“What do you choose, Hawke?” Arabella turned to him and he rose from his seat, his eyes finally falling to me.
I gazed up at him, mouthing the word, “Please.”
His jaw hardened. He glanced at Bain, then back to me, then to Arabella. When he spoke, his words were final, cutting and would be imprinted in my head forever. “Immediate exile.”
“No!” Tykera cried from the clan.
“Silence!” Hawke roared and Harlen tugged her into his arms.
My breaths grew ragged. No one survived exile. I knew that. But it was also better than going to Tenebris, or being executed. I had to hold onto that. Perhaps Hawke was showing me one last kindness.
Hawke strode down from his throne, moving through the crowd. He took a bag from a man as he pushed to the front of the line, striding toward me. Pausing a foot from me, he dumped the bag at my feet.
“Supplies,” he said through his teeth. “Enough to last you a month. If you survive that long, you may return.”
“A month?” Arabella's sharp voice cut through the air. “That is hardly a fitting punishment, Hawke.”
“A month is long enough to die down there!” Hawke bellowed, not looking at her.
I trembled, picking up the bag which was weighed with something heavy.
“Hawke...” I whispered. “Please listen.”
He inched closer, concealing me from the crowd. His jaw hardened as he dipped his head. “I cannot help you. I wasn't the only one who saw you.”
I nodded, tears pricking my eyes, but I swallowed them hard. “But you believe me?” I whispered so only he could hear.
He ground his jaw, not answering, turning away and heading back into Nox Clan.
Arabella pointed to a passage across the cavern. “Go into the dark, Mercy Helsing. And I pray, for the sake of those women, you do not return to the light.”
I nodded, finding comfort in Harlen and Tykera's eyes. In moments, they ran to me, surrounding me in their arms. Harlen slid something into my pocket. “Be safe, Blondie. And come back to us.”
I held onto them for as long as I could until Arabella called out another command, “Enough of this! Go now.”
I pulled away from them, backing up, my throat burning.
They nodded their goodbye, looking sullen.
As I turned away, a voice carried across the room. “I'm going with her.”
I glanced back with a jolt, spotting Colt moving through the crowd, a large sword strapped to his hip. As he approached, Harlen shed a fur from his shoulders and planted it around him.
“That is not your choice!” Arabella cried.
Colt didn't look back, moving to my side and sliding his hand around mine. I glanced up at him, squeezing his fingers. “No, Colt. Stay here. It's not safe.”
“I've made my decision,” he said under his breath,
Hawke gazed at him with utter calm in his eyes. “He may go,” he announced at last.
Colt gave him a nod of approval. Were they trying to protect me? Had they planned this?
Bain stood from his throne. “Arabella, it is not appropriate.”
“Hush,” she bit at him, her eyes on Colt. “You have no crime, Colt. But if you leave this cavern, you will renounce your place in Nox Clan.”
Colt nodded stiffly. “I understand.”
“Don't do this,” I begged of him, but he didn't answer, his decision made.
“I will stand with you until my last breath,” he whispered.
I didn't understand it. Why was he making this sacrifice for me?
“Go now!” Arabella roared, clearly sick of this hearing.
I turned and Colt kept at my side. Footsteps pounded after us and I felt the press of a blade digging into my back. We were escorted into a dark tunnel and at the far end of it we reached an enormous pit. A narrow path wound down far into the darkness around the edge of it.
“You are hereby exiled by the Court of Immortals, leaders of Dødstårn,” Arabella called. “If you return before your sentence is fulfilled, you will be executed.”
Someone jabbed me in the back and Colt released my hand, stepping down onto the narrow path that was barely a foot in width. Shouldering my pack, I headed after him, down into the darkness, where our fate was yet to be seen.
As we left the clans far behind, I pressed a hand to Colt's shoulder, steadying myself as the path grew steeper, slanting sharply down beneath my feet.
He glanced back and I suddenly leant forward, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” I breathed.
“I'm not just here for you,” he whispered. “But that is a part of it.”
“Why else are you here?”
He started walking again. “Because there's a way out. And I have a map.”
I sucked in a breath. “A way out?”
“Yes, Mercy. And we're going to find it.”
