There are a few people chatting, and I catch the end of a conversation; how the girls who went fishing at the Old Lakes this morning are unusually late returning. They were supposed to bring fresh fish for the wedding supper, but at least that’s not happening.
Jed prods me forward, then departs abruptly. Doesn’t say anything. For some reason, that makes me more nervous.
I pull a hand through my hair, my fingers curling briefly around my pendant. I look around for a face I know, then cross my arms over my chest, wish I was wearing anything but this dress.
“Seven.” Soraya approaches me.
Immediately, my chest lightens.
“I’m sorry.” Her words are light. “Arranged marriages suck when you don’t get who you want, and I know that wasn’t the outcome you were hoping for. Come on,” she says. “You want to check on Corin?”
I nod, and then we’re weaving through several tubes, descending deeper into the mountain. The whole way, I feel sick, and just when I think I’ll have to stop—because I can’t breathe and everything’s moving too fast—I see him.
Corin’s lying on a blanket in the middle of a small room, off to the side of the tube. He’s awake, fully clothed now. I can hear his words—he’s asking for a lighter. Two women are dressing a wound on his leg. I can’t see how deep it is, but the bedclothes—and everything else around him—are stained with blood. Both his arms have already been bandaged, and his grip on the cigarette in his hand doesn’t look strong.
Esther stands by him.
“Go on,” Soraya says, gives me an encouraging smile. “I’ll head back to the gathering room, cover for you if Jed comes back and asks where you are.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
As I approach, Corin turns his head. His eyes meet mine, and emotions wash between us. I try to slide Jed’s ring off my finger as subtly as I can, but it gets stuck. I leave it there, block that hand from Corin’s sight.
Esther turns and sees me, scowls. I reach for her as she nears me, but she glares even harder.
“I suppose I should be grateful to you that your husband didn’t kill my brother.”
I freeze, feel every muscle in my body tighten. Tighten until it’s too much, until there’s too much pain. Corin. He—he’s really hurt. And Jed did this.
A new wave of anger fills me.
“Shouldn’t you be with your husband?” Esther’s tone is cynical, and I don’t understand. This isn’t my fault, and I want to yell that at her. “That’s what Manning says. We have to obey their customs. And Manning knows what he’s talking about—he’s the leader of the biggest Untamed group.” Her lips pinch together.
I try to stay calm, end up wiping the sweat from my hands onto the back of my dress. The stupid ring catches the fabric. “Jed is not my husband.”
Not yet. And he never will be. Because Jed will kill me. Kill me for being a Seer.
I swallow the lump in my throat, push past Esther, and kneel next to Corin. I reach out with my right hand to touch his arm.
But he shakes his head.
“Don’t.” His sweat-soaked hair falls over his damp forehead. He struggles to push it back, his arm jerking. He grunts several times, pain in his eyes.
I pull back my hand, feel the bridge of my nose prickling. The two women attending Corin get up in unison; I listen to their light footsteps as they leave. And then Esther’s moving around the room. She stops by Corin’s other side, looking at me with those accusing eyes.
This is your fault, she mouths.
Corin moves his head a fraction, and my eyes snap back to him.
“I’m sorry, Sev.” His eyes are now completely devoid of emotion. He looks defeated, weak; I’ve done this to him. “I’m sorry, I failed.”
I shake my head. “No, you didn’t! Corin, he’s a Seer. He was using his powers against you… Like how Raleigh did with me. There was nothing you could’ve done.”
And I want to tell him. I want to tell Corin what Jed said… That he’s not interested in a physical relationship with me—because I know if I tell Corin, it will make him feel better. But I can’t; Jed’s words ring in my ears. Bad things happen when I am not happy.
I try to keep calm, try to keep my breathing even, regular. But the waves inside me are rallying, pushing, shoving. And I’ve got to say something.
“Jed knows,” I whisper. “He knows I’m a Seer.”
For a second, I nearly choke. But it’s okay, I can tell them that. There’s nothing to stop me saying that—and no other Zharat are within hearing distance.
