by Nina Walker
Of course you would have. You wanted to meet Jessa.
“You said you got Jessa to agree to help with red alchemy.” I crossed to join him on the chestnut leather couch. “So let’s start with the inner circle. Let’s find out who’s been trying to kill me and then we can remove them and I can get out of here.”
“What makes you think it’s someone in my inner circle?” His jaw clenched, disbelief in his eyes.
I scoffed. “Come on, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Plenty of people were in the palace that night.”
“Yes, but what about the plane explosion, or the fire, or even the funeral?” I pressed. It was obvious to me.
He let out a breath. “You’ve been doing some research. You weren’t supposed to look into your past until your memories returned. We talked about this—the doctor agreed.”
I couldn’t meet his gaze, ashamed at lying, and also, in getting caught. Yeah, so what? Anyone in my position would have done the same.
“Where did you get a slatebook?”
“I stole one,” I deadpanned. “Did you really think I wouldn’t look into my past? If it were you in my position, you’d have done the same.”
He hummed, thumb running along his jaw. “True enough. I’m wondering how you can learn all of that and you still don’t have your memories back.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I ever will.”
He smiled. Why the smile? If he wanted me to remember who’d tried to kill me, I needed those memories. But at the same time, I wasn’t even sure I wanted the memories anymore. What if Jessa was telling the truth about everything? What if I was Resistance and had turned on my own family?
“Answers,” I pressed. “I need answers, as do you. Let’s start with using Jessa’s red alchemy.”
Richard’s smile spread even wider. “I never thought I’d see the day that you’d put our family’s interests before Jessa.”
I bristled. What was that supposed to mean?
“Luckily for you, I have to agree,” he continued. “We’ll do as you suggested. Let’s start with our inner circle and work out from there.”
“Let’s start with Faulk.” I’d hardly seen the woman lately. She was busier than ever, doing my father’s dirty work, no doubt.
The silence between us stretched as we studied each other. Faulk and I had never seen eye to eye, Richard knew that as well as anyone. It made sense; she hated me. She could be the one behind the attempts on my life. Why not the woman who’d felt the need to point out my weaknesses all throughout my childhood?
“She has no reason to betray us.” Richard’s voice was smooth as ice.
“That you know of.”
He grumbled. “She won’t like it.”
“Only if she has something to hide.”
He leaned back into the couch, looking up at the ceiling, considering. I waited, anticipation creeping up me. As far as I was concerned, Faulk was the perfect candidate to start interrogations on. And we had to start somewhere, right?
“We’ll get started right away,” he relented, looking back to me with a pained nod.
“Do it here,” I said. “Faulk already knows about me. I want to see this.” Was it wrong that I wanted to see her squirm? Maybe. I didn’t care.
“I’m proud of you, son. You’ve become more cunning than ever since your accident. You’re turning into the prodigy I’d always hoped for. I’m just sorry your mother isn’t here to see it.” He stood, patted my shoulder, and then strode from the room.
Pride swelled like a balloon within the deepest part of me, but there was something dark there, too, something that twisted my insides and pricked my skin. I realized with a start that the feeling was shame. It was guilt and disgust and a mix of so many things and it left me reeling. What did I have to be ashamed of? My mind flitted back to all the claims Jessa had made about the last year, about my father. Even though my mind disbelieved, maybe the rest of me was trying to tell me something, trying to prove once and for all that Jessa was right.
She came willingly. Maybe it was like I had said; maybe Faulk didn’t have anything to hide. As she walked into our bunker, I eyed her up and down, taking in her pressed white uniform, gleaming silver buttons and flashing adornments.
“Nice to see you’re doing well.” She said it in a way that felt much the opposite. I raised a mocking eyebrow.
“Let’s get this over with.” She sneered and marched across the room, arms folded defensively over her chest. She crossed to Jessa’s door, unlatched the lock, and threw it open with a clang.
