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“I’ll be supervising Cael, making sure he does nothing to hurt you. If he’s about to try, I’ll know about it. If things go south, I’ll have the radio to warn you.”
“Warning us could get you killed. You sure you want to act as the hero, blondie?” asked Vaughn.
“I’m not a hero,” I said. “But you can trust me to do this.”
“Okay, then,” he said. “But if I catch a whiff of anything not going as promised, all deals are off.”
“I understand,” I said. “Tomorrow then.”
He said a gruff goodbye and went quiet.
My hands shook as I held the radio, the reality of what I’d done setting in. I wasn’t sure Cael would comply with any of it if they didn’t come to shore, and I couldn’t let him find out I had anything to do with their refusal.
I turned the radio to channel M and called the real Cait this time.
“Come in, Cee.”
“There you are,” she said in a matter of seconds. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you all day. What’s the plan?”
“We’re exchanging hostages tomorrow at the southwest shore. Keane’s men for Dunn and the weapons on the boat. It might get complicated since . . . well, since it’s complicated. But Cael has agreed to take me to the arsenal to return the weapons afterward. That will be my chance to find out what we have at our disposal.”
“You think he’ll really let you in?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, “because if he does, I’ll confess to abducting Graham and it will seal Cael’s path to power.”
“But once you confess . . . how do you know he’ll let you leave? You’ll have nothing left to negotiate with and the Academy will want you imprisoned.”
The answer was one I had on faith rather than certainty, but based on the way Graham had kissed me earlier, I believed what I was about to say. “Because Graham will be king and he’ll hold him to it. Cael has to stay in his good graces.”
“The way you talk about him,” said Cait, “it kinda sounds like he doesn’t hate you anymore.”
“He hasn’t forgiven me—he’s made that quite clear—but . . .” My face heated up and I cleared my throat, speaking softly. “He doesn’t act like he hates me.”
Cait laughed. “That’s the best I could’ve hoped for.”
I nodded, though she couldn’t see it. I could’ve hoped for much more, but there was no point if I was about to leave Cambria for good.
“We’ll be at the shore tomorrow,” said Cait. “Hidden, but watching, just in case.”
“No!” I said. “What if you get caught? And how will you get out?”
“I’m not asking for your permission,” said Cait. “And I’ve learned more than one way to get over—or under—the wall. I’m tired of lurking in the shadows of your dusty house, afraid to even light a candle. I need some air. I need the sea.”
I knew exactly how she felt trapped in that home, and I’d learned by now not to expect to change Cait’s mind or control her whatsoever, so I let it go. “Okay, but be careful.