Chapter 27
Cate
Callum walks down the hall, away from me, and I know this is likely the last time I will ever see him. So I don’t pull my eyes from him, soaking in every single second of his presence, even as he grows smaller, the dim light of the hallway eventually swallowing him whole.
My arms wrap around my chest, as if to cage my heart behind my ribs when it really has been ripped from me; Callum has taken it with him, and I don’t know if I will ever get it back.
“Nicely done.”
A shiver races up my spine as Lady M closes in on me from behind.
“I have to admit, I wasn’t sure you had it in you.
” She takes my elbow in her grip once again.
“I hope I don’t come to regret leaving him alive, but if the time comes when I need to dispose of him, I shall.
For now, everything is going according to plan.
Harold is dead. I will represent Scota in the election, and the prophecy will finally prove true. ”
I have to swallow multiple times before I can make my voice work. “What prophecy?”
“The one dear Andra Saw. About me finally coming to power as I was always meant to. The one with a crown, and a Gift, and a pair of golden eyes.”
“Presidents don’t wear crowns.” It’s ludicrous that that is the detail I push back against, given everything that just happened, given the mess of my current emotions, but it’s all I can think of.
Her mirthless laugh titters, echoing around the empty hall.
“Once I’m president I will have the power to do whatever I want, even make myself a queen.
” She snaps her fingers, and a young woman with pale skin and soulless eyes appears.
She must have been standing in the shadows the whole time.
“Take our dear Caterine back to her chambers with the others.”
I don’t fight against the grip of the Gifted girl. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt us.”
Lady M raises one eyebrow. “I know what I promised, Cate. Callum Reid walked out of here alive. Bianca is alive. So is your sister.”
“You need to let us go so we can help Andra.”
Lady M holds up a hand, and the girl dragging me down the hall pauses. “You will stay here until I no longer have use for you.”
“And then?”
Lady M doesn’t answer, shooing me away. The Gifted tugs on my arm, but she doesn’t have to pull hard. I need to be back with my sister. She is the only one I have left.
—
It’s impossible to tell how much time passes as we sit in the dank, cold room somewhere in the depths of the stone fortress. Andra has not awoken. Dom’s body has been removed. Bianca and I sit in opposite corners, eating when food is delivered and rotting in the silence the remainder of the time.
We’ve had four meals across the span of who knows how many hours—it’s impossible to keep track of time when there is no sunlight, only darkness—when Andra finally stirs.
At first, I think I must be imagining it, that I’ve been staring at her motionless body for so long I’ve finally cracked and begun to hallucinate.
But then Bianca rushes to her side, and I know she must have seen it too.
I crawl to my sister, knowing I will get to her faster without trying to stand on stiff limbs. “Andra?” I place a hand on her forehead, her skin clammy and burning at the same time.
Andra’s eyes crack open, just a slit, and for the first time, I’m grateful for the dim light in the room. Her eyes open slowly, unfocused, the golden hue burnished with fatigue.
“Don’t try to talk,” Bianca says softly, smoothing back the hair from her face. She reaches for a cup of water, holding it to Andra’s lips.
She sips slowly, her gaze sharpening until it finally lands on me. “Cate,” she croaks out, her voice hoarse with disuse.
I can’t stop the tears and I don’t bother trying to hold them back. I throw myself on top of her, practically smothering her, but I don’t care. My sister is alive. It is the only thing that has gone right since Harold killed the king.
Bianca gently pries me away from my sister, a soft smile on her face. “She needs to breathe, Cate.”
I nod, wiping at my eyes. “Sorry.”
Andra sits up with Bianca’s help. “Tired. And so hungry.”
It’s been a few hours since our last meal, but we don’t know when the next one will arrive. I head right for the door keeping us trapped in this room and pound on it. It takes a full minute of incessant banging before it opens.
“We need food. Now.”
The Gifted guarding the door frowns. “You just ate. It isn’t time for your next meal.”
“Andra is awake. My sister needs to eat. Lady M wouldn’t want her weakened further.”
