“You’re one of the Fallen,” she whispered, almost in reverence, wide eyes traveling up to meet mine. “That’s why they made you a supervisor. You’re…a Betrayed.”
I pulled my arm away from her, pushing the sleeve back down to cover the brands. I saw Darius watching me, curiosity clear in his expression, but I ignored him.
“I’m no different from you,” I muttered, cheeks blazing so fiercely I had to turn away.
I could tell Roxy was about to argue the point by the way her lips popped open again but Darius cut her off.
“How’s everyone up top?” he asked, steering the conversation away from my brands. He knew me well enough to know when not to push.
I glanced at Roxy who seemed just as eager to hear my answer as he was. Perhaps it was wrong. She seemed to be a nice enough girl. Boisterous and loud and blunt but nice. And Darius obviously trusted her enough to let her get so close to him which was a rare feat for my friend. But I'd just been pushed down a hole by a man who I thought I could trust, a man I was engaged to, a man I'd actually begun to fall in love with, and fallen into a place in which I'd learned that everything I’d been told my entire life was a lie. So trust wasn’t exactly something that was coming easily to me at the moment.
Seeming to sense my unease, Roxy muttered something about getting us some drinks and stood from the couch, heading for the kitchen.
“A lot has changed, Darius,” I told him. My voice sounded more exhausted than I meant for it to.
He frowned.
“My parents?” he asked.
“Not good,” I confessed. “Your mom…she sort of shut down when you got Culled. She doesn’t work anymore. She barely leaves the house. Your dad does but he’s quiet too. My mom goes over to help from time to time. She tries to get Dionne to speak, but—”
“And Dahlia?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat.
“She’s married now,” I told him. My heart broke at the grin that split his lips.
“Just married?” he asked, smiling. “I thought her and Cyrus would have popped out a kid by now.”
“Cyrus is dead.”
There was probably a more tactful way of saying it. I could've broken the news more gently to him, found a way to soften the blow, but that wasn’t how it had always been between Darius and I. We told each other the truth even when it hurt. And this was going to hurt. I could already tell from the look in his eyes, the way the light diminished in them slightly at the revelation.
“Then who…” he started.
“Warren,” I answered before he had to ask the question.
From there, I explained everything that had happened with his sister while I was in Sanctuary. From Cyrus’ drowning, to his coma, to his murder. I found I could speak freely of the reasons why Dahlia had taken her partner’s life. Apparently, the Oath no longer applied after the Trials were completed. I told him about the stripping of titles, the Tribunal, the wedding, all of it. Though I left out the deal I'd made withCosmoto get the tribunal to back off and allow my brother to marry Dahlia. In fact, I avoided all mention of Dante altogether. That would come later. This was about Darius, not me, and certainly not Dante.
When I finished, Darius’ face was impassive. He didn't show a trace of emotion as he reached for the glass of wine Roxywas offering and took a large gulp before turning back to me. Something about that was far more unsettling.
“What else?” he asked, determined.
“Things have changed in Sanctuary,” I told him. “Things I don’t completely understand. Right before I came here, there was a massacre on the Deck. The First Ringers killed all these innocent people simply for believing in something different. I don’t know why they thought they posed such a threat. I tried to help them. I tried…but they forced me back into the tunnel, to the tenth Trial and after that, well, here I am.”
“Here you are,” Roxy said with a sad nod, holding a glass out to me.
I stared at it for a moment before taking it and downing the whole thing in one go. She was already pouring me another glass before I took a breath.
“Who was he?” Darius asked, his tone somber and dark.
So I told him. I told them both about Dante, pushing past the sour taste in my mouth every time I said his name. From beginning to end, I told them about the day we were paired, all of our training, the way I'd fallen in love with him. I didn't tell them of the more intimate moments. I kept those for myself, tainted though they now were. I left out the bit about the betrothal. It didn’t seem to matter now anyway. By the time I got to the tenth Trial, the bottle of wine was empty and their shock had mostly worn off.
“So you got pushed,” Darius said about that final moment, smiling sadly as he did. “Good for you. Means you’re the better person.”
He held up his glass in a bitter mock toast before downing the dregs of his remaining wine. I stared into the bottom of my glass as the room fell silent around me, looking at the little burgundy stains on the rim.
“Do you know where he went?” I asked, my voice so quiet it was barely a whisper. Roxy even leaned forward to hear me better. “Dante?”
