I find myself swelling with pride as I say the words. Back in the cult, the only kind of education we were allowed was what the Prophet decided to teach us. Most of it was based around how to be a good wife and mother, and how to be faithful to him and to God. Now, a whole other world has opened to me. I remind myself how close I came to losing it all when my father decided to take me away for my own safety, and my stomach knots again. Had he really thought it was for my own safety, or was he in league with the Prophet somehow and had removed me from Verona Falls to make me more vulnerable? But if that was the case, why had he been so angry about the letter? Was it that he’d been worried about me finding out the truth?
I can’t believe I’m even having these thoughts, but my dad has shown me a very different side to himself recently, and it’s as if I never really knew him.
The betrayal cuts deep. I don’t want to voice it out loud, making it real. I already know what the Preachers will say, and, with the mess of Roman’s face as evidence, perhaps they’ll be right.
The thought of my own father betraying me makes me want to cry, but I hold back my tears. If I cry, the Preachers will demand I tell them the reason behind my tears, and I’ll have to explain it to them. They already hate my dad, and I don’t want to give them a reason to despise him further. I need to get this information straight in my head first before I share it. We have enough going on with Daisy, and the news of what the Prophet plans, to worry about what happened a long time ago.
He's still obsessed with you…
That was something else Daisy said, and I don’t want to think about it too much. I already believed that, deep down, didn’t I? That’s why I’ve been able to hear his voice all this time. As much as I hate it, we had a connection, and my leaving hasn’t broken it.
We walk past the college building and head deeper into the woods. I can feel Daisy shooting me curious glances, wondering where we’re going.
Cain’s father’s men are still with us, staying in an RV a short distance from the water tower. I believe a couple of them must have followed the Preachers when they chased me to the front gates, but they’re good at their jobs and hung back enough to protect us but also not be noticed. It was part of the deal made when we asked to bring them on the grounds—that they stay out of the dean’s way and don’t interfere with onsite security.
Knowing they’re here does make me feel safer. It’s not only that I’m worried about the Prophet and what he might try to do, I’m also concerned about Roman and what happened back at the facility. He’d killed a man—even if that man deserved everything he got—and according to the doctor who put me there, it isn’t something the owner of the facility is likely to forget or smooth over. I think about all the other patients I left behind there, including the girl who’d befriended me and helped me with the meds. What was happening to them now?
I want to shake myself. I’m spiraling with all these thoughts. Why do I feel the weight of responsibility for so many people, when I’m barely surviving myself?
CHAPTER 2
Ophelia
Our walkthrough the woods comes to an end. The dirt path opens out onto the clearing where the water tower sits proudly in the middle, the flat roof reaching into a slowly darkening sky. It’ll be night soon. I sense movement from up there and realize a couple of Cain’s father’s men are standing guard.
Beside me, Daisy draws to a halt. Her mouth is open as she stares up at the converted building.
“It’s like something out of a fairytale,” she says.
I can’t help smiling. “I thought the same the first time I saw it. Let me show you inside.”
None of us locked the door when we’d left. I’d run out of here like someone had been chasing me, and I guess the others had done exactly that. Not that anyone could have gotten inside with armed guards patrolling the perimeter.
Cain leads the way, opening the heavy wooden door, and holding it for Daisy and me to walk through, with Roman and Mal bringing up the rear.
“Is this where you live now?” Daisy asks, turning in a slow circle to take in the interior of the water tower.
It won’t be like anything she’s seen before. Back in the cult, the homes are modest, except for the Prophet’s, and the church.I find myself relieved that the Preachers got people in to make the place cozier, and relocated much of the gothic, voodoo stuff that had lined the shelves on the walls not so long ago. If Daisy finds their altar room, however, she’ll probably freak out. And why wouldn’t she? I did when I first came across it. I make a mental note to tell the men we need to look at locking that room.
“It is,” I say.
“With these three men?”
Daisy’s gaze flicks between each of my guys, and a tiny line appears between her brows. At seventeen years old, and having never lived anywhere but the cult, I can tell she’s unsure what the situation is between me and these three scary men. If she stays with us, she’s definitely going to have questions I won’t want to answer. But I can’t send her away. She’s scared and vulnerable, and maybe Cain is right. Perhaps she has just given us a way to stop the Prophet for good.
The idea terrifies me. It will mean my Preachers going up against the Prophet, and the possibility that one or more of my men will get hurt or worse doesn’t bear thinking about.
“Yes. The four of us live here, together.” I force my mind back to her question and just put the answer out there.
She bites her lower lip. “Oh.” The word is simple, but the intonation makes it feel heavy and loaded with judgement.
A heated wave of shame flows through me. I don’t want to feel ashamed for being with three men who love me, but it’s hard not to see my situation through Daisy’s eyes. She’s younger, and innocent, and has been taught that love is to be between husband and wife, not in the many varied ways it takes place in the real world. Within the cult, the hierarchy is simple and absolute. God at the top, then the Prophet, then the husband as head of the household, and lastly the women and children. Some men can take more than one wife if they want, but the other wayaround? My situation would be beyond scandalous to them; it would be an outright sin and punishable in the worst way.
I remember seeing Vani and the Vipers the first time at that party when I’d only just arrived at Verona Falls, and how shocked I’d been, but also curious. I’m not like Daisy, though. Not only am I older, I haven’t spent my whole life in the cult the way she has. I had a life before I was taken there, and I’ve been exposed to real life since. She only knows what the Prophet has told her.
And yet she must have her own mind, or she wouldn’t be here now.
“You must be hungry,” Cain says. “I’ll make something to eat and drink, then we can think a little more clearly about what happens next.”
