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CHAPTER30
CHRISTY
Twelve is buried beneath a silver birch tree in the gardens of the castle the following afternoon. Much like Renard’s burial, it’s a quiet affair, but this time the Numbers are in attendance too. Everyone is solemn, thoughtful, including the Masks.
I glance over at Konrad. His arms are folded over his chest, his navy mask covering the entirety of his face, but he can’t hide the look in his eyes from me. There’s pain there. Guilt. Anger too.
Twelve raped him. It was wrong. The fact that he’s here speaks volumes.
“Until very recently I hadn’t understood what it felt like to lose someone you care about…” Jakub clears his throat, his gaze lifting from the coffin to the Numbers lined up on the opposite side of the grave. “But I get it now. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Bending down, he picks up some soil, sprinkling it over the coffin before stepping back then glances at Six who begins to sing.
Her voice lifts into the air, whipped up by the freezing wind and carried off over the gardens and beyond. Goosebumps scatter across my skin at the haunting melody and I watch in turn as each of the Numbers takes a handful of soil and throws it onto the casket before heading back into the castle. One is the last to pay her respects, and as she lingers over the grave her eyes lift in search of Jakub. We haven’t really talked since he woke up yesterday, and last night I went back to Thirteen’s room whilst he, Konrad and Leon had a conversation that I wasn’t privy to. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but being dismissed like that, wasn’t it.
“We should head back,” Jakub mutters, a muscle feathering in his jaw as he finally notices One staring. My gut twists as he motions for her to take a walk with him, her coy smile making my blood boil. She abused him. She hurt him. My lips thin into an angry line.
I’m not the only one who’s pissed off.
“What the fuck’s up with that?” Konrad snarls watching the exchange.
Leon shakes his head, putting his hand on Konrad’s chest. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“The hell he does. She’s not the woman he should be spending time with right now and we both know it.”
“This needs to happen,” Leon says, then catching me staring, steers Konrad through an arched hedgerow into the ornamental gardens beyond. Curiosity makes me want to follow them, pride makes me stay put.
Beside me Thirteen shivers, a frosty wind picking up her hair, the ends dancing over my cheek.
“I should get back,” she says softly, her eyes telling me what she’s unable to say out loud. We left the mixture brewing and according to Thirteen, there’s a lot more to do before it’ll be ready.
“Me too. I’m meeting with Three to go over the routine for the ball,” I say, my eyes still fixed on One and Jakub who’ve stopped to talk far enough away that we’re unable to hear what they’re saying. Jakub’s body language is closed, defensive, but One…? I grit my teeth as she leans in close, pressing her hand over his chest that she ruined withherwhip.
“Don’t let One wheedle her way back in, Christy,” Thirteen says, squeezing my hand. “She isn’t what he needs. She never was.”
“They have a lot of history,” I counter, unable to unscramble my confusing emotions when it comes to these men.
“Old habits are hard to break, especially when you’ve been trained to give and receive abuse like it’s normal. She’s all he knows. Show him that there’s an alternative. I know you can do it, you’ve already proven you can.”
“I’ll try,” I mumble, not entirely sure I’m capable given we’ve only just formed a tentative truce.
“Are you coming?” Thirteen asks after a beat.
With one last glance at Jakub and One, I thread my arm through Thirteen's and head back inside the castle, taking another step towards a future that's already been written.
* * *
“Thankyou for doing this for me,” Three says as I collapse next to her on the wooden floor of the studio.
“Of course,” I reply, pulling off my dance shoes and rubbing my aching feet.
“You’ve picked up the steps really quickly. It’s impressive.” She gives me a half-smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
It’s a stupid question because of course she can’t be. Twelve was buried this morning. Why on earth would she be okay?
“I just can’t quite believe she’s gone. We weren’t the best of friends, but she was family. I cared about her.”