Her brow creases, and for a second, I allow myself to see her as a person instead of one of Lady M’s minions. How did she get here? Why is she helping Lady M? Was this her choice, or is she as helpless as we are?
Eventually, she nods, calling over another Gifted, who races down the hall after a whispered conversation.
My stomach sinks with dread. Surely she’s run off not to get Andra the food she desperately needs to recover, but to tell Lady M she’s awake. How long do we have before Lady M is forcing Andra to See for her again?
I sit down next to my sister, looking around the room as if a weapon is going to magically appear. As if I’m going to suddenly discover a secret way out of here that I haven’t noticed after staring at these walls for hours on end.
I don’t know how, but I know I cannot allow Andra to try to use her Gift. Not until she has had enough time to recuperate. Something tells me Lady M won’t have the patience to wait.
It doesn’t take long before the heavy wooden door slams open.
I hold my breath, but it isn’t Lady M waiting in the hall, but another unknown Gifted, a tray of food in her hands. I jump from the floor and snatch it from her, like she might take it away if I don’t grab it quickly enough.
“Lady M says she will be down shortly.”
I carry the food over to Andra, holding the tray steady so as not to spill a drop. “She needs more time to recover. She cannot try to See yet.”
The Gifted shrugs. “Tell that to her.”
The door closes before I can deliver a retort. Bianca takes a bowl of soup from the tray, holding the spoon to Andra’s mouth. I prop myself behind my sister, holding her frail weight upright so she can eat.
For several long minutes, there’s only the sound of slurping.
Bianca feeds her slowly, and I know there’s a good possibility the food won’t stay in Andra’s stomach after going so long without.
I rub soothing circles on her back, hold her cup of water to her lips, and care for her like I haven’t since we were children.
Eventually, Andra pushes the tray of food away. Her head sinks down onto my shoulder, and I want to let her rest, know she still needs time, but time is something we don’t have the luxury of.
“Can you See any way for us to get out of here?”
She stiffens, her shoulders going tight. “I don’t know. Everything is just blackness.”
Bianca glares at me. “Don’t try to read, Andra. Right now you need to focus on regaining your strength.”
I know she is right, just as I know that we need to get out of here, and I don’t see how we do that without some kind of help.
Andra’s eyes are drifting closed when the door opens once again.
Lady M stands in her usual black dress, the fabric swallowing her from head to toe. Her amber eyes glint when she sees Andra, awake and sitting up. “Welcome back.”
I shift my sister behind me, not that I have much chance of shielding her if Lady M is determined to make her read. “She needs more time.”
Lady M ignores me. Her head tilts to the side, her eyes so deeply focused on Andra I would swear they began to glow.
Andra gasps and I turn, tucking her into my embrace. Her hands fly to her head. “Harold is alive.” It’s all she manages to choke out before collapsing in my arms.
I turn my glare on Lady M. “What don’t you understand about she needs to rest? Look what you’ve done!” I know there’s no chance she didn’t hear what Andra said, and yet I do my best to distract her.
But Lady M cares not for what I have to say. Her eyes narrow. “Harold is alive.”
“You would think you would want that for your husband,” I choke out.
She doesn’t bother to respond, sweeping out of the room, gesturing for one of the guards to close the door behind her. It shuts with a damning thud.
I gently lower Andra to the ground and look helplessly at Bianca. She hovers over my sister even though we both know there’s nothing she can do for her.
“I don’t think it’s as bad this time. She probably just needs more rest.” Bianca rearranges Andra into a more comfortable position before looking at me.
It’s the first time our eyes have met since we’ve been locked in here, and I see so much in their bright green depths.
Fear and anger and so much sadness. “What do we do now?”
It’s an impossible question, one I have no answer for.
—
At some point, I fall into a restless slumber. I only know this because at some point, someone attempts to rouse me, whispering my name and shaking my shoulder, until I slowly crawl out of the numb haze enveloping me.
