“Sol, please,” I say again. “I’m—I’m sorry. But I don’t want anyone to get hurt. You’ve helped me a lot, and I appreciate it. I really do. But I can’t do it. We just— We can just go.Please.We’ll go. We won’t tell anyone about this place.”
He lets out a huff of bitter laughter. “It doesn’t work like that, Iris. You know that. I know Violet took you to see Marigold.”
“Marigold?” Rose’s voice is even raspier than usual, cracked and jagged like shattered glass.
“She didn’t tell you?” Sol asks. And there’s that wolfish smile again. “I hate to break the news to you, Rose, but Iris has misled you. There’s no leaving here. Not for those who haven’t finished the trials.”
“So it’s true, then?” I ask. “What Violet said? You killed Marigold?” Despite everything that happened, despite the violence Sol asked me to commit, some part of me had clung to the idea that Violet might be lying. Now, though, Sol’s words all but confirm the truth.
“No.Ididn’t touch Marigold.”
“But you locked her in the shed. You wouldn’t let her leave. It’s your fault what happened to her.”
“Theother girls understood she was a weed,” Sol says. He takes another step closer to us, causing me to stumble back and nearly trip over Rose’s feet. “Lily’s a soft, sweet girl. It hurt her heart, but she’s still here, isn’t she? Because she knows—accident or not—it’s what needed to happen.”
“Or maybe because she’s terrified!” But even as I shout this at him, I can’t help questioning if that’s true at all. Because despite Lily’s sadness every time Marigold is mentioned and the way she behaves around the shed, I’ve never seen anything but adoration in her eyes when she looks at Sol.
“Enough,” Rose says, her voice sounding a bit stronger now. “You can’t keep us here.” She grabs my hand and starts pulling me down the hall, toward the back door.
But Sol is bigger and stronger than two underfed girls. He lunges forward, taking hold of my other arm and yanking me back against him and out of Rose’s grasp. I let out a startled cry of pain, and the knife in my right hand falls to the floor with a clatter.
Rose spins around. “Let her go!”
“And what do you think happens once you leave here? Hm?” Sol demands. “Neither of you has anywhere to go. And you—” His icy eyes turn on me. “You are a criminal, Iris. You burned down anold man’s store. Forget the foster system. You’ll go to jail.”
“Maybe it’d be better than being here,” I snap. Though the thought of iron bars does freeze my blood in my veins.
Sol snarls. “You two are so ungrateful.”
I try to pull away, but his callused grip is strong. And when I attempt to stomp on his foot, he dodges and jerks me closer, wrapping his other arm around my neck in a choke hold. I kick and squirm, but his pressure tightens. The already surreal, nightmarish colors of the world around me begin to darken as blackness encroaches on my vision.
“No!”
Rose lunges forward, and her surprise show of bravery must shock Sol—no one expects the rabbit to attack the wolf, after all. He stumbles, and the arm around my neck loosens as Rose collides with him.
All three of us fall to the floor in a scrambling heap of limbs. I manage to roll away as I try to catch my breath. My chest heaves, and I gasp for air. My entire body is shaking with fear and shock.
Behind me, Rose and Sol are struggling. She’s smaller than Sol, but she’s fast, kicking and punching and biting as he tries to shove her away.
My head is spinning and my vision is still blurry. Again, Iwonder if I’m dreaming. Surely this is a nightmare. As the horror around me comes into view, my eyes catch sight of the knife. It’s lying right there on the floor, next to my right hand.
I stare at it.
Stare at the glint of the silver blade. At the reflection of a scared, frail girl I hardly even recognize.
I wrap my fingers around the hilt.
“Get off me!” Sol growls as he manages to flip himself and Rose over, pinning her to the ground. She’s still kicking, aiming for his knees and his groin, her teeth gnashing like a feral animal caught in a trap. But he has control now that the surprise has worn off. And one of his hands moves to grasp her throat. I see the way the fingers flex to squeeze. I can almost feel them on my own neck. Rose gasps, her hands moving to his wrists, clawing desperately.
I’m frozen. It feels like I’m watching a scene in a movie.Yes, I think.Yes, this is definitely a nightmare. The knife is heavy and awkward in my hand. It feels foreign. My hand doesn’t even feel like it’s part of my body anymore.
Rose’s panicked green eyes find mine, waiting for me to do something. Waiting for me to help her.
Wake up, I tell myself.Please, please wake up.
“Don’tmove, Iris,” Sol says. “It doesn’t have to end this way for you, sweetheart. Once she’s gone, we can get you back on track. You still have a chance to fix things here.”
Time stops.
