing their quality of attention to a higher level—but a few weeks ago, a Master noticed how pretty she is and requested for her to change roles.”
Rachel shuddered. “They put her in a silver collar?”
May nodded.
“What’s a silver collar?” I asked.
“It’s a form of probation,” Mollie said. “It shows that Victor has taken the Master’s request under advisement and has collared the cleaner in question while he makes his decision. She still can’t be touched in that way, but he usually agrees to change a staff’s role if someone takes a fancy to them.”
“So she has incentive,” I said.
May nodded. “She keeps asking me how to make poison from hemlock and other garden weeds. Thinks she can poison the Master who noticed her and go back to being unnoticed. Unfortunately, her silver collar has announced her potential of being available to everyone. She’s well aware it’s only a matter of time before she’s raped. But if she knows you’re planning something, she’d help.”
“Fine.” Looking at the women, I tried to be a good leader while Peter healed. “May, next time Faiza comes into the kitchens, tell her to meet us. Mollie, decide how much and what chemicals you need. Rachel, figure out how we can get the gardeners and other staff on our side. The bigger reach we have, the more places we can hide our presents.”
“You want to tell the whole damn castle now?” Rachel whisper-hissed just as Mollie tapped her nose. “Smart. I see where you’re going.”
I grinned. “You said we can’t make just one big present…so…we’ll make lots of little ones. Would that work?”
Mollie smiled at Rachel, and Rachel gaped at May.
Mollie said, “If we had someone to help position them, a way of delaying detonation, and something noxious to cause panic, we could create some serious problems.”
“Excellent.” I clapped my hands and made the mistake of looking outside.
The sun slid down the sky, glowing pink and gold and red.
Dusk.
Damn, time went fast.
“I have to go.” I backed up. “Let’s meet here this time tomorrow?”
“We can’t tell everyone,” Rachel snapped. “Someone will rat.”
I sighed, my shoulders slouching. “Look, if we’re going to do this, we can’t half-ass it. It’s either die because Victor figures out our plan or die on that altar down in the caves when he’s grown bored of us.” I shuddered. “I know which I would prefer.”
“Me too.” Mollie nodded. “I’m willing to take the gamble in order to get more manpower. Who knows…maybe even a guard or two would be approachable.”
“Crap on a cracker.” Rachel buried her face into her hands. “You’re both as crazy as each other.”
“And crazy is what’s needed,” Mollie muttered.
Wrapping my arms around Rachel, I whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to let you have your baby in here, okay? We’ll be smart. We’ll only tell the ones we have a good feeling about, and…we just have to hope karma is on our side.”
Sagging against me, Rachel nodded reluctantly. “I knew going into this it would be risky. I’m not gonna back down now.”
Pulling away, I looked at both girls. “The moment you guys covered for Henri when Victor interrogated us was the moment you ensured luck will favour us. I know it. We’ll get out. We’ll get everyone out. You’ll see. And if we don’t? Well, I’m going to fight the whole damn way.”