“Of course, sir.”
That voice.
My legs and lungs stop working. I’m frozen in place, leaning heavily against the wall and clutching at it with desperate fingers, since it feels like my knees might buckle any moment.
I’ve never seen the king in person before. And until this exact moment, I thought I’d never even been in the same building as him.
That voice, though.
I’m swiftly realising that while I’ve neverseenhim before. I’ve certainly heard that voice before. I must have repressed the memory, along with most of the others that formed while I was stuck in that terrible place.
It seems that while my mind might have forgotten, my body hasn’t. I’m struck with the ghosts of old, forgotten feelings.
Icy terror, hunger, and boredom, all mixed up with concern over my brother, and worry over what might be left of us if weever escape. Every feeling I had over and over in a loop back in the labs, they’re all hitting me at once, making it impossible to think straight. My heart is pounding and waves of heat and nausea roll through me as I try to breathe through the onslaught, to not throw up all over this fine, ugly carpet.
And then comes the anger. An overwhelming raw wrath that I feel right down to my bones. It’s the impotent fury from years locked up in a place, watching my brother turn into something that’s nightmare fuel, and disappearing from our mother’s life without warning, never getting to say goodbye to her.
It strikes me just as suddenly that I can’t do this. My feet are glued to the floor, and I find it impossible to take another step.
I just... I can’t. I can’t see the face that destroyed so many lives. Not when it feels like my knees are about to collapse from under me.
Kit? It’s all right. You’re all right, Reva murmurs as though she’s standing right beside me.
This is chased by the sensation of a phantom tentacle, patting my shoulder. Finch doesn’t speak, but I can feel his reassurance through the bond. Then Aster’s there, giving me a firm hug.
And then I can scent cloves as Torin claps his hand on my shoulder and gives a comforting squeeze. There’s an odd, unwanted glimmer of concern from Jack, but I shut that shit down. It feels like he’s no longer in the city, and he’s currently heading south.
Not something I can spare any attention on right now.
“I got here before he returned from breakfast,” Torin breathes in my ear. “Dug out a couple of papers, but it looks like they’ve not kept proper records of the labs. I destroyed what I could find.”
I nod. My hands and feet are numb, and my legs are quivering uncontrollably, but I can finally take a deep breath.
“Maybe we should just burn the place down and be done with it.”
I shake my head. My brother is wiser than a lot of people give him credit for. And I agree with his suggestion that chopping the head off this particular snake would just have another one spawning in its place.
So, we destroy all evidence that the labs ever existed, and we fix the fucked up thinking inside the palace. Ol’ kingy might think people like my Reva, Finch, and Amble are less than. But I’m going to make him realise what a foolish way of thinking that is.
“How are we going to do this?” I murmur.
“Well. It seems like this is the first time he’s done work in a while,” Torin murmurs. A brown paper package appears in front of me. “I found this in a neat pile beside his desk. Maybe you can give him one of your little gifts in person.”
He drops it into my waiting palm, and I grip it tightly, hesitating for just a moment before murmuring a final curse to cover over all the others.
“I hate it when you do that in front of me,” Torin mutters. “Always gives me the willies.” He pauses. “Good work, though. You want to do the honours, or shall I?”
I take a shuddering breath in before releasing it and gripping the parcel for dear life. “I’ll do it.”
The buzzing bond in my chest bolsters me as I take a step into the king’s office.
I’m not alone here. Not like I was for so many years.
“Package for you, Your Majesty,” I say. “From one of your adoring fans.”
The secretary splutters something, but I can feel Torin right behind me, and see the moment he blows a puff of Aster’s powder into his face. Then another, directly into the smug, shinyvisage of our king. His face is puffy and red, and he looks one angry tirade away from his heart giving out.
Hopefully not before my last curse can do some good.
