by Nina Walker
“Hello again,” I said bitterly to the walls of the same forsaken, gray prison cell.
“I hope you rot in here,” said one of the guards who’d so generously led me down here. I glanced back to glare as he spat on the floor and slammed the door.
Dramatic, much?
I huffed and sank to the floor. In his eyes, Richard had offered me “redemption” and I had refused. There would be retaliation even greater than anything I’d experienced before. I prayed there had been enough time for the camp to have cleared out. Tristan and Mastin had gotten away that night of the attack. I was certain they’d gone back to help everyone flee.
It will be okay. They still have time, even now.
I relaxed against the wall and waited for the inevitable. Sure enough, not even an hour later, it came.
The door flew open with a gush of cool air, and Richard barged in. Lucas, Jessa, Faulk, Christopher, and a few officers followed. The room was filled beyond capacity, but at least this time I wasn’t handcuffed to the stupid chair. It was across the room, and I wished it was closer, just so I could throw it at the king.
“What do you want?” I snapped, though I already knew. I stood, arms folded.
“Tell us what we need to know this minute,” Richard barked. “And don’t you dare lie. We have helicopters in the suspected area. We’re armed and ready. We’ll know soon if you’re telling the truth.”
“Oh, and what is it you want to know?” I asked sarcastically. My voice was cool but already I was scanning the people in the room, looking for a shred of usable color.
“Don’t play cute.” He stepped close and stared down at me with hate-filled eyes so dark they were almost black. “Tell us where you’ve been hiding. Where’s Hank Reynolds? Where is your mother, and little sister, and whoever else is with them?”
“I’m not telling you anything!” I yelled right in his face. Changing my tone had startled him and I smirked.
“Tell us now or I will kill this father of yours without a second thought.” He reached out and Officer Faulk handed him a black handgun. His fingers curled around it, and he pointed it right at my father.
“No!” Jessa and I screamed together.
“Don’t tell him anything,” Christopher said. He moved his hands slowly above his head and kept his eyes on me. Richard would kill him if he had to. Richard would do anything to get what he wanted. We both knew it.
“Father, there’s got to be another way,” Lucas said, voice cracking. He moved from where he’d been standing next to Jessa moments earlier.
“Nice of you to join us, Lucas,” I growled. I owed him nothing.
“Lucas, if you’re ever going to be able to live up to the responsibility of being a king you’ve got to learn how to make people obey your commands,” his father said. “Frankie will tell us everything.”
Christopher met my eyes again and nodded slowly. It wasn’t confirmation for Richard. It was confirmation for me. I wasn’t saying a word. Richard grabbed Christopher and shoved him to his knees between us. He went down without so much as a cry. Then, Richard held the barrel of the gun to the back of my father’s head.
I needed to think, to find a way out of this. But panic began to overtake me as I realized there was nothing I could do.
“Tell me now or he’s dead.”
I caught the determined gleam in my father’s eye, recognized the acceptance, and I knew, I just knew. He would sacrifice himself to save his wife and daughter back at camp. It wasn’t even a question for a man like him. Hot tears slid down my cheeks.
“Please, no!” Jessa begged while Lucas held her back, one arm tight around her torso. She clawed at him and her breath became ragged as she lost control of her emotions.
Richard glanced at me one more time before his sure gaze landed on Jessa. “It seems I’ve been going about this from the wrong angle.” He chuckled to himself. “Or I should say, wrong sister.”
“What?” I shook my head, but he was fully turned on Jessa, completely ignoring me. He kicked Christopher to the ground in front of her.
“Okay, Jessa,” he said, “I’ll save your father and your ungrateful sister if you do one simple thing for me.”
“Anything,” she whispered between gasping sobs. Her bloodshot eyes shone back at him in eagerness.
“Use your red alchemy,” he said. “Get your sister here to tell us what we need to know and they’ll both get to stay alive. I won’t touch them.”
“Don’t do it,” I shouted, but it was too late. She nodded once, pulled out a dagger from a holster on her belt, and turned on me with bared teeth.
“What are you doing? Jessa, no!”
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but I have to. I can’t let them kill him.”
“Don’t do this. Think of the consequences.” I slid back against the wall, squatting low and hands fisted, ready to fight her off. “They need more time. Jessa, your mom is there. Lacey is there!”
“It’s been two days. Wherever they were before, they’re gone by now. They have to be!”
“You don’t know that!”
“Please try to understand.” She narrowed her eyes, the knife glinting against the bright light. “This is the only way.”
Everyone began to descend upon me, with Jessa a viper at the forefront. Quick as a flash, she slashed the dagger at me. I jumped out of the way, narrowly missing her. But when she tried again, it connected in sharp heat against my side.
“Get away from me!” I bellowed, but it was too late.
Her hands were pressing against my shirt and the wet blood already soaking through. The magic shot through me like a feathering of poisoned needles.
No!
“Tell us where they are,” she said, her voice steady and calm.
My mind slowed, becoming heavy, and all emotion flat-lined.
The truth spilled from my mouth.