“Get out here, traitor,” she taunted. “You should be thanking God for that red alchemy trick. You should know you’d be dead otherwise.”
My fingers itched to wring her neck. She shouldn’t be talking to Jessa that way. Her hate was so all-consuming, it turned her from agitating to downright obnoxious, but I kept my mouth shut and pushed down the white-hot anger that had flared within.
Richard leaned against the wall of the bunker’s family room. He watched the whole exchange with unrestrained amusement playing at his lips. Guards stood at attention in the four corners of the space, hands resting on their holsters, eyes assessing for threats.
Jessa gingerly shuffled from her doorway, reluctance etched into every line of her body. Her complexion had paled but she held herself solid, shoulders back, chin up, a look of sheer defiance lighting her eyes. Her unruly hair was gathered in a knot on top of her head, one small piece loose and bouncing against her long neck. I grew jealous of that lock of hair, longing to run my fingers along that tender spot of milky skin. As if sensing my lascivious thoughts, she turned a savage glare in my direction; I couldn’t help myself, I stared back.
She was gorgeous, reminding me of a wild animal, a mare that needed to be broken, but the very idea of breaking her untamed spirit left me reeling.
“What’s this about?” she demanded, peeking about the room. We’d already cleared out any color that could be detrimental to us, but I could tell she was checking. Just in case. Smart girl.
I didn’t blame her.
“You work for me—you already agreed. Don’t look so put-off,” Richard said, peeling himself off the wall and stalking toward her. In his fine suit, with his tall frame and broad shoulders, she looked positively weak, but I knew better than to underestimate her. “We’re going to start with a few interrogations. You’ll be using your red to get answers from our leaders, and so on down the pipeline.”
Her eyes popped. “W-what?”
“Let’s just get on with this.” Faulk stepped forward. “I don’t have anything to hide.” She slid a bony hand into her pocket, pulling out a shiny pocket-knife. Flipping open the small blade, she cut a thin line into the flesh of her forearm. Blood surfaced, little crimson beads that she held out to Jessa.
The mood shifted. Jessa visibly relaxed, as if accepting the inevitable, and then reached out to Faulk. The small bubble of blood that dripped from Faulk’s arm changed color as Jessa touched it. It pulsed through the air, a red swirl, before running back into the woman.
“You will answer anything we ask with 100% accuracy,” Jessa said, and Faulk nodded, her normal spark of personality now extinguished.
“Do you know who’s been trying to kill me?” I asked, moving to stand next to the pair. Jessa looked up at me from under her dark lashes, eyes fixed with animosity. She was still angry at me for stopping her escape; probably always would be. Didn’t matter, I needed her here.
“I don’t know, yet,” Faulk said, voice as even as slate. “Jessa is the best explanation for the night of your wedding but not the other attempts. We’re still working on it.”
Jessa glared, mouth pinched.
“Don’t you have any leads?” I continued.
“No living ones.”
Richard strolled over, power shining in his hungry eyes as he leaned down to stare directly into Faulk’s placid eyes. “Are you loyal to me and my family?”
“Yes
.”
“Have you always been loyal?”
“Yes.”
He nodded, straightening. “Is there anything you’ve been hiding from me? Anything at all that I should know?”
“I wasn’t upset to see Natasha die. I should have been; it was my job to protect her.”
Hot pinpricks clouded my vision. Next to me, Richard’s temper snapped like a whip. He struck out and backhanded Faulk without a second’s pause.
She flew back with the force of it, thudding against the wall and sliding down onto her butt, knees bent awkwardly. She sat there like a lump of clay; nothing in her eyes. Nothing but focus on her task, waiting for the next question that she could answer, a puppet on a string.
“Why?” I asked. Queen Natasha had been loved throughout the kingdom, and especially by anyone she worked with. She’d been kind and beautiful, smart and strong. She was the perfect queen, and even when her headaches had stolen her daily life, she’d still fought to be the best queen she could be.