Corin’s gaze jerks to me. His face pales even further, and he drops the cigarette.
“So?” Esther says.
“Don’t you know what they do to female Seers?” Corin shakes his head, and I hope Esther can work it out. I don’t want him to say the words. If he says the words, it makes it real. Too real.
Just like how you said the words that Three is dead? And he is, isn’t he?
He is. He has to be. That was just a nightmare.
Corin looks at me. “You’re sure? You’re sure Jed knows?”
I press my lips into a thin line, then nod. It’s the only explanation.
Neither of them says anything for a long, long moment.
“Has he said anything, tried to hurt you?” Esther asks. But her tone’s still off, her voice isn’t friendly.
I shake my head, but there’s something about Esther’s question that gets to me. According to the Zharat customs, Jed should have killed me already. I don’t understand why he’s waiting for proof. The Zharat are all action. It doesn’t make sense.
My hands are behind my back, so Corin can’t see the ring, and I grip them together hard.
Esther snorts. “You’re overreacting.” Then she scowls, her eyes disappearing under her dark brows. It’s an expression I can’t recall seeing on her for a long, long time. Even when I’d just been rescued from the Enhanced compound, and augmenters were still in my system, she was fairer than this.
“But he definitely knows?” Corin looks at me.
“I think he’s waiting…” I look around again, check that no one else has entered. “He must be waiting for me to visit the Dream Land. Giving me the benefit of the doubt? Then he’ll… Then he’ll kill me.” And I hate saying the words, because those words make me sound weak, like I’m not going to do anything, like my death is a certainty.
But I need to do something. Jed hasn’t killed me yet—for whatever reason—so I can still act.
Corin swears, clenches his fists. The scabs on the back of his hands burst, fresh blood oozes out. “Gods, this is so messed up.”
He breathes deeply, and Esther glares at me, as if it’s all my fault. Maybe it is. I was the one who said we’d all come here.
“We should leave,” Corin says slowly. “The three of us. We have to. We can’t stay here. You can’t marry that man.” He meets my heavy eyes with his own, then sits up more. “We should just walk and keep going.”
I nod. He’s right. We have to leave.
And I can leave. The kavalah’s gone now—so Raleigh won’t have my eyes any longer—so I can’t be putting anyone in danger by going the outside. And though I’m sure Raleigh’s trying to find another way to use my eyes, something inside me insists that when he succeeds the bison will warn me. Just like he did last time, because I couldn’t feel the effects of the kavalah for the first few days. The bison still told me, warned me.
And I have to leave. It’s safe for me to go. I must.
I turn to Corin, feel the adrenaline fire through my body. I’m doing something. I’m taking control.
“Can you walk?” I eye his leg doubtfully.
“But the Zharat won’t let us leave,” Esther says. “Manning told me that. We can’t leave.”
Corin turns on Esther. “So you’re not even going to try? You’d rather Sev be forced into this disgusting marriage, killed for being a Seer? That man is…” His voice is fraught with emotion. “It’ll be you next, Esthe
r. As soon as you’re back to full health, they’ll marry you off too. And the Gods only know which man will win you. It could be anyone.” His expression hardens, and I can’t help but think Manning will want Esther. “We’ve got to leave. We’ve got to leave now. Sev’s already in enough danger as it is.”
After a few seconds, Esther shrugs. And—
And the darkness comes back, creeps and crawls over me, prickles my left side. Like… Like before, when Jed won—
I blink, throw my hands out, try to grab onto something before I fall.
“Sev?”
Corin… But I can’t see him… My heart’s too fast… Can’t see anything… Or feel… There’s nothing.
Just darkness. So much darkness. Darkness and—
There’s nothing here to see, Little One.
A new voice. But…but not a voice.
“Sev? Esther—help!”
I hear him, his voice—strong, pure. Try to latch onto it, see his voice: beautiful gold threads, threads that pull me back.
