When she’s finished the tea and found her voice, she continues her interrogation.
“Why am I here?”
It’s an excellent question, and I’ve been asking it of myself over and over again. There’s the truth, which I’m trying not to examine too closely, and there’s the excuses I’ve settled for.
“You knew too much.” I shrug. “I couldn’t have you out there ruining everything.”
And the sight of your crumpled body ripped my heart from my fucking chest.
“So you kidnapped me?”
“Think of it more like an invitation. You’re my guest. Indefinitely.”
“I don’t want to be your guest,” she says through gritted teeth.
The magnet that pulls me to her thrums within my soul, willing me to soothe her, to touch her, but I ignore it.
“You’re angry.”
The incredulous look she pins me with could fracture realms.
“Am I supposed to be grateful? You’ve kidnapped me. Taken me from the only home I’ve ever known. And brought me to the last place in this godsforsaken land I ever desired to be. Would you like me to kiss your feet?”
I can think of other things I might prefer her to kiss.
“There is no sense in arguing. You are not well enough to leave, and even if you were, I cannot allow it. You must stay.” Letting her go would create more problems that I don’t have time for, but there’s another reason she cannot go. Maybe more than one.
“And if I refuse?” I bristle at the thought, and clench my hands to keep from raising my voice at her ungracious behavior. Shegets so deep under my skin, and I lose composure. Maybe it’s the fucking Smog that makes it harder for me to keep my emotions in check, but I think it has more to do with the healer than the curse.
“There is no refusing me. You either stay with me now, or you die.” I’m bluffing. There’s no way I could kill her, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Then you might as well just kill me now. Put me out of my misery. There is no way in hells I’m staying.”
As if on cue, the caves begin to rumble. Tiny rocks tumble from the ceiling, and dust sprinkles onto the floor. It’s a common occurrence, but the fear painted on her face reminds me that she’s inmyterritory now.
“What the fuck was that?” she asks through coughs when the quaking stops.
I shrug, hoping it will bring her some sense of comfort. “We are underground, and very near the plates of rock that move beneath the surface. When they collide, the earth shakes a little. You’ll get used to it.”
“I won’t be here long enough to get used to it,” she argues, and even when she’s weak and bedridden, her confidence is so fucking cute.
“How about another deal? You stay and learn the truth of who my people are and what we stand for. Give us seven days. We might just surprise you.” She only knows what she’s witnessed above ground. Down here, things are different.
“How do I know you won’t murder the queen in that time?”
I wipe a finger across the dust on her table before answering, “You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“And if in the end I am not swayed?” She’s trying so hard, but I know she’s dying to find out more about the Underground.
“We will reassess and find somewhere else for you to go. But you cannot return home.” I leave out the part where I plan torestore the home she loves so much, she’s willing to die for a tyrannical ruler who doesn’t even know her name. There’s no point in getting her hopes up.
I set her pack of supplies on the small table by the bed while she stares at me in horror, her mouth hanging open. As if being down here is so abhorrent she’d rather die. As if being stuck with me is the worst form of torture she can imagine.
I leave the room before she can question me further, closing the door on her look of confusion. I don’t lock her in.
Maybe it was foolish to wish she would wake up at all. Maybe it would have been better if I had left her there to die. Maybe that would have made everything easier.
I’ve never been the kind to do things the easy way, though.