As soon as I see my sister lying motionless on the cold stone floor, as soon as I remember the look in Callum’s eyes when I told him I don’t love him, as soon as the vision of Dom’s lifeless body floats behind my eyes, I wish I could fall back asleep.
“Fucking hell, Cate, if you don’t wake the fuck up right now I am going to gut you myself.” Tes’s voice is harsh and instantly recognizable.
I sit up, rubbing the sleep and disbelief from my eyes. “Tes? What are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass,” Meri replies from across the room, where she is helping Bianca stand, her muscles cramped from so long on the hard stone.
“I don’t understand.”
Tes scoops her arms under mine, yanking me to standing. “We’re getting you out of here.”
“Who’s we? And why?” I hate that my first instinct is to be suspicious. Of course my friends should want to help me escape the tyrannical woman who’s holding me hostage, but they haven’t exactly been on my team in this battle.
“All of us from the club.” Meri leaves Bianca resting against the wall before going to help Rosa hoist Andra from the floor. Once Rosa has Andra situated in her arms, Meri returns to Bianca’s side. “We don’t have much time.”
Tes tugs me toward the door, but I drag my feet. “Why should we trust you now?”
The three women exchange a look. “We overheard Lady M talking,” Tes finally admits. “We heard her plans to kill Harold.”
I nod, a sad wave of understanding cresting over me. “So you’ll come to his defense, but not mine. Not Andra’s.”
“We didn’t know how bad it had gotten,” Rosa says quietly.
“I tried to warn you.”
“We know,” Tes says harshly. “But would you rather fight over who was right, or get out of here and get some help?”
That question, at least, has an easy answer. I make for the door, leaning on Tes when my limbs start tingling as they awaken.
When we reach the hall, Tes doesn’t move toward the front of the stone fortress, instead making her way in the opposite direction, leading us down halls that echo with silence.
“Where is everyone else?” I whisper when I spot an archway leading to the outdoors.
“We’re staying here,” Tes replies, her voice tight.
I stop in my tracks. “What do you mean you’re staying here? I thought you realized what’s going on.”
“I don’t think you realize what’s going on, Cate. She’s building an army. She’s gathered enough Gifted to be able to wipe out a battalion of seasoned soldiers in mere minutes. She doesn’t know we know her plans, and right now, it makes more sense for us to remain on the inside.”
I lean in the stone archway, gathering my strength. I’m going to have to walk the rest of the way on my own. “Callum is going to come for her. He’s not going to let her get away with this.”
“He will be sorely outnumbered,” Meri warns.
I nod, trying to make sense of the conflicting thoughts whirring through my brain.
I need to warn him, but I know it’s highly likely he isn’t going to trust my word.
And why should he? I have done nothing but scheme and betray him.
I broke his heart and got his sister killed, and yet, as I consider our options, where we might go where Andra will be safe, there is only one place that comes to mind.
If what Callum told me is true, Harold is there, and if Andra’s vision is true, he’s alive.
Rosa deposits Andra on her feet, slinging one of her arms around my neck and the other around Bianca’s. I have no idea how we are going to manage escaping the grounds without being seen.
“We cleared the way for you, but you don’t have much time,” Tes instructs. “Get as far away as you can, as quickly as you can.”
I nod, looking between the three women I consider sisters. “I don’t like leaving you here.”
Meri shrugs. “She needs us.”
“When she realizes we are gone, she will know it was you who helped us.”
“Then perhaps when you see that prince of yours, convince him to make his move sooner rather than later.”
I doubt that prince will be listening to me anytime soon, but I don’t say that out loud. “We’ll come back for you.”
At once, we fall into each other’s arms, an embrace with too many limbs and too many words still left unsaid to be much comfort. But it’s a start.
“Go.” Tes points the way.
Bianca and I support Andra’s weight and head out into the darkness, moving as quickly as we can. The trees swallow us up and I head toward the only solace I can think of. A man who wants nothing more to do with me, but the only person I trust to keep us safe.