I open my eyes, groggy, head pounding, find that I’m cradled in Corin’s lap. Somehow, he managed to sit up and catch me? I stare up at him for several seconds, then try to get up. He stands with me, eyes wide.
“What happened?”
I touch my head gingerly, as if expecting blood. “What?” I stare at him—he’s asking me?
“The Dream Land?” he says. “That was like when Katya fainted when we were….”
The Dream Land? I swallow with a little difficulty. “No. It… It wasn’t.” I shake my head. My vision blurs a little; for a moment, I think I remember words. Something—someone—spoke to me… Didn’t they?
I frown, but the more I try to recall the voice, the less I’m certain of…until I’m sure there isn’t anything to remember.
“You okay?” Corin asks.
I nod slowly. “My head feels foggy…like…I can’t think properly.” I grimace and rub my temples.
“Right,” Corin says. He looks at me, dubiously, then at his sister. “Well, we still need to get you out of here. Might be low blood sugar or something making you faint. We can find food outside. Yams, whatever. Esther, go and look at the nearest entranceway. See if there’s anyone about.”
Esther stands slowly. A second later, she heads for the exit. She’s thinner than she used to be. A lot thinner. The green dress emphasizes it.
“It’ll be all right, Sev,” Corin says, pulling me close to him. I breathe in his scent. Slightly musky, and some strange smoke. He doesn’t smell right. “We will get out of here. I’ll make sure of it. You don’t need to worry.”
I nod, breathe deeply, and try to believe him.
Corin wraps his arms tightly around me. The familiar cage. Safety. Security. My heart quickens as I stretch up onto my tiptoes. A part of me is surprised as I initiate the kiss. His lips are harder than I remembered, and I feel him splay his fingers out against my upper back, bringing me closer still.
I keep the kiss short, try not to shake as we pull apart. We’ll be outside soon.
Raleigh has your eyes.
I try to ignore the way the Dream Land warning echoes in my mind—it’s wrong. That kavalah’s no longer inside me, Raleigh’s no longer got my eyes. And I have to go. If I stay here, they’ll kill me.
Corin nods. “We’ll finish that kiss when we’re outside. When we’re free of all this shit.” His hands slide down my bare shoulders, my arms, and his fingers play with mine. “Ready?”
The nearest exit is down a narrow tube. Esther isn’t sure Corin will fit through it, but, as the tube is completely empty, Corin and I think it’s the best option.
“Manning won’t be happy when he finds out.” Esther clicks her tongue.
“But we’ll be long gone when he does. He won’t be able to punish us then. We’ll be safe.” Corin coughs, gestures for me to step in front of him.
I do. I’ve got jeans, a yellow shirt, and leather shoe-wraps on now—they were in the corner of the room, with more bandages. Even though the Zharat won’t be happy about the color, I feel better wearing the shirt than Nyesha’s mother’s dress, though the fabric rubs roughly against my left side—the prickly pain is still there. As if I’ve been bitten by insects or something. Maybe from the red wedding dress. I make a mental note to check for bites when we’re outside.
The engagement ring is in my pocket now, and my mother’s pendant is back around my neck, the crystal hidden under my shirt.
“And what about the spirits out there?” Esther says. She’s still wearing her dress. “Manning said there are always some about. And we won’t have the chief to protect us from them.”
I shake my head at her, in disbelief. “We don’t need Manning. We’ve survived all this time without him.”
“Not in the Noir Lands.” She gestures around us. “This is the hardest place to survive, and look how many Untamed Manning has kept alive. We’d be stupid to leave.”
I ignore her and go first, stooping. My height isn’t ideal, and my neck cricks as I bend, but I’m skinny—I get through.
The darkness is disorientating. My hands brush against the walls, cold. I blink into the gloom; my brain starts to make out murky shapes ahead.
I push on ahead, and the space narrows even more.
“How long is this tube?” Corin’s grunting hard. I can tell he’s in pain, more pain than he’s letting on.
I turn back, trying to see him, but can’t.