2
Jessa
Tears burned my eyes, trailing down my raw cheek. I held on tighter to my emotions and focused on my footsteps clipping the polished floor. Back in my room, I softly closed the door and fell to my knees, curling in on myself in a crying heap. Was Sasha right? Had I really just condemned innocent people to death, including my mom and sister?
No. I have to hold out hope that Mom and Lacey got out of there in plenty of time. I can’t think about the alternative, not right now.
The clawing doubt threatened to choke me, but I breathed through it.
Tap. Tap. Someone knocked lightly on the door, and I grimaced.
“Who is it?” I called out. The last thing I wanted was to talk to anybody. I had to be strong— and I was anything but strong right now. My weakness needed to stay hidden in this place, but this was becoming more and more impossible. If King Richard discovered how much he’d affected me today with his threats, he would know exactly how to control me.
Too late, Jessa.
How long until he used Christopher against me again? The memory of violating Sasha like that, slashing her open and taking what I needed, was something I’d never be able to erase. It was as if a piece of my soul was lost.
Just like the night Jasmine died.
Oh Jasmine, I’m so sorry. I miss you so much.
The tapping at the door continued. “Who is it?” I called out again. Couldn’t they have answered the first time? I wasn’t in the mood for games.
“It's me.” Lucas’s velvet voice filtered through the door.
Speaking of games!
I lumbered to my feet and brushed myself off. Seriously? Lucas was the last person I wanted to talk to but still, I threw open the door anyway.
“What?” I clipped.
“Are you okay?” His hands were deep in his jean pockets and his shoulders slouched in a blue cotton shirt that complimented his eyes. But dang it, I was not okay!
I bit back my incredulity and forced myself not to laugh in his face. The whole reason any of this happened was because of him! Had he already forgotten? If he hadn’t told his
father about the Resistance’s planned attack, it was likely Dad and Sasha wouldn’t be in this mess.
Sister. It was still so weird to think that Sasha was Frankie.
“Am I okay? I don’t know, Lucas, what do you think?” I glared at him, but still something inside me fought it. It just wanted to erase all the pain and jump into his arms again.
Traitorous feelings. There was no forgiveness here.
He scrunched up his nose, something I used to find adorable, but now only found incredibly annoying. He wanted to say more, but stayed silent.
“Really, what do you want, Lucas?”
“I want to talk.”
“There's nothing to talk about.” I glanced around the hallway where he stood. We knew alchemists and officers lurked at every corner. It wasn’t completely safe to talk inside my small room, but I pulled him inside anyway. The touch of his hand in mine sent a rumble of emotion through me.
Get over it. He can’t be trusted!
“You traded in my secret because of your bad decision. It’s not my fault you chose to get engaged to Celia. I wanted to get married to you one day but not if the only way to get your father's blessing was to betray me. What were you thinking?”
He opened and closed his mouth, red creeping up his cheeks. He was a man who rarely blushed; this was affecting him. Then something hardened in his expression, and he shook his head. “I told you. I did it for us.”
Was he serious?
“Well guess what?” I scoffed. “I don't want to be with somebody who would do that.”
The anger that spread through his gray eyes reminded me of an icy frost, killing everything beneath. “Okay,” was his only reply.
Okay? That’s all he has to say for himself?
“I never would’ve agreed to it.” I looked away, unable to stand the sight of him for a second longer. “I think you knew that, and that’s why you went behind my back.”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t move, drop his head in apology, or even try to look regretful. He didn’t do anything.
I was right. And the truth of it burned deep inside my chest. He’d willingly broken my trust in such a terrible way. Jasmine and many others were dead because of it. The Resistance? Gone. And my family, the people I loved more than anything, were in more danger than ever.
And why? So Lucas and I could be engaged?
My stomach turned over.
“You should leave,” I said, about to be sick.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” His eyes were hard slits. How was it that his strongest emotion was anger when he was the one who’d hurt me?
“Okay, so we talked, now go away.”
He stood there for a long minute. I studied him carefully, the planes of his jaw where stubble was growing through his smooth skin, the slight wrinkling of his brow. The pain in my heart nearly doubled. He finally relaxed, shaking his head, and stepped tentatively toward me. “Can I at least show you something?”
I didn’t want to be around him any longer. It was too painful. What could he possibly show me that would matter at this point? But my curiosity was piqued, so against my better judgment, I nodded.
“One second,” I said. I dashed to the bathroom to quickly wash my tear-stained face and brush my mess of hair. The curls were wilder than normal after my breakdown on the floor. For a moment, I stopped to study my blotchy cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, the blue irises bright with emotion. So much anger, sadness, and fear shone back at me. I shook my head and went out to meet Lucas, the boy who was responsible for most of that pain.
“This had better be good,” I said, irritable as we rounded yet another corner. We’d long since left the GC wing and were in the belly of royal territory. The decadence of the marble floors and gold crown molding brought back memories of the night Lucas and I had become engaged, then the initiation the very next day when everything had fallen to ruin. I swallowed and shook away the memories.
