I look down at my hands, weaving my fingers together. I can’t even tell him that I will endure this all for him. To stay at the asylum. To stay in the city. To live with a violent drunk. All to stay close tohim.
He turns on his heels, heads for the door without another word.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I ask as he reaches for the roof door. My tone gentle and pleading for understanding.
He sighs and looks down at his hand grazing the doorknob. “You look”—starry eyes lingering on my dress and back up to my face—“so perfect tonight.”
The door shuts behind him. I stand at the edge of the roof, my red dress flapping like a flag in the wind. And there’s an absence of warmth where Dessin once was.
50. Lost Time
“May I have a wordin private?” Judas asks. His eyes wrinkle around the corners.
I nod and look back at Ruth, sharing stories about her progress with Chekiss and Niles. “I’ll meet you for lunch, okay?”
I follow Judas to his office. Always neat and clean, like a museum with its only sin age and dust.
We sit at the same time. “Miss Ambrose, I wanted to keep you updated on time,” he prompts. Eyes serious and concerned. His fingers fiddling with a gold pocket watch.
“Time?”
“Yes, are you aware you only have seven days left with him?” He folds his arms, navy-blue suit creasing at the inside of his elbows.
A cold tremble of nausea rolls through my gut and up my throat, like a snake slithering from its coat of old skin. “Only seven?” My lips part. I can’t believe I have wasted so much time. What have I accomplished with his case other than confusing myself? Yes, he’s opened up about his past, but if the previous host doesn’t resurface, none of that means anything.
Judas nods. “I hope I do not need to remind you that the price of not fixing this is a man’s life.” He fixates his stern, ominous eyes on me like a child. “Have you made any progress with him?”
I cough up the silence that has clogged my throat. “Of course, I have. It’s just… I’m worried I won’t be able to get to the previous host in this amount of time.”
He sighs, putting his hand out for me to shake it. “Do what you have to do.”
I take his hand, feeling the dryness of his palm rubbing like sandpaper against my skin. My mind fills with clouds of smoke, self-doubt, disappointment with myself—I leave his office in a daze.
A small cold piece of metal rests in the palm that Judas shook. I look at the thin brass key, and I know why he gave it to me. I squeeze the key and hold it tight to my side. He knows, and I know, I must make drastic decisions at this point in the game. I have to take a grand enough action to give Dessin the push he needs, to give the previous host the push he needs.
I needthemto trust me.
A warm flutter of excitement pours over me, tingling around the skin that touches the key. I can’t wait to show him that I have it. That we’re going away, only for the night. I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him this.
I wonder if Judas knows what he’s risking by giving us this. Unless he knows that Dessin can leave anytime he wants. He has no limitations. But giving me this key will show good faith. And I think Judas is counting on that.
I push open the door and fight the smile burning my cheeks, but it’s impossible to keep down. The door unveils his dimly lit room, his brass bed frame with built-in shackles, and a strikingly handsome man sitting in a chair, smiling back at me.
“Hi,” I say with a grin that feels permanent, taking two steps closer to him.
He crosses his arms and smiles back cautiously. “Hello.”
I think for a second about how I want to approach this. “If you could go anywhere in the world with me right now, where would you want to go?”
“Why?” He narrows his eyes on me.
“Could you get us out of here? Everyone’s leaving for the day.” I keep my poker face firm. He tilts his head to the right, focusing on my expression with a curious glint in his eyes.
“Right now?” he asks, surprised. A hopeful, crooked smile spreads over his mouth.
“Mhm.”
“For the first time, you have dumbfounded me, Skylenna. What is going on?” Now he’s the one demanding answers, and I’m the one holding all of the cards. I wonder how frustrating it must be for him. However, he doesn’t look frustrated. Not even slightly. More like he’s intrigued, studying an animal, rare or thought to be extinct.