“I said we should go to a better entrance.” Esther’s voice is shrill. “I said that. What if the Zharat come up behind us, realize what we’re doing? We’re not going to be able to move quickly, or talk our way out of this. They’ll kill us.”
She’s right. Corin swears. We’ve trapped ourselves in.
“Keep going, Sev.”
My chest burns. I feel my way ahead, hands on the damp stone. Something slimy washes over my fingers. I shudder.
“What was that?” Corin’s voice is fast.
“What?” I come to a complete stop again.
Voices.
I inhale, try to turn, try to see Corin and Esther. But can’t.
My stomach twists, and then Esther’s hand is on my arm, pushing me forward. But the space is just too dark. There’s no light at all.
Oh Gods.
“They’re down there! They’re trying to get out that way!” The voice is loud, shrill.
I freeze, feel sick. How do they know, how do the Zharat know we’re trying to escape? They can’t… Unless they heard us… Heard us saying that we needed to escape… And everyone knows we can’t leave….
Oh Gods.
“We can’t change the plan now,” Esther hisses. “Keep going.”
I do. I place my left foot in front of the other, pull myself forward, trip on something. My hands slam out onto the walls, and I grab at slime that squeezes through my fingers.
“They’re right behind us, shit!” Corin grunts.
My breath comes in heavy gulps that rage through me. I start to feel lightheaded—or at least, I think I do, but I can’t see. Can’t see a thing. Can’t see if I’m blacking out.
I hit my arm on the wall, pain. The tube continues to narrow. I try to speed up, but can’t. The space is too small. Oh Gods. Corin’s not going to get through here.
And the voices get louder. Shouting? I don’t know, can’t tell. Everything sounds fuzzy. My ears are too hot, they’re burning.
But the voices are behind us—that much I know.
“Stop!” the voice cries. Male.
My stomach clenches.
Mart. It’s Mart voice.
Mart. But he’s dead… He’s supposed to be dead. Jed said he’d been dealt with.
For something that wasn’t his fault. I swallow hard.
“Keep going!” Esther’s pushing at me, her nails are sharp. “It’s just around the corner.”
I try to keep going. There’s a corner? I blink, can’t see a thing. How does she know? Or can she see? Is it my panic that’s
blocking my vision?
Oh Gods. Need to calm down.
“You must stop now! Stop now, and we will not kill you.”
Kill us? I gulp. Oh Gods! But they’re going to kill me anyway. Jed will have told them I’m a Seer, and that’s why I’m trying to escape—because my cover is up. Oh Gods. They all know.
I’m shaking, shaking too much. But I push myself farther on, hands on the walls, have to duck even more. I’m crawling, on my knees. The ground is wet. My jeans are damp.
And the voices….
And then—then I slam into something hard. It takes me a moment to work it out, to realize that this is the corner. I stick my hands out either side, feeling for a way.
There. Right. I turn, pull myself down, whack my head on more rock, and—
I see light.
I blink. It’s blinding. Too bright.
But it’s light.
I surge forward. The voices get louder. I want to look back, want to check—Corin—but I can’t. I have to keep going.
And I’m on my stomach, and my arms are aching. But I pull myself along. Something cold drips onto my neck, and I shudder. But I’m looking at the light. The little patches of light.
And—
My mouth dries.
No. No. No.
I stare at it. I stare at the metal bars. Beyond, I can see the sky—blue—and vegetation. Some sandy rock.
But there’s a foot-high grid, in the way. The type of grid I know won’t swing open.
My lips burn. How didn’t I notice? How didn’t Esther notice? And then a part of me wonders if she knew it was there—because she never wanted to leave… Could she have warned the Zharat?
No.
What am I thinking? Esther wouldn’t do that. She’s one of us. I shake my head, stare at the grid. I’m almost at it now, right in front of it. In front of the metal grid. I pull myself farther along the tube, on my stomach, toward the bars. I reach them, shake them, try to move them, but I can’t. I pull myself up until I’m crouching by the bars, my whole body pressed against the cool metal frame, leaning against it, hoping my weight will make it give.
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