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“All of them by accident,” I exclaimed. “First when he attacked the transport on my way to the Consulate. And then, when I had the issue with the fire, he came to your apartment—”
“He was in my home?”
I nodded.
Sebastian cursed. “Where else?”
“The zoo. After the explosion. That’s when he told me to give you the box at the gala. Only I didn’t trust him. Which is why I threw it out.”
“And never told me about any of it. All this time, you’ve been lying to me.”
“I didn’t mean to. At first, everything was so strange, and he made you sound so bad. When he gave me the box, he told me it was a message. I never expected it to cause harm. But after I saw him at the zoo—”
“He was the one who bombed the zoo?”
“No, but he knew about it. And that’s when I realized he probably lied about the box being benign.”
“You should have told me.”
“I know that now. I’m sorry. I would never cause you harm.”
“And yet, by your actions, you’ve made it impossible for me to grant you any leniency.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You abetted a known terrorist.” His expression held a stoniness that chilled me.
“Only because I didn’t know better at the time. I’ve learned so much since then.” Enough to know that the situation wasn’t as simple as Silas had initially portrayed.
“Doesn’t matter. The laws on treason are clear.”
“Am I going to die?” A low trembling query.
His jaw tensed. “That’s a possibility.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“Your very silence on the matter is culpability enough. The one thing that might save you is the fact we’re in need of women for breeding.”
Was he implying…
“I am not having sex with anyone else.” A hot retort.
“That won’t be your choice to make. If the Cabal chooses to grant you leniency by letting you keep your life, then you’ll probably be placed in a breeding facility where you’ll be repeatedly artificially impregnated until you’re too old or unhealthy to bear children.”
It sounded horrible. How could he even suggest it? “That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair was the fact I trusted you. You knew I was looking for him, and you chose to protect him. Lied to me when I questioned you about the terrorists. You should have chosen differently.” Those were his last cold words before he left, and the door closed.
If I’d thought living in the Caves was dull, a cell with a hole in the floor and no bed proved worse. The only bonus was the food remained a step above mushroom broth. But it definitely wasn’t sugary cereal and milk or jammed toast.
The only person I saw after the commander left? A doctor, who arrived with an assistant to take my blood and other health metrics.
I tried asking questions and got gagged for the effort. The harsh treatment left me blinking back tears as they examined me with an impersonal efficiency that filled me with regret.
If only I’d told him about Silas from the beginning.
Or after the fire.
