Page 82 of Into The Green

"Oh, shut the hell up!" she hissed at the redcaps, making Cass' brow raise and getting my attention. Powers stunted, I could only sense her overwhelming confusion and frustration, and maybe a hint of something that was akin to betrayal. "I think we've all had enough of you," she added.

Cass raised a hand and a silence fell. "They've just been keeping an eye on you."

"Oh, that's what we're calling it? Were they just keeping an eye on me when they cut me up as a baby? When they starved me and left me on a cold floor? Were they keeping an eye on me when they chased me out of The Green?"

"I always knew you would be drawn back into the Dark realm. The urge would have been too hard to resist over time."

"The only urge I had was to save my best friend from your work camps," Cece snapped, her body so tense beside me, I would have sworn she was seconds from fracturing from the pressure. "I didn't know The Green existed and I never wanted to go anywhere near the woods. I had absolutely no urge to get to know the kind of man who would torture a baby."

"Well, my dear, I'm afraid you have no choice," he said with a shrug, making my blood go cold. "You will be coming with me so we can... what is the phrase you use here? Catch up?"

"Fuck you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Cece," I tried to reason, drawing Cass' attention.

"Winters, aren't you? You have the look of your mother. I knew that story about you two dying in a draca incident was bullshit. But your parents..."

"Made a deal with the devil," I supplied, making his lips turn up slightly.

"Me being the devil in this scenario," he said with a shrug. "I've been hearing a lot about a blond empath tearing through The Green lately, creating chaos, killing guards, beating information out of my fae..."

"He was looking for me," Cece said, trying to pull me behind her slightly. For what purpose, I wasn't sure. But I didn't let her.

"And here you were all along. Go change," he demanded suddenly, looking impatient.

"Um, go fuck yourself, Dad."

I really, really wanted to both kiss the shit out of her for her spirit and slap a hand over her mouth and demand she shut the hell up already.

"Change your fucking clothes, Celestine," he snapped, voice low and vicious. "You will be coming with me."

Fuck.

"I'd like to see..." Cece started.

"Stop," I hissed, squeezing her hand hard enough to draw her attention. "Stop," I said again, a little more desperately.

"You should listen to your little empath. He might not have much in the way of powers, but he seems to make up for it with some brains. Which seems to be more than I can say for you. Now go change your clothes. I won't tell you again. I'll drag your ass in there and change them myself if you don't do it voluntarily."

Cece stiffened, biting hard into her lip to keep herself from saying anything as she turned to go back into the train car, dragging me with her. I expected outrage, confusion, anger, and fear. All I got was what seemed to be grim determination as she ripped off her pants and slipped into cotton sweatpants in a godawful neon orange color. She left on her sweatshirt and her boots which were leather and rubber, both mostly natural. She would still be able to get into The Green.

When she turned back, I felt something clamp around my wrist hard. Before I could even look down, I heard another click and finally realized what she had done.

She cuffed me to the bars of the train car.

"You've got to be..."

"I wrapped it in a scarf first so it won't burn you right away. I am going to leave you the key, but just far enough out of reach that you'll have to work for it and I'll already be long gone."

"Cece, you can't be serious right now," I said, my stomach seeming to take up residence in my throat.

"I have to go. There's no way out of that. I know that and you know that. But I can't drag you into this. He will torture you just to fuck with me if I don't cooperate. I can't have that on my conscience. You have to stay here. I know you're stubborn as hell, but if he's the Unseelie king, you aren't getting anywhere near the Court. You and I both know that."

"Cece, I just..." I just got her back. I literally fucking just got her back after months and she was walking away from me?

"I know," she said, swallowing a little hard as she reached for the black moonstone I had brought her. She stuffed it into her boot. "Can I bring iron into The Green or will it not let me go in?"

I sighed, knowing how fucked she was going to get herself if she thought she could go in there armed. "You can bring it, but it might slowly start to burn you."