The children grow quiet, huddling back against the walls. Fear spills sickly into the air, bitter and cold.
Saela grips my hands urgently. “He’s going to choose again soon. I can feel it. Please don’t let him take me,” she whimpers.
I won’t. Iwon’t. Strategies race through my head. How to break her out of here. How to dismantle the bars. How to avoid the guards. How to get her out of the castle.
But every turn my plans take, I meet impossible odds. We’re hundreds of feet below ground. How long do I realistically have before her absence is noticed? And could I really leaveallthese other kids behind?
I don’t… I’m not…
A hand touches my shoulder, and I flinch.
But it’s Venna, eyes flashing with warning. “We’re almost out of time,” she says, then backs away to give me this moment with my sister.
I turn to Saela, cradling her sweet face in my hands. The horrible truth spreads like poison in my veins, weakening me, rotting my heart. I can’t break her out now.
There are too many kids, too many guards throughout the castle, and too high a risk of everyone getting caught.
But leaving Saela here, knowing she might be taken? Might be hurt? It’s that night all over again, taking my eyes off of her for a second and losing her in the space of a single breath.
It’s the smart move. The strategic move. But it hurts. So I do what I always do. I turn the pain into strength.
“I’ll come back, Saela,” I tell her firmly.
Her face crumples. “Meryn,” she begs.
“Iwillget you out of here,” I insist.
“I’m scared,” she whispers.
I crush her to me so that I can hide my tears from her. I need her to know I’ll be strong for her. “You trusted me until now, right? Can you keep that going just a little longer?”
She pulls me close but nods silently in my arms.
“I’ll return with help, okay?” I suck in a breath and compose myself, pulling away to look down into her eyes. “We’re Mother’s daughters, right? We’re strong. Always.”
She clenches her jaw tightly and nods, curling her hands into fists. “Yeah.”
“Keep your head down, alright? Don’t do anything to draw the king’s attention.”
“Okay.”
Venna taps my shoulder gently again and glances towards the door. I nod to her and then look back at Saela. “I love you,” I tell her, backing away. “With everything, Sae.”
Her hands fall from mine, but she nods, putting on a brave face. “I love you, too. And I’ll… I’ll see you soon.”
When I turn away from her, I plunge into a blizzard of pain and rage. The door shutting between us is excruciating. I clutch my chest, half-expecting to feel a torrent of steaming hot blood pouring down my front.
Venna touches my wrist gently, tears in her eyes, but I can’t find the space to thank her.
I can’t free Saela on my own. Not as I am.
Thankfully, I know someone who can. Someone with real authority. Someone who can officially order these dungeons opened, and the children released.
Someone wholovesme, who would do anything to help Saela. Who always has.
Over our bond, Anassa’s mind spikes with an immediate, sharp warning, like a needle jabbing into my brain. “You cannot get anyone else involved,” she urges, voice strained.
I push her back, straining against her panicky strength and throwing up the wall between us again, reinforcing it. She’s keptsomuchfrom me. From the moment we bonded, she’s never told me the truth.
