Callum walks downthe 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 totell 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 andI 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 whenthe 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.”