We were nearly at the royals’ private apartment, and the heightened security set me on edge. Guards swarmed the area. I was used to at least two practically anywhere I looked in this place, but the numbers were through the roof today. A particularly huge guard with bulging muscles sneered at me and I stumbled. I was seconds from turning tail and running. If Lucas was bringing me to see his father, I would officially lose it!
“In here,” he said, opening thick double oak doors and ushering me into a shadowed room.
“I hope I don’t regret this,” I murmured, but followed him in anyway.
Someone was standing in the middle of the room, her posture oddly familiar. What is–?
“Madam Silver,” I shrieked. I ran into the outstretched arms of a woman I thought I would never see again. She squeezed me tight, and I melted at the scent of my old ballet studio. The worn wood floors, the baby-soft fabric of the shoes, the balsamic fumes of the cleaner. They were all there, intermixed with her floral perfume. I cried out at the shock.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, stepping back and looking her up and down. Her dark hair hung in a bob cut around her chin, her eyes so dark they were almost black, her skin pale and ageless as ever. She carried a sophisticated attitude everywhere she went, but I knew her better than that. I’d been her student for years. Underneath the cultured exterior was a woman with a heart of gold and a deep love for her dancers. She was like a second mother to me.
“I’ve missed you, too.” She shifted back to look at me and her ruby red lips moved into a smooth smile. “It hasn’t been the same without you, Jessa. We’ve all missed you.”
“It’s been so hard to be away from dance,” I whispered and hugged her again.
“You’re telling me? You were my prized pupil. You shocked us all when you turned out to be an alchemist.” Her voice rumbled against me, and a prickle of shame overcame me. I’d let her down. I’d let them all down.
“I shocked myself.”
I frowned and took a few steps back, putting distance between us. Was she scared of me? Did she hate me for my magic? She must have sensed the worry in my expression because she shook her head and sighed.
“Too much talent for one person,” she said with sadness. “It’s not fair what happened to you.”
She has no idea.
“You still haven’t answered me. What are you doing here?” I turned to Lucas and raised my eyebrows. “What is she doing here?”
“I think you’re ready to start dancing again,” he said simply, the shadows in the room hiding his expression.
Joy burst through me like a sunrise. I was going to get to dance ballet again, and with my favorite teacher! A sense of peace warmed me just thinking about it. No matter what had happened in my life before coming to the palace, I had always had ballet. It was my salvation, the one thing I could do to calm the emotions inside. It was my outlet. My best friend. But I’d had to let it go in order to train as a color alchemist, and I had mourned that best friend every single day since.
“Are you going to work with me? Even though I’m a Color Guardian now?” I spun back to Madam Silver. I hated that I doubted her. But I did. She was normal, and I was the complete opposite. Normal people feared those like me. I’d learned that the second I’d accidently manipulated my stupid lavender ballet costume and the crowd of people had run away in horror.
Of course, the royals hadn’t been horrified. They’d seen the opportunity and took it for their own.
“I would be honored to work with you, Jessa.” She smiled, the kind that lit her eyes. I practically tackled her when I hugged her. Her petite frame shrunk under my height, but she only laughed.
“When can she start?” Lucas asked.
Madam Silver moved out of my embrace and peered around the space, her professional eye assessing the room. It was nearly perfect. The floors were hardwood, and all the furniture had been cleared. It wasn’t quite as big as my old studio, but it would do just fine.
“I can get one of those bar things installed and some mirrors,” Lucas continued, mov
ing through the room and pointing to the walls as he talked. “I would like to get her in as many classes as you can fit in your schedule, and of course, we’ll pay you double your regular one-on-one fee.”
I began to wander around the room, imagining the studio it would become.
“You’re very generous,” Madam Silver replied. “I would be happy to meet her here three days a week for two hours each session. How about Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons from four to six, will that work?”
“Yes!” I whirled on them. “That’s perfect!”
I couldn’t believe it! I would not only get to dance again, but to study independently with the best dance teacher I’d ever known. I couldn’t hold back my smile, it burned on my face like a brand. Sure, this wasn’t the same thing as being in the Royal Ballet, nothing would ever replace that life-giving experience, but it was something. It was better than something! It was the best news I’d received in months.
Automatically, I began to move my body in long dancer’s stretches that were ingrained into my body. Lucas and Silver began to discuss more details of the specific equipment and where to install it. Leaning over to stretch my leg, my mind wandered to the reality of my situation. I wouldn’t forget my work here in this palace. I would still find a way to take Richard down, maybe rebuild the Resistance if I could.
I switched to the other leg. But this? This would make my stay in the palace at least bearable.
“I wish we could start today but I’m afraid I have other engagements. Can we start next week?” Madame Silver asked Lucas. “I trust you’ll have this studio outfitted by then? She’ll need to be fitted for proper shoes of course, and leotards. I’ll send someone to meet her here Saturday at noon to take care of that. Does that work, Jessa?”
I nodded eagerly.
“And it’s called a barre, with an ‘e’.” She winked at him.
“B-A-R-R-E,” I spelled it out for Lucas, and when I met his eyes, a confused feeling of gratitude washed over me. I wasn’t going to forgive him. He’d ruined everything, and this wouldn’t make up for it. I hated him. Or, something like that…