Chapter 3 #2
Lili was a tangle of limbs, fast asleep, when I slipped back inside. She was clutching a piece of canvas loosely in her hand. I tugged at it gently to put it away, but the motif caught my eye.
She had drawn herself, and on either side of her, Archie and I stood, holding hands behind her back. I let out an audible snort that woke her up.
“Do you like it?” she smirked sleepily from the floor, one eye still closed as her head rested on her arm.
“You cheeky girl, go sleep on your mattress,” I insisted, stuffing the drawing into my pouch.
As I laid down next to Lili, my head swam with the image of orange hair and blue eyes.
I could still feel the places his hands had roamed over me.
For some reason, I felt like I’d crossed a sacred boundary.
We’d been together once, years ago, after too much mead.
The years after had cemented our friendship.
I didn’t want to ruin it. I didn’t want to risk losing one of the most important people in my life for a few stray kisses.
I slipped behind the loose siding, letting the familiar feeling of relief fill my body. It’d only been a few days since we’d escaped the Defenders, and Archie had come to visit me either here or at the market every day since. Neither of us had mentioned the kiss.
Lili was asleep on the mattress, her face tugged under the shabby blanket. Perhaps it would be time to get a new one soon.
I kneeled down in front of the mattress to lay a gentle hand on the lump. No reaction. I pulled the blanket away, wanting to ask if she was hungry, but instead, dread stole away my appetite.
The splintered boards caught my foot as I stumbled back out of the shed. I felt the skin tear on my ankle but continued determinedly down the darkening streets.
Where did she say she was going?
I had half a mind to go ask Archie, but I didn’t have time. Every second I delayed could mean pure disaster. What the hell are you doing, Lili?
My clammy hands shook inside my gloves, and I longed to tear them off. My heart pounded as I tried desperately to stay calm.
She could’ve gone to The Conquest Bridge. The foot traffic there was known to attract street artists, and that’s where she’d been drawing that first time she went out on her own. I pressed my hand to the symbol on my arm, suddenly remembering our newfound way of communicating.
Where are you, Lili?
Breaking into a run, I continued to speak her name, but only silence answered my panicked calls. My mind spiraled to the worst conclusions, but I forced myself to cling to the likely possibility that she just didn’t have the crystal in her hand. She had to be okay.
It took me a second to familiarize myself with my surroundings as I reached the bridge. Artists crowded the balusters, desperately calling out to attract customers. My ragged cloak and destroyed pants kept their attention away from me.
My gaze darted frantically over the unfamiliar faces, dread growing within me as the line of artists reached its end. I weaved between the crowd traveling the bridge in search of dinner or after-meal entertainment, desperately trying to see over their towering heads.
Then I saw her. The familiar face in a sea of strangers. I let out the first real breath I’d taken since I saw that empty bed.
But something was wrong. Lili’s face was pale as snow, and when her eyes met mine, they went wide with terror.
A movement behind her caught my attention, and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. I couldn’t breathe. How did this happen? How did they capture her? My throat clenched shut as my world collapsed around me.
Lili was not alone.
My ears rang like thunder, drowning out the chaos around me. Thirty feet away, Lili stood unmoving, her frantic eyes locked on mine. She wasn’t crying, but her wide eyes mirrored my shock.
She clutched a piece of parchment, her hands trembling as the fragile paper crumpled in her grip. My stomach dropped as I watched two big Defenders laughing menacingly, one of them clutching her arm tightly.
The one standing behind her kicked the back of her knees, sending her crashing to the ground. A surge of adrenaline hit me, and I bolted toward them.
The other Defender looked me straight in the eyes, and the realization hit me like a rock.
Seeing my reaction, a smirk crept onto his lips.
My legs trembled as I quickly closed the short distance between us.
Lili started screaming, telling me to stop, but I kept moving, pushing my legs to run faster.
I had to reach her before they could hurt her.
My eyes locked on the young Defender I now recognized as the one who’d been chasing me through the market a few days ago. He crossed his arms over his chest as I reached them. I ran straight past him and crouched down, grabbing Lili by the shoulders.
That’s all it took for her to finally break down. “I’m so sorry, Prue,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I don’t know how it happened.”
I wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine, that we’d both go home safely tonight. But I knew why they had targeted her, and what that entailed.
“Don’t blame it all on your baby sister now, Prudence,” the young one said, practically purring my name.
Anger boiled up in me as I stood up and spun around to face him. His arms stayed firmly crossed over his chest as he cocked an amused eyebrow at me. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was certain he didn’t care about Lili. All he wanted was me.
“I don’t blame her,” I fumed, raising my chin high. “I blame you.”
Those determined eyes glared down at me from mere inches away, so close I could make out the hazel flecks in his irises. His satin skin was pure and flawless, masking the monster inside. I wanted to laugh in his perfectly sculpted face.
This was the face of a man who had never fought a single day in his life. No pointy bones, no scars, no cuts. A man with no life experience, holding my entire fate in his hands.
“I couldn’t let you escape me like that,” he said, triumph lacing every word. “I suspect you know what’s going to happen now?” He pouted mockingly, pointing a long finger at me.
He nodded his head toward Lili, my heart skipping a beat as he did so. I nodded in return, understanding his silent threat.
He’d apparently done his research, to find me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known my name, or that Lili’s compromised safety was one of the only things that could draw me out in the open so easily. So unprepared.
Lili was hysterical, trying to free herself from the other Defender’s grip.
“Let her go. You’ve got me,” I said. “I’m the one you want, and I promise to come quietly if you leave her alone.”
He reached a hand to cup my chin and ran a smooth thumb over my dry cheek. “Fine. I got what I came for. Release the girl; her hysteria is annoying anyways.”
Lili’s screams continued as she protested. But my eyes were fixed on the man in front of me.
With his lips curled into a satisfied smirk, he twirled his finger, and I turned around. He let me stand as he guided my wrists together and tightened heavy metal cuffs around them.
I gasped as he yanked the gloves off my hands, the sudden fresh air caressing my fingers. Leaning in close, his lips almost brushed my ear as he whispered, “Now everyone can see that I caught a darksome. Hasn’t been done in months.”
“Congratulations,” I sneered, glaring at him over my shoulder. His closeness made me shudder and I subconsciously leaned forward to escape the artificial scent he’d sprayed on himself.
A distant voice called out my name, and I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. I turned nonetheless, dread filling me up as those blue eyes met mine.
“Archie, stop,” I mouthed, silently begging him to stay put. I knew he wouldn’t listen. My heart sank as I watched him push his way through the crowd to reach us.
If he got arrested too, Lili would have nobody, even if they let her go. The thought of never seeing him again made me want to summon all the power of the darkness and destroy the man behind me, if only I had that kind of power.
At least be sensible enough to shut your big mouth, Archie…
In a matter of seconds, he was in front of me, cupping my face like the Defender had done. Though when he did it, it didn’t bring my veins to a boil. Instead, my eyes stung violently.
“Prue,” he whispered my name, scanning my face with frantic eyes. He stroked a gentle thumb over my cheek, leaving a wet trail, and I realized then that I was crying. He was crying too. All I wanted was to wipe the tears from his red cheeks.
A cough from behind startled me. “How nice of you to come see her off, Archibald,” the Defender said mockingly. “But I don’t have all day.”
Archie’s face heated in anger as his eyes landed on the young man. “I should’ve known it was you, Kenric. You tend to draw a crowd.”
A spiteful sneer spread across Kenric’s face, and I wondered how they knew each other. Archie wouldn’t return my gaze as he continued to stare at Kenric.
When he finally looked at me again, his anger melted away, softening his handsome face once more.
Dipping his head, he leaned his forehead against mine.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.
He closed the distance fully between us, wrapping his warm arms around me.
I let myself savor the last sense of safety, knowing that this fleeting moment would be my final chance. This feeling…I’d cling to it when I rotted in a cold, lonely cell in some unknown prison.
An iron grip yanked me away from Archie’s sound embrace and I stumbled back into Kenric’s steady body. “That’s enough of that,” he said in a silky voice. “I can’t let you have too good a time.”
Archie’s arms fell to his sides in defeat. He knew there was nothing either of us could do. That it would be worse for me if he was arrested too. I’d never seen him this way—looking like his whole world was about to be ripped apart.
“We’ll see each other again, I promise.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think, and I saw Lili perk up at my words from the ground. Kenric let out a low chuckle, every rumble from his chest letting me know I was wrong.
I tried to kneel back down, but Kenric’s grip was unrelenting. “Can I say goodbye to my sister, please?” I scowled.
“Well, when you ask so nicely,” he smiled, letting go of my arm, and I instantly dropped to the ground.
She collapsed into me, her arms clutching my shoulders as muffled sobs escaped her. Her fingers curled around my shirt, as though if she just held on tightly enough, they wouldn’t take me away.
Regrets tumbled down around me. If only I had worked harder, if I had been more fearless, I could’ve gotten us away from this wretched city.
If I had found them, the rebels, like I’d promised, this wouldn’t be happening.
But I’d failed her, and my attempts to shield her from the dangers of the world had only endangered her more.
Just before Kenric pulled me away, Lili spoke six little words to me, the weak, begging tone of her voice cracking my heart wide open.
“Please come back to me, Prue.”