Dad doesn’t let me go.
Von is staring at me with pity, his lips parted as he watches me, like he wants to crack at what he’s seeing. His friend, come undone.
“Von,” I say. “I’m not crazy.” It’s hoarse, my words.“Please, Von.I’m not crazy.”
But the footsteps are far away.
I can sense Sullen isn’t near.
I can barely breathe.
What will they do to him?
This is my fault.
“Von.” I try one more time, tears blurring my vision.“Please believe me.I’m not… I’m not crazy.”
I watch his throat roll as he swallows.
Then he just says, so soft I can tell he’s lying,“I know, Karia.”
Chapter 5
Karia
“If you won’t talk to me, you’re going to talk to Dr. Klein.” Von paces in front of the hotel room door. It’s night now, hours have passed since Dad pulled me away from Sullen, long after he was led out of the room.
I curl my knees to my chest, arms wrapped around my forearms as I sit at the head of the queen bed. The urge to move, to run, to fight is tempered only by the fact I don’t know where Sullen is, and Isadora is sitting in a wooden chair with her back to the door, her eyes on me as Von paces.
At the mention of Stein’spersonaldoctor, my skin crawls. Sullen never said anything about this person. Not once did he mention them, but it was the only time he spoke up when we were trapped inside the meeting room. He didn’t want me around them.
Why?
I stare at the white sheets beneath me. Pillows surround me; I’m in the center. Still dressed in Sullen’s oversized, high-collared shirt, and black sweats and socks. My hair has dried now, a wavy mess down my back.
I have the sudden, twisted urge to glance at the bruise from the needle he injected me with on my belly, several nights ago. Proof that we were together. It wasn’t just a dream, like Sanford Rule seems to be.
But it’s not possible.
I know Sullen and I didn’t have a shared hallucination.
The older man went somewhere. Somehow. In the fray of shock before everyone gathered in the room, he went somewhere.
Vanished.
Didn’t he? He has to be real.
My sanity starts to slip. What if it’s the sedative doses I had? The alcohol? The lack of food? What if something is broken, inside my brain?
But Sullen spoke to the man, too.
And yet… he didn’t say anything. He didn’t back me up.
“It’s not my decision, but Dad’s.” Von continues speaking, doesn’t stop pacing, his arms folded over his chest. All in black, like Isadora. Black pants, black shirts, Isadora’s hair pulled back in braids as she watches me from her perch on the chair.
She’s always wanted this life. She’s set to take Mads’s place as leader when the time comes. My parents mention it often. Even Von won’t fight it; he’d probably kill just to be her own personal bodyguard.
Despite the history Von and I have, I’m happy for both of them. He’s obsessed with her and she loves him deeply. When he told me we couldn’t hook up anymore, it was not a blow nor a shock. I was glad for them.
