Page 6 of A Society of Traitors

Frustration and fear rose within me and I looked at my mother, who was staring at Alarik with her mouth open.

“You already knew...”

Alarik lost his temper.

“Damn it! Be glad that I was the one who found out first and not someone else. Otherwise, your daughter would be...” He paused again and this time looked only at my mother. “She would be done for!”

I didn't know if it was the panic inside me or the one in my mother's gaze that made me turn back to my closet and reach for the next pile of knitted sweaters.

“Don't take her away from me!” Mum begged. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, as they had done countless times since that evening.

“If she doesn't come with me voluntarily, I'll have to take her away from you.”

My breath caught in my throat which tightened, panic overwhelming me, and I began to pack faster.

My gut told me I should listen to him. That I should follow him. Trust him.

He continued to argue with my mother.

“What would you rather have? Her safe or her tortured?”

My eyes flew wide open and I packed even more frantically.

Mum didn’t answer, and I was now rushing around my room to grab my Jane Austen books.

The thought of being officially tortured in Moenia gave me the ultimate adrenaline kick.

If I could trust Alarik, he would get me to a place of safety. Whatever that meant...

Alarik stepped out of the room and told me with one pleading gaze to follow him.

I didn't hesitate, rushing past Mum, who looked at me in panic.

My gaze fell on the dark circles under her eyes.

She had lost some of her eyelashes, had cried so much, even at night, sometimes so loudly that it had woken me up.

If she was feeling this bad... How was Julian feeling?

I pushed the painful thought of my male best friend aside and hurried after Alarik.

“We can't waste any time,” he pressed out through clenched teeth when Mum and I reached the bottom of the stairs. “Let's get you out of here.”

Something inside me wanted to understand, wanted to ask questions, but I wasn't even fully awake yet, and the last few weeks had been pure chaos for my cluttered brain.

Mum rushed toward me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and hugged me so tightly, as if someone was taking me away from her.

What if that was the case? Who could guarantee I would see her again anytime soon? And anyway... Where would I go?

Too many questions were choking me, along with my mother's tight embrace.

She seemed to trust Alarik. Even though she had warned me about the Copelands just a few months ago. And neither of them looked like it had been twenty years since they last met.