“Unless Prospero told her, I doubt it.” He made a noise that sounded like a grumble and a sigh all at once. “And I don’t see that one sharing all her cards.”
“She propositioned Ellie,” Maggie told him. “I’m not sure… I think… Not that it’s my business! I’m not the sex police.” She laughed awkwardly. “I just don’t trust her, and Ellie’s so nice…”
“Prospero likes power. Ellieispower.”
“I’m not going to tell her she can’t come with me,” Maggie said softly. “If they come after us, we’ll run faster. I just can’t abandon Ellie here. She’s my friend.”
“I can pretend to do what you suggested and believe you are in your room grieving,” Sondre offered. “At most, it’ll give you a three-day head start.”
“I wish you were coming with us.” Maggie rolled on top of him, leaned in, and kissed him until her body was at distinct odds with her mind. “I should go.”
He released her.
Once she re-dressed, he said, “I hope I never have the pleasure of seeing you again, Maggie… but I think I’ll miss you.”
“Same.” She smiled at him, barely resisting the impulse to lean in for just one more kiss. The sad truth was no number of kisses would be enough. Not with him. “I finally meet someone I want to get to know, and I can’t. I hate this.”
“Less than two hours until shift change at the gate,” he said, repeating the instructions yet again. “If you want to get out, that’s the best option. I’ll have people attempt a break-in at the warehouse. That will, in theory, draw both the new guards and old shift guards away for about ten minutes.”
“Thank you.”
“Go gather your partner in crime. It’s not a plan that will work twice, Maggie. You have one shot at this.” Sondre stood and with a word, he was fully dressed again. “I’ll shield your rooms. Give me about fifteen minutes after you leave here. You’ll feel a sense of something dripping over you. It’s not perfect, and it could make them suspicious, but if not… they’ll know it’s empty.”
“Who watches?”
“There’s a staff of low-level witches who are assigned to observation. Not constant, but every few hours they check in.”
Maggie shuddered at the thought of that sort of invasiveness. “Bathrooms?”
“No, and they close the viewing window if anyone is… having relations.” Sondre sighed. “They report it, but they don’twatch.”
“So you know who…”
“Yes, and who takes their pleasure alone.” Sondre glanced at her. “I get reports.”
“That’s illegal in my world,” Maggie said, reminding herself thatthiswas not her world. “It ought to be illegal here, and how do you know they don’t watch? There’s no way to tell.”
“Agreed.” Sondre paused as if he shouldn’t say more, but then he added, “You need to know that Prospero was with Ellie in her roomat the castle. She won’t let Ellie go easily, and if you wait too long to escape…”
Maggie hugged him, and then she fled toward her room. She needed to tell Ellie enough to convince her to leave.
40Ellie
Ellie paced her room; she felt like the world’s biggest fool. Not that she hadn’t haddoubtsabout Prospero, but she’d thought they were on the edge of something real… so when Prospero said she wanted to love Ellie, she’d believed it. When Prospero had taken Ellie to bed, when she’d confessed her vulnerabilities and that she wanted a relationship, Ellie had thought Prospero was telling the truth.
But she’s a liar.
If it were true, Prospero would know. She was the one and only witch who erased memories, so she had to know if Craig was still alive.
Ellie felt like her heart was physically aching.
I should ask her. I could go to find her and ask and… then she’d know I have doubts. Then she’d watch us, and escape would be impossible.
So Ellie reread the article on Maggie and the accident. Nothing there said the boy had died. Maggie deserved to know for sure. If he was dead, they’d come back. If not… the weight of Prospero’s second betrayal would mean there was no way Ellie could live here.
By the time Maggie returned, Ellie was calmer, and Maggie looked surprisingly resolved. She walked over to the notepad and wrote,Theywatch our rooms. We have a few hours until Sondre stops that in this room. Temporarily. Then we run.
Ellie flinched. All she could focus on was the “They watched the rooms” detail.