“Natasha wasn’t good enough for you,” she said, voice even as she glanced up at Richard. “She never did anything to help you expand your reach, never really saw your vision. She held you back. Look how far you’ve come since her death.”
His chest rose and fell haughtily as he took it all in.
“Did you know she was going to die?” His question bellowed through the small space, causing everyone to jump in alarm. Everyone but Faulk who’d lost all emotion the moment she’d offered her blood.
“No,” the woman replied evenly. “But I suspected the alchemy, as you know, we talked about that on more than one occasion.”
“Thomas,” Richard growled. “He got what he deserved.”
“Yes.” Faulk’s voice rang in affirmation.
The two watched each other over the long, drawn-out, pause. I wrinkled my nose, unable to stomach what was likely to come next. If we kept at it, Faulk would probably confess some unrequited love for my father. It made me ill just thinking about those words coming out of that snake.
I turned on him. “Can we be done here? I think we got all we needed from her. Let’s move on to the next person.”
Richard nodded once, and after eyeing Faulk one last time, stormed from the room. Faulk hadn’t exactly done anything wrong, but since she was his number one advisor, the fact she didn’t mourn the Queen’s death was big news. I glowered down at the woman. “Get up!”
She didn’t move.
“Get up,” Jessa repeated, and Faulk stood. “This is over. Go back to your normal self. If you could try not to be such a cold-hearted witch, the rest of us would really appreciate it.” A small smirk lifted the corner of Jessa’s lips and the desire to feel those lips again crashed through me. As if sensing my thoughts, her eyes shot to mine in warning.
“Not happening.” Jessa pointed at me, jaw clenching tight. Then she spun on her heel and charged toward her room, slamming the door behind her.
Faulk took several heavy breaths as her cognition returned to her. Her mouth pinched as if she’d just tasted something sour. Her gaze drifted toward Jessa’s closed door and she sneered. Then she, too, escaped from the room.
I dropped to the couch, relaxing into the cool leather and rubbing my hands along the sides of my nose, warding off a headache. That had been an interesting reveal. So, it turned out that Faulk really did have something to hide. She idolized Richard for more than just her boss and king. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. Maybe deep in our cores, in the places we thought were hidden from the rest of the world, we were all harboring a secret or two.
I paced the length of the room, the book in my hand bouncing uselessly against my leg. If I didn’t get out of here soon, I swore I was going to lose my mind. Over the last couple of days, Jessa’s red alchemy interviews had continued. Unfortunately for me, they rarely happened in our bunker, since only those who knew about me were permitted down here. Of course, I had argued incessantly to go upstairs but still couldn’t make any headway with Richard on the issue. He thought I was being unreasonable, but what was so crazy about wanting to get out of this god-forsaken dungeon? Deep in my bones, I ached to get out, almost as much as I ached for the whole truth of my past.
Footsteps clattered down the hallway and the bunker’s door swung open. Jessa and Richard entered the room, glowering at each other and barely glancing in my direction. The tension between them was thicker than anything I’d witnessed previously. Something had shifted.
Richard threw his coat on the kitchen table and strode for the refrigerator, rooting around through the drawers. Jessa, she didn’t move. She was a changed woman. I saw it the second I met her stormy eyes, looking for the familiar charge between us. But it was gone. It was all gone. She was no longer the wild mare I’d likened to her energy. She’d been broken. My hands clenched into fists, the desire to punch something strong.
“What happened?” I demanded, striding around the couch to where Jessa stood aimlessly by the door.
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t care.” Slowly, she peeled off her white jacket, revealing the usual gray cottons underneath. Carefully, she hung it on the rack and padded to her room, the door closing silently behind her.
One of my father’s guards locked her inside before returning to his post, a silent statute in the corner of the room.
My gaze shot to Richard. “What was that about?”
He bit into a yellow pear, juices running down his chin as he beamed. “Just that things are going well for me. Nothing for you to worry about, son.”
