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The bowl sits atop a folded napkin I didn’t bother touching, much like my spoon. There’s something there I need to see, but the ones in the cameras cannot. I nod and cover the tray with my body.
Unfolding the napkin, messy words appear in my trembling fingertips.
Your family is well. I saw them this morning. Rest before your hearing. Beau and Lewis send a message. They say — Dean will save us.
My heart thunders in my chest while every scenario runs through my broken mind.
Could this be a trick?
Alexander warned me not to trust him, but how would he know about Dean? I wad the napkin in my hand, holding it in my enclosed palm, and I stand back up. Alexander lifts his chin and steps closer to the glass. Something in his eyes gives a warning. He’s scared for me, and the idea of facing an Eminent sends a shiver down my spine.
“Is this a hearing or a…” I trail off, struggling to find the right word. Execution comes to mind. “What will happen?”
“Eat it all,” Alexander orders, avoiding the question. Others are listening, and they wouldn’t like him helping a prisoner. “Every last bite on that tray.”
If I had the energy, I’d groan back at him. Instead, I agree, tightening my grip on the napkin in my fist.
He leaves and, moments later, the lights shut off inside my cell. Someone will come to get the tray soon, and I slide it to the side, keeping hold of the napkin clutched in my hand.
When I curl myself in a ball in the room’s corner, I keep my word to Alexander.
Eating paper is awful. I fold it up as best I can, but I choke it down with what water I have left, hoping sleep finds me.
I worry and wait, running through every scenario, thankful for Sam’s ties to the AOE for once. They’ll believe him, and he’ll be safe here with our children. It doesn’t matter what happens to me. As long as they have each other, they can survive together.
My eyes grow heavy with worries about what the Eminent will do knowing I’m an imposter, and my only hope is they don’t kill me in front of my children. When I drift to sleep, a strange sort of peace takes over, making my limbs heavy and limp.
I see him again. The man following me here, his outline apparent in between strikes of lightning, walking towards me despite the wind carrying him away. The ground beneath me shakes.
It’s a memory and a vision, all thrown together into something new.
I felt the rain pelt my skin and the storm carry me away only days ago, and it’s the same, but this time, I keep my footing. The winds don’t throw me around, sending me across the field and lifting me from my feet. They’re weaker, and the rain falls softer onto my skin.
I run through the open field, lighting blinding me every few seconds, looking for something — for him. I sprint through the wind, reaching every corner of the clearing, but he fades in and out of my sight.
I’m not watching myself in the past, but there aren’t any visions of the future. It’s obscure and empty, and I scream out into the storm — into nothing.
The edge of the earth comes into focus. It’s difficult to make out, blurred by the rain, but it drops off into a grey sky, and I sprint toward the ledge.
Someone stops me, holding me against their chest. I thrash around to break free and see who it is. I’m so close to the edge, to the future I need to see. He comes into focus, a maniacal smile on his face that moves closer to mine. His words send spikes of rage through me while I struggle to free my arms.
“It’s dedication, Row,” Dean spits. “That means more than love.”
Chapter Five
Wake Up
WhenIwake,mybody jolts upward, beads of sweat trailing down my chest. My breaths come quickly from burning lungs, and I whip my head around the darkened room, ready to face him.
There’s no one.
My broken brain mixes premonitions with the past, placing Dean in places he doesn’t belong, confusing what I’m meant to see. I know he’s out there, alive and brooding over the fact that I slipped from his grasp once more. He’ll never let me go.
The note sits heavy on my stomach. It’s a death sentence written on that paper, and I wonder if I hallucinated the entire thing. Could I imagine things without them becoming real? I know in my heart the answer is no. Some version of what I see always comes to pass.
Dean will save us.
I can’t and haven’t seen a reality where Dean saves my family, especially after all I’ve learned. He trapped me in every way possible, and his actions killed my sister and put everyone I love in danger.
