“Times up. Let’s go,” he commanded.
I hurried out of the bathing chamber. The wind slammed into me, and I shuddered. My hair was still wet, and I muttered a curse under my breath for not spending longer drying it.
We entered another vast cabin that had three tables, large enough to seat twenty people each, maybe more. I saw Rowan sitting at the center of a table, a sea of Veilers in black surrounding him. There were a few Veilers I recognized from our journey, as well as the tattooed woman from earlier. They were conversing over plates of solid food, not stew.
I noted potatoes, chicken, and string beans. My stomach panged at the delicious vision. After so many bowls of rodent stew, the sight of an actual meal had me salivating.
There were more culled seated at the tables. I counted the ten from our journey, not including myself, as well as sixteen others. The culled murmured among themselves, but there was no fervor, no sense of companionship.
They were just as alone and weary as I was.
Renata brushed past me, paying me no mind. She didn’t even bother to glare. She walked up behind the tattooed woman and rested her hand on her shoulder. The woman sprang up from the table and met Renata in an embrace. I figured they were close friends—until their lips met. The kiss wasn’t long, but it had enough emotion in it to cause my chest to flutter at the sight.
It was rare for Veilers to have partners because their commitment to their position came first. A Veiler’s top priority was their oath of servitude. Rowan had mentioned that Renata’s parents werebothVeilers, even though two Veilers having a child together was nearly unheard of.
Veilers weren’t celibate. They visited village brothels often. So it made sense that Veilers would have children. However, no child ever claimed their Veiler lineage. To do so would be worse than being a bastard itself.
It was strange to see. Not because they were two women, but because I could sense the passion in their kiss, as if they loved each other. That was the strange part, because I never would have thought that a cold-hearted Veiler could be capable of such a feeling.
My attention diverted to Rowan, who was looking at me as if he were trying to read my thoughts. I ignored his questioning stare and walked toward the buffet of food. The hunger pains only grew in intensity as a plate was piled high with food for me. I took the offered plate and silverware and found myself a spot at a table.
I didn’t notice the glances at first.
If it weren’t for the swift departure of the few around me as I sat down, I wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss at all. I looked around at the scowls I received. It was odd because it wasn’t just the culled I had traveled with who were grimacing. It was the others who had arrived earlier than us as well. The ones I had never met.
I blocked them all out and ignored the unsettling feeling of sour stares. I focused on taking a fork and consuming my first bite of food that wasn’t mush in weeks.
I ended up eating far too much.
After eating so little for so long, my stomach had shrunk. I was all too eager to consume every bite of food on my plate. Now my stomach ached, swollen and tight. I was one moment away from keeling over.
I slowly climbed under the sheets of my cot, careful not to move too quickly for fear of losing my dinner. The sheets were rough, but warm. I wasn’t expecting luxury by any means, but the fabric was close in kin to sandpaper. I was still grateful for the warmth they provided. It was better than just a wool blanket and the cold, hard Ground.
I was near sleep when I was met with an assault on my senses. Someone dumped a cup of cold water on my face. I pinched my eyes shut and coughed out what little water I had inhaled. Then they opened again, and I stared at the four individualswho stood around my bed. I could feel the heat of their hateful glares even in the cool darkness.
“You lyingbitch,” someone cursed with a lethally calm voice. I realized who it was after a few seconds had passed, and I had become alert.
Lily.
“What is wrong with you?!”
“What is wrong with us?Us?Youare the traitor! What is wrong withyou?!” Lily spat in my face, and I flinched.
“What are you talking about?” My thoughts raced, trying to figure out what I’d done.
It wasn’t Lily who spoke next, but Isaac.
Isaac's voice cracked as he shouted, “You lied to us! You lied tome! I didn’t receive a slap on the wrist for helping you escape that night, more like afist.”
“Isaac…” I said, emotion choking my throat at the sound of his raw voice. “I don’t know what—”
“They were coming to save us. And they would have, had you not warned the Veilers,” Aeva interrupted.
“We know, Mavis. We know the Rebels came for us that night. The night you begged us to help you—the night we trusted you and then you betrayed us!” Lily raged.
“We could have been home by now! We could have been in our own beds, with our families, safe!”
Those words were laced with fury, but they didn’t come from Lily, Isaac, or Aeva. That voice was familiar in a way that reminded me of home. I rubbed my eyes and squinted again at the figure that had spoken. It was too dark to make out any of his facial features, but I knew.
