32. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter thirty-two
J anly’s expression is dark as she goes over the board, updating me on the events of last night and anything I need to know about the concierges in her team. My eyes are gritty and it’s hard to focus as the words and photos on the large board start to run together. Blossom and I made it back a couple of hours before dawn, but sleep wasn’t something either of us could manage – so we lay awake together instead, each lost in our own thoughts about what will come tonight.
Part of me knows I should rest before we go. But I also know there’s no point even trying.
Whatever it costs my energy, I need to make sure Traelen’s Hunters, and Traelen himself, think Blossom and I are here, running the prison as requested.
‘Finn’s keeping a low profile – as he should,’ Janly says quietly, still looking at the board, and I blink several times to try to focus. There’s something lying under her words.
‘Jan,’ I say carefully, ‘why did you tell me to find a way to get him?’ I glance around as I drop my voice to a whisper, but we’re alone in the concierge room. ‘Why do you keep bringing up Finn?’
Her gaze is shrewd when she turns to me fully, her short bob swishing slightly around her jawline.
‘Because … up here it’s good to know where people’s loyalties lie,’ she says, her voice low. ‘As for telling you to get to Quillian, I know Traelen – sort of. And if Traelen has organised for Quillian to be out of reach – it was for a reason.’
I stare at her, words trying, and failing, to form in my mind.
‘What do you know of the wards around the island?’ I ask and her eyes widen before she smiles. I don’t think Janly would do anything to harm me, not after that confession. And I suddenly wonder if the warmth I’ve always felt towards her was because we unknowingly, at least to me, share similar values.
She glances back to the door as Emeris and a small group of other concierges start to filter in. ‘Perhaps we should retire for a cup of tea after the briefing? Emeris is okay, but I don’t know about the others.’
My phone vibrates gently.
Zale: Luka! Are you ready?? I’m coming to collect you so soon. I promise, with everything I have, I will be there x
Shit. In all my planning, I haven’t even thought about what to tell Zale. How crazy would she think I am if I told her I’ve taken Teddy’s dream of running away with the vigilantes? I pocket it as the concierges are in place, noticing Holland take a place at the back of the room, complete attention trained on me. I try not to look at him as he watches me take the teams through the events for the day: a seminar with one of the leading academics from Nuntainia – someone my father would know; lunch in the gardens; and an afternoon meditation by the pond. The wellness centre also needs a concierge to assist with stocktaking their medical supplies before they are replenished from the mainland, and Koko wants to start mapping out the events and menu for the next few weeks. It’s me that will have to do this last one, and I try not to feel sad I won’t be here to see her deliver on the plans – or bitter that her delicious creations are part of the cover hiding what’s really here and she probably doesn’t even know.
‘When should we expect the Warden back?’ someone calls out. I don’t see who and it’s probably better that way.
But my gaze is immediately held by the Hunter who watches with unwavering attention.
I swallow.
‘The Warden … has been charged with crimes warranting his arrest and placement in Vana Prison,’ I say, looking out at the concierges, hardly believing this lie I have to tell them.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Emeris says, brows furrowing. I give him the briefest glance, hoping it can convey everything. Janly said he’s okay. I am learning I need to trust my instincts here and so much less what I am told. But I know it will never be enough.
My skin starts to itch where I can feel the Hunter’s gaze still tracking my reactions. My words. My movements. I grip my fingers in front of me as the quiet disbelief ripples through the room.
‘Traelen is sourcing us a replacement,’ I say. ‘I will let you know as soon as I do when they will be arriving.’
It’s those words that wipe away any doubt I am doing the wrong thing. There is nothing in me that has any interest in meeting and serving another Warden. Perhaps it’s short-sighted, but the thought of seeing something else – being somewhere else – makes my heart swell. And to do so while I get to spend my time with the people I care about the most, doing something good – even if we’re all being hunted – is more than I could ask for right now.
There’s a small, but intense burning under the skin at the front of my chest that quietly asks me to examine that further, what it is I really want to do off this island. But I squash it down. I don’t have time to focus on it yet. And so it remains a smouldering ember.
Janly stays with me for the rest of the discussion, where we spend much of the time talking about the glass platform Zenaton suggested and how we could make it work – or someone else could make it work, because I have no intention of being here. Still, the ridiculousness of entertaining the idea creates a pounding in my temples. While I stand here and talk about the parties the prisoners want, Quillian and the others are counting down the minutes until their magic is suppressed and their torture begins.
The Hunter, Holland, approaches as the concierges file out after the primary topics have been talked through and settled. The prisoners won’t stay unattended for long. And I guess none of us will now, either. Does that mean Traelen already suspects my involvement?
‘All seems to be in hand here,’ he says. His beard covers most of his mouth.
‘I didn’t realise we were being assessed.’
His eyes narrow momentarily. ‘Not at all,’ he says. ‘Merely admiring your work. It’s an … interesting operation up here. Most of us are stationed at Vana at one point or another, but this – this is quite different.’
