Page 205

My voice comes out quiet and broken, meant for no one but myself.

“Okay,” I say, like I’m answering her. “Okay, angel. I get it.”

I let the cold iron hold my head up while my body shakes with fury I can’t spend.

This is what she wanted. This is what she meant.

Feel it. Don’t run. Don’t escape.

Live.

And when the time comes, I’ll make her sacrifice mean something. Not with a tantrum. Not with my own death.

With his.

Footsteps scrape down the corridor outside my cell. Slow and lazy. Begging to be corrected.

The light beyond the bars shifts, and a guard’s silhouette fills in. He stops right in front of me.

The cloak and mask are gone. So brave to let me see his soft, painfully average face before I ruin it. He’s lucky to be holding those keys.

The metal sings as he swings the ring around his finger.

“You done?” he asks. “Don’t you wanna keep whining like a dog in a crate?”

My hands go to the bars, the iron cold against my palms. I step in close until my mouth is inches from the gap, my eyes piercing down at him. No smile, no performance.

I just stare.

His weight shifts before he lifts his chin, offended by my silence.

“Sovereign says you sit here, so you sit here. That’s how this works now.”

I tighten my grip until the cuts on my knuckles split. Pain flares. I need that. Keep me here. Keep me awake.

“You opened your mouth,” I say. “That’s your first mistake.”

He snorts. “Nice try. You’re in no position to threaten anyone.”

I shake my head once. Disappointed that we’ve let an imbecile into the Order.

“I’m not threatening you,” I say. “I’m telling you what’s going to happen.”

He leans forward, trying to see if I’ll flinch. Trying to see if the cage made me fearful.

“Yeah? What’s gonna happen?” he asks, mocking me.

I press my forehead to the bar again to take a deep breath. Then I pull back, eyes locked on his like a predator that’s gotten bored of waiting.

“I get out,” I say. “And I find you.”

Silence spreads as he thinks this over. His mouth twitches with the hint of a laugh. I’m sure he wants to call me crazy. But he can’t hold my gaze without his confidence thinning.

“Your girl will be dead when you get out.”

I inhale slowly through my nose. I see Zaiya’s face again. That last look over her shoulder. A blade she left lodged in me on purpose.

That thought steadies me.