It took me a while to find the traces of a bug in Silas's email account. As suspected, Rockley was tracking his messages. So he'd only have had to search Silas's contact information to find out where I lived. If we'd left the house an hour later that day, perhaps they would have caught us. What did they want? The body? I didn't understand it.
As I sat on my bed in the sparse little room I'd been given, a text popped up on my phone from Cade. My gut dipped as I read it.
Pink,
I have eyes on Seth Crane. Going to intercept him tonight.
I'll keep you posted.
I tapped out a quick reply, my heart rate increasing.
Send me a photo once you have him.
Oh and be careful, he's strong.
He replied with a laughing emoji.
I rolled my eyes, getting to my feet as I planned to find Silas and tell him about Rockley's bug. But as I headed downstairs, a bang surprised me, bringing me to a halt. The front door had been thrown open and several men pounded into the hallway. Rockley Jones appeared behind them, smiling broadly. My gut spiralled.
He didn't spot me as I shrank back into the shadowy stairwell, but lifted his head and bellowed, “Silas, enough of dis cat and mouse chase!”
Silas appeared in the hallway, flanked by two men with guns. But it wasn't enough to face the five men who stood in front of Rockley, armed to the teeth.
“Ah, dere you are, old friend,” Rockley purred.
Silas stepped closer, squaring his shoulders. “How did you find us?”
“Dere are only so many houses in dis area suitable for such an institute,” Rockley said, smiling keenly. “Now...ask your men to stand down. We do not want dis to get too messy.”
The word 'too' made my blood turn to ice. I dropped onto a step, my heart pounding out of rhythm.
Silas resisted a moment longer before waving his men down, stepping in front of them. “What do you want?”
“I made an error, dear friend. I forgot about your original body. Thankfully, I discovered it just in time.” Rockley strode forward, taking a gun from his hip and pointing it at Silas.
“You know what I'm here to do, I assume?” Rockley asked, pressing the barrel to Silas's forehead.
He stiffened then nodded.
Some of Rockley's men chuckled darkly.
My heart rate rocketed. I was suddenly on my feet, unable to let this happen. I didn't know where the bravery came from, but I found myself running down the stairs toward Silas.
I skidded to a halt beside him.
Rockley's dark eyes slid to me. “Ah, de little pink fairy. Nice to run into you again, my dear.”
“Kate, go back to your room,” Silas growled at me, but I didn't move, glaring at Rockley.
“Kate...” Rockley grinned darkly. “Pretty thing, hm?”
“Get your eyes off of her,” Silas demanded. “I'm who you want.”
“Yes, true.” Rockley's eyes shifted back to him. “Sorry about de mess.” He pulled the trigger.
I screamed, stumbling backwards as Silas crashed to the floor. Blood oozed around him, pourin
g out of the bullet hole cut straight through his head.
I scrambled away, gazing at him in horror.
Several of Silas's lab workers poured into the hall, gasping as they caught sight of his body.
“Now,” Rockley rounded on them. “You all work for me. Get dis mess cleaned up immediately.”
I cupped a hand to my mouth, unable to keep my eyes off of the blood. There was so much of it, seeping into the floorboards, spreading out around him.
Kyle and Fred moved forward, lifting Silas's body between them and carrying him upstairs. In my panic, I ran after them.
They carried him straight into the bedroom where his original body was placed inside the chamber. A gurney was set up beside it now and they immediately dropped Silas onto it, ripping his shirt open.
I eyed the rows of neat scars across his body in shock.
“His memories were backed up this afternoon,” Kyle murmured as two women ran in through the door, dragging on scrubs and carrying equipment. “But we'll have to trial the procedure to bring them back into his original body.”
“Will it work?” Fred asked, but Kyle didn't answer.
I gazed between them, feeling out of place, unsure how to help. But one thing was sinking in hard and fast, helping to slow my heart rate. “You can bring him back?”
Kyle glanced up at me with a dark grin. “Yeah. One last time...”
“You should go.” Fred gestured to the door.
I nodded, backing up and heading out the door, walking straight into Rockley. He took my arm, gazing over my head into the room. “Hello Kate.”
My throat tightened as I gazed up at him, fear blooming through me at the hungry look in his eyes.
“Do you want to play a game?”
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