Page 463 of Coal Hearts

“I got lost in the caves and barely made it out as the tide came in. I managed to swim, but in my escape, I saw a few bodies floating that weren’t so lucky.”

“A few?”

“Three maybe?”

“All Masters?” Victor asked far too calmly.

“I can’t be sure. But there were definitely a few bodies floating around.” Henri widened his stance as if Peter’s weight grew too much. “Look, Vic, as much as I want to—”

“Rachel.” Victor narrowed his eyes on his favourite gem and the unwilling mother of his unborn child. “You’re very good at telling me the truth, my pet. Did you see any of this?” He waved at Henri’s bleeding arm. “Did you see him get stabbed? Is what he said true?”

I stopped breathing.

Henri didn’t look over his shoulder, but the muscles in his back tensed.

Not looking at me or Mollie, Rachel bit her bottom lip.

She had the power to murder Henri.

She could collaborate or deny, and Victor would decide who he believed.

“Start at the very beginning if you’d be so kind.” Victor never took his reptilian gaze off her. “Don’t spare me a single teensy detail.”

What she said before the bullseye was painted on us echoed in my ears. She’d said she was on our side. That she was in on whatever suicidal mission Peter and I cooked up. But that didn’t mean her courage would hold up beneath direct questioning from the very man who’d made her doubt her feelings several times.

Goosebumps covered me from head to toe as Victor added, “Before you answer, my sweetling, allow me to tell you what will happen if you lie.” His face turned dead and terrifying. “If you lie and I find out you hid something from me, I will carve out that child from your belly while you’re still alive, then serve it to you as a special snack before killing you in the most drawn-out way possible.” He crossed his arms. “Now, go ahead. In your own words. What happened out there?”

Mollie fought a tremble, but Rachel didn’t so much as blink with fear.

Either she’d tipped over the edge of terror or gone into shock just like Peter. “From the beginning? Sure, Sir V. Your wish is my command, as always.” She practically curtsied. “You saw us all run as one. We left the castle and ran through the forest. Some of the jewels thought about swimming away—”

Mollie gasped, cutting off Rachel’s story and adding weight to what she’d said.

Victor smirked, enjoying Rachel spilling everyone’s secrets. “Go on.”

“If you’re missing a few jewels tonight, Sir V,” Rachel murmured. “You might find more took you up on the offer to jump than you would’ve liked.”

He shrugged. “No matter. It was getting a little stale in here. I’ll just tell my team to gather a few more while on their hunt.”

Rachel nodded, still numb, still vacant. “We managed to stay together until we reached the Temple of Facets.”

Victor sucked in a breath, arrowing a look at Peter. “Naughty boy. Seems as if someone has been tattling.”

Rachel didn’t stop. “Most of us couldn’t handle what we saw in there, so...we split up. I don’t know where most of the jewels ended up, but we chose the wrong direction and got stuck.”

I gave her a subtle look.

If she mentioned the cave with the skylight, Victor could easily go and see how much she fabricated. He’d see all the blood. See the droplets as we carried corpses up the steps and tossed them over the cliffs.

But all my doubt in her loyalty vanished as she said, “We had to backtrack. Wading into water when the caves were filling up was petrifying.” She shivered dramatically. “We stumbled into the cave where Kyle was having his own little party and witnessed him stabbing Master H. They were fighting.”

“Please,” Victor said softly. “Do go on.”

“I’m aware of Master K’s tastes and didn’t stick around to see if he’d kill Master H. We scattered. We barely made it out before the sea poured in. But...” She swallowed hard as if resisting the urge to gag. “I-I saw what Master H saw. I’ll never forget the sight as a few bodies floated past and—”

“Mollie,” Victor snapped. “If you lie to me, I’ll allow Roland to share his ultimate fantasy with you.” He paused with a smile, knowing full well what that fantasy was and how painfully Mollie would die. “I’d like to hear your version.”

“Yes, Sir V.” With a shallow inhale, Mollie bowed. “I saw the bodies too, Sir V. Masters, not jewels. I spotted Master H wading out after us. His arm bled so much it left a ribbon of red on the water.”