I narrowed my eyes and he shrugged, wiping the back of his face with his arm and moseying off to his bedroom. Anger and desperation surged through me at having been left in the dark once again. Letting out a breath, I knocked on Jessa’s door, wanting nothing more than to talk to her about whatever the hell was going on. She didn’t say a word and I didn’t let myself in. Too many lines had been crossed already.
Something huge has happened and you missed it! I chastised myself. You can’t let this continue, not if you’re serious about figuring everything out.
I threw myself back on the couch, staring dully at my surroundings. The white walls, the oak trim and doors, the plush rugs in dark reds and blues. The kitchen had more of a modern look, the bare glass dining table gleaming in the middle of it all.
I squinted, the idea rushing to me. Not just an idea, a solution.
Jumping up, I pounded on my father’s door this time.
“What is it?” he called through the metal, voice muffled. Then he swung it open. His face was tired, worn down, but also, happier than I’d seen him in ages. It made my stomach churn to know Jessa felt the opposite.
I cleared my throat. “You know Mom’s favorite flowers are, or were, white roses?”
His eyes flashed indignantly. “So?”
“We always had several vases back in the palace. I was thinking maybe we could get some for down here. To liven up the place and to remember Mom.”
The request sounded utterly stupid now that I said it out loud, but I held my ground, trying to look as earnest as possible. I sighed. “I’m just, missing her, is all.”
And that was the truth.
Richard’s expression softened. “That’s a great idea.”
Relief overtook me, and I nodded, a wide smile taking over my face.
“I’ll make a call right away. Is that all? I’m exhausted, Lucas. We’ve had a lot of success in Nashville and in our interrogations as of late, but it’s been a lot of work.”
I wanted to know more. But I couldn’t let him forget about the roses. “That’s all. Get some sleep. Do you want me to make the call?”
I raised a playful eyebrow.
He laughed. “Nice try,” he said, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out his slatebook and flashing it at me as he closed the door.
I stepped back, smiling for an entirely different reason, and reveling in the knowledge that, as far as I knew, I still had my secret. Before long, I’d have
access to the white roses. It was the kind of organic material I needed. I had used a sheet when I’d worked alchemy on Jessa upstairs, but this was different. It was best to use something natural, regardless of the length of time. The white roses had always been perfect. They would be again. I had tried doing things Richard’s way, and it hadn’t gotten me any closer to the truth. It was time I stopped complaining about my situation and did something to change it.
The guards weren’t in the bunker with us very often; they were usually outside the door and upstairs. That helped. My father was still asleep in his room, which also helped. And Jessa was locked away. It meant I didn’t have anyone checking up on me, which was perfectly okay with me.
I woke the next morning before the bedside alarm, hastily dressed myself and padded into the main living space. Confirming that there weren’t any guards, I smiled. The place was empty and my plan was working.
Case in point, in the center of the glass tabletop stood a tall crystal vase overflowing with white roses.
I snagged one, ripping the stem off an inch below the rose. I tossed the stem into the trash, and taking one last look to make sure I was in the clear, I used the white rose to make myself invisible. As far as I knew, it had been a while since I’d done it, and I was a little worried it would exhaust me quickly, or worse, not even work at all. But true to form, the white magic did its job. My body and anything touching me faded into nothingness, like sand lost to the wind.
I waited. It didn’t take long.
Richard, dressed for the day, exited his bedroom and moved toward the exit, swinging the door open wide to let in a stream of guards. Then he stomped across the living room to pound on Jessa’s door. She didn’t fight it. She opened up almost immediately, body slumping from the room with a detached, stony expression lining her pale, forlorn face.
“We’ll continue where we left off yesterday,” he said.
She nodded and followed him from the bunker. I peeled myself off the wall and crept as close as I could without bumping into one of them and giving myself away. Painfully aware of the insane risk I was taking, the rush of adrenaline and magic surged through me, pushing me forward. Once I knew what Richard was doing with my wife, it would be worth all this trouble.