30. Sawyer #2
Luna walks to the trap and pulls a hunting knife from her waist. Liberty stops, but for whatever reason, I feel compelled forward—close enough to spot bloodied marks up the coyote’s leg where it tried to gnaw itself free. I don’t know why that matters, but my shoulders feel suddenly heavy.
Luna wedges the trap open with the knife, then drags the animal several feet away.
To reset the trap, I think—but no; she crouches over the carcass and plunges the knife into its belly.
The smell becomes unbearable as guts spill from a slice she drags all the way to its chest, and even yanking my shirt over my nose doesn’t block it out.
I backpedal to Liberty. “What the fuck?” she whispers as Luna drags the animal to the nearby river, leaving a trail of blood and intestines in the snow.
Letting the shirt fall from my face, I shake my head. “I have no idea.” A bite at my ankle brings my eyes to the snow that’s worked its way inside my shoe. My arms tremble uncontrollably. Wherever we’re going, I’d like to get there. “Wait here.”
She hugs herself and nods fervently before I walk to Luna with my teeth chattering and face stinging from a gust of wind that cuts through the trees. The coyote’s body splashes into the river just as I reach it.
“I take it you can find your way back here?” Luna asks, facing away.
I don’t answer. My lips sink at the evenness of her tone, the Ice Queen’s return.
She clears her throat as she stands and pulls a rag from her coat. Her back to me, she dries her river-soaked hands before wiping the blade clean. “I’m afraid I can no longer offer you money…”
It takes me a moment to remember the check she offered. The check that was obviously too good to be true.
“Did something happen?” The soft tone of my voice makes me cringe, and I look back to see if Liberty heard it. She stares from up the hill, her expression unreadable.
I clear my throat. “Other than the obvious, I mean.”
Luna busies herself resheathing her knife.
“You’ll be pleased to know I’m offering you your freedom instead.
At 5:45, I want you to climb the trellis into my room.
Persephone will be waiting, but she won’t go willingly.
You’ll need to knock her out. There’s a bottle of chloroform through the murphy door in the library.
“Wait a few minutes after the horn sounds at six before leaving with her through the back entrance. Shred parts of her dress, bloody them, then put them around the coyote snare. Get her, yourself, and Liberty out through the same spot in the fence you’ve used before.
It’ll be rebroken. There will be a couple waiting for you on the other side who will take Persephone.
I know them personally. They’re good people. ”
She sucks in a deep breath, but it’s the only betrayal of her emotion. Her voice is flat. Cold as the air chattering my teeth.
Her words should make me happy. But all I do is frown.
“What’s going to happen when Aurelius realizes what you’ve done?”
She takes too long to answer. “I’ll try to prolong the ceremony as much as I can, but you need to be efficient in getting to the forest. Once you’re ahead of the Keepers, you should be fine.”
“Luna.”
“Aiden will escort Aubry out after dark, so you don’t need to worry about her. And your faces have been erased from the system, so the drones won’t pick up your movements. Just be watchful of the traps. I had sap drips cut into nine hundred extra trees to confuse you if you ever tried to escape.”
“Luna.” I take her arm and spin her to face me, only to lose my voice. A deep purple bruise slopes one side of her jaw and seems to jump to her nose; a butterfly bandage hugs the swelling that extends the length of her bridge.
My grip releases. My breathing halts.
“What happened?”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You were limping.” I drop my gaze down her body while my hands hover at her hips. “Is your leg okay? What happened?”
She brushes my hands away as she takes a step back, nearly falling into the river. Her boot catches on a rock, and when she wobbles, I catch her. She cringes as she shoves me away, her hand flinching toward her ribs.
He kicked her.
In an instant, I see it as clearly as a boot print across her jaw.
He kicked her.
“Why the fuck would he do this?” My arms fall to my sides, and my hands flex in and out of fists. Luna winces as if I’ve slapped her—as if I’ve blamed her.
I have.
I didn’t realize how much until now.
Liberty was my responsibility, mine to protect, but Luna made me promises. If I’d known this would happen, if I’d known how limited her power was…
How could I bring Liberty here? How could I bring anyone here?
Luna’s icy demeanor begins to thaw, first in her eyes then in her shoulders.
If shame weren’t the cause, maybe I’d be glad.
“I let Persephone stay in my library last night. She found the check I wrote for you and brought it to my father.” She glances at Liberty.
“Everything he did was in retaliation for my betrayal… I’m sorry.
“But that girl,” Luna scoffs before I can respond. “She’s obviously a problem I need gone, so just… Take her with you.”
Her gaze breaks from mine, her breath unsteady.
If I didn’t know her, I’d believe her disdain.
The story of the vengeful witch, cutting prisoners free just to spite her father, wouldn’t seem so unstable.
I’d buy it all, and it would be so incredibly easy to hate her—like denouncing a Disney villain, censoring a psychopath. Condemning a trafficker.
I’m not that lucky.
I cup her spared cheek and bring her to look at me.
It’s terrible luck that the trees block the sun, because in its absence, Luna’s Icy blue eyes pierce my chest. I’m reminded of the moment we met, standing in this very forest, my tongue halfway down my throat as I tried to ignore that twitch in my gut.
She’s a greater casualty now, as my captor, than she ever was as my captive.
The most ferocious of cages have invisible walls; no need to run when you think you’re free.
I open my mouth as if potent enough words exist, but instead press my blue lips to hers. My thumb smooths a path along her cheek bone.
I want to say thank you, but I’m not thankful. I’m just sorry.
“Come with us,” I whisper as I pull back. “I’ll show you the world. I’ll keep you safe… Please.”
When she tenses, a final breath ghosts my lips. A second of anticipation passes, but there’s no real question what her answer will be.
The warmth of her cheek recedes. She takes two calculated steps and rolls her shoulders. From wounded doe to Ice Queen, crown and all.
“I have to say, I’m disappointed things didn’t work out, Dreg.” She swallows and tucks her hands in her pockets. “Maybe in another life…”
With that, she gives one last glance at Liberty and crosses the river on a fallen tree. Her hands cradle her ribs as she rises onto the stump. I watch her disappear into the trees, white hair blending with the snow.
My breath fogs with a heavy sigh.
I’d forgotten the cold.