I make a non-committal sound, squashing the urge to beg him for information on Vana, and turn to Janly.
‘I’ll meet you in the office for our next meeting,’ I say, before walking out of the concierge room, the Hunter following behind.
‘Your rooms are ready,’ I say over my shoulder. ‘I moved some concierges around so you are all in one section of our wing. There is also a room there we have converted into a breakout area of sorts. One you can eat and rest in as you like.’
‘Thank you, Luka,’ he says.
We pause in the hall, overlooking the internal courtyard, and he turns to me. Something flickers across his face but I can’t catch what it is, if it’s something I should be frightened of. But it’s definitely not something I trust.
Janly takes longer than I hoped to meet me in the Warden’s office; I systematically move through the room once more while I wait, cataloguing every drawer, desk surface and shelf, including everything we have already checked. There is only one explanation – Cortane is wrong, the information is not here. While I wait, I go over the prisoner files of those who died recently and one thing is very obvious – they were all part of a defence committee. The one that, I assume, made the decision to send our people to Tae.
The discovery is both surprising and not. In the back of my mind, I knew there had to be a connection. That one – or more – of my group were systematically taking out select prisoners. Now I know why.
The most surprising bit is that I feel happier than I thought I could about that fact.
But the shadow I’d felt earlier is only growing in its dark intensity about how Nuntainia operates – and raising questions about how just it is. If it’s ‘just’ at all.
The framed line drawing of the prison catches my eye again and I wonder why the Warden spent so long looking at it. It’s like its mysteries captured him like the painting of the woman on the couch did me.
The weight of the frame is now familiar in my hands and it shimmers as a knock on the door sounds.
‘Just me,’ Janly says as she pokes her head in.
‘Thanks for coming,’ I say. ‘Anyone with you?’
She takes a subtle moment to look behind her, down both ways of the hallway before entering the office and shutting the door behind her with a shake of her head.
‘But we should be fast, those Hunters are like a rash,’ she says.
‘What can you tell me about … what we discussed?’ I ask, conscious Holland could decide to position himself outside the door at any moment.
‘Just what Claudius showed me,’ she says, her voice thick with sadness. ‘But if your intentions are as they should be’—she eyes me meaningfully—‘it will be enough.’
She takes the frame from my hand and wipes her thumb across the arched line underneath the prison.
It disappears.
‘What,’ I breathe, snatching the frame from her. ‘What does this mean?’ I examine the drawing, twisting it every which way in the light. But the line doesn’t return. Janly reaches over and swipes her thumb over where the line was and it returns once more.
‘I don’t know how long it stays like that on its own, or if it sends a message anywhere to alert that it’s been done. But that’s what he showed me.’
My mind slows and I try to wade through the different memories and thoughts. The Warden tried to help me, but he also wanted to help Cortane. And, somehow, he maneuvered to get this team here.
‘Jan,’ I ask, afraid of my own question. One I’ve been shying away from, even in my mind. ‘Did Claudius … did he know he was going to die?’
Something in her face fractures. ‘He chose it, Luka. To make way for Quillian.’
The air whooshes out of me and I find I have to sink onto the couch. His couch.
‘What were the two of you going to do?’ I ask.
Her brown eyes rise slowly to mine, the intensity in them making me hold my breath.
‘Further the revolution,’ she whispers.
Despite everything I have learned and the layers I have peeled from my vision these past few weeks, I still gape at her. Janly. The most committed, hard working concierge we have. Apart from me.
‘Don’t look so surprised,’ she says. ‘I gather you know a bit more now about the people here and what they’re escaping? And yet our most talented people are sent to a war no one is supposed to know we’re supplying fodder for. And if you try to expose those secrets, you end up in Vana Prison – often even if you don’t. Aid those that continue the sham, and you end up here for any perceived wrongdoings by the public. At least until the news cycle forgets about you and moves on to the next thing – then you get your life back like nothing ever happened.’
‘But, I still don’t—’ I cut myself off. I think I actually do now understand, but my brain is still catching up and the thoughts haven’t crystallised enough to say out loud yet.
‘We deserve better than to be whisked away from our own lives, bound to never talk about the details, subject to go wherever they deem fit. All the while, our government does what it pleases. Not once looking at the betterment of the country or its people. Instead, they subject innocents to the horrors of war while secreting away the worst kind of people to stay in luxury resorts for their sins.’
‘What were you planning?’
She glances back to the door and I follow her gaze, suddenly hyper aware we are almost openly talking treason. Something that would see us in Vana Prison, too.
‘There’s a woman,’ she whispers. ‘Someone he needed to get out of Vana. But I couldn’t get to—’
Footsteps sound in the hallway and we freeze. But I don’t need her to continue, she can only be talking about Cortane. Hearing it from Janly adds fuel to the fire burning behind my ribs. How many others did the Warden try to mobilise? Try to get to see a different world by revealing the truth of the injustices of this one? And yet he never forced his views. Always gave me the time to figure it out myself.
‘Who else knows?’ I ask.
‘A couple that I’m suspicious of, but we don’t talk about it. Definitely Emeris.’
‘Why risk raising it with me?’
She gives me a long look. ‘Because how you feel about those men is written all over you.’
Heat blooms through my centre. ‘But—’
‘It’s a good thing, Luka. I’d heard of Quillian,’ she says, but her face is sad, ‘from Claudius. But it seems I wasn’t the only one – Traelen knows the threat he poses.’
I think of him behind those bars, in his torn and filthy uniform. The quiet sadness in the set of his mouth.
‘They thought this was the end for them.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ she says. ‘Sometimes, to make the biggest impact you need to sacrifice yourself. But Quillian can’t be sacrificed, do you understand?’
I blow out a loud breath.
‘I wanted to burn it all down when I worked out what was going on,’ she says.
I nod, now only partially listening.
‘You’ll come?’ I ask abruptly.
‘If you can take me.’
My palms sweat while I wait for Janly once more. Dusk is about to descend, the time the world feels like it’s coated in magic. I tick off all the things I needed to make sure were in hand in the prison before we leave, part of me cringing that I have still taken the care to do that – to leave them with a smooth running sanctuary when that courtesy is not extended to those who actually do make sacrifices for others. But I also need them to not look for me yet – and the longer things run without my involvement, the better.
The event schedules are set and the committees are briefed on their next steps. Koko and I have confirmed the menus, and the musicians have new pieces to learn. The wellness centre is restocked and the most recent team of concierges is as up to speed as they’re going to get on my watch.
‘We’ll be fine,’ Blossom says from the balcony doors. But either she doesn’t notice the shake in her voice or she just can’t hide it.
For the second time today, Janly knocks. This time, though, I answer the door and check the hall myself. As I turn back into my apartment, I know I am going to miss this room. Both its magnificent view and the memories I have with Blossom here.
Against my temptation to clean everything before we go, Blossom suggested we leave things as if we’ve just popped out for a moment. So the cushions remain scattered over the couches in no particular order. Our tipple glasses are in the sink, Blossom making sure to include three for each of us even though neither of us are taking the magic dampener anymore.
That thought is like a barb catching in my chest. I haven’t been taking the dampener and yet nothing has changed. I feared being here, under this contract, would mean I missed my magic coming in. And it appears to be true. Quillian asked me once what I am. Without any magic, I suppose that means nothing?
I drag my eyes from the crystal glasses and look at Blossom. She’s still pale, and moving too quickly pains her side. She watches me as I pull my phone from my pocket.
Luka: You won’t believe this, I write to Zale and Akira, fingers trembling. I’ve been extended again. Another short-term one, I hope. I’ll check in when I can. Love you x
I have to bite my teeth together to keep my composure, desperately hoping I didn’t just send a goodbye text without telling them.
Gently patting my hand over where the framed drawing now rests in the pocket of my dress, taking up far too much room, I take a deep breath. It’s perhaps not the best hiding spot for it, its corners constantly poking out, but we agreed not to change from our uniforms to not draw attention to ourselves. It will be easier to say we have been working late if we are questioned by any of the Hunters. In a strange way, while I know what side Quillian is on, it makes it easier not to have a Warden wandering around as well.
The crossing of the staff gardens is the most terrifying, with the Hunters set up in our wing, in apartments that overlook this space. At the time, I’d organised it that way as a reminder that the moment we left our apartments we needed to be officially on duty – we couldn’t let our guard down. Now, as I imagine any one of them looking out of their windows and catching us sneaking to the other side of the hedges, my heart seems to beat in my throat and I feel like I might choke.
But we get across without incident and make our way through the dark forest, only the lights on our phones to guide us. Blossom leads us first towards Vana and then cuts away to the right, following no path I can discern in the dark. I can only hope the instructions Emeris gave her on how to find the unstable portion of the island were detailed.
Now, after talking with Janly, I think I know why he told her about this place.
‘Just here,’ Blossom says, after several moments. Moments in which the quiet of the island drags out around us. A sound I have always found so peaceful. But now it pulls on me, counting down until it’s shattered by something I can’t see coming.
But I can feel it. The dread inching its way along my limbs.
The trees start to thin slightly here, a part of the island I’ve never ventured to, but I can see the inky blackness of the sky where it meets the drop of the land. It always looks different just along the horizon than looking up for some reason. Like, between the stars and the faint lights of the city below, there’s a band of blackness that’s hard to penetrate.
Soft voices start to filter through and my heart rate kicks up a notch at the sound of them. Janly said how I feel about these men is written over my face and she’s probably right. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep them and Blossom safe.
My phone vibrates in my hand but I ignore it.
A louder voice reaches my ears from up ahead and I freeze.
‘Well, this is rather an entertaining turn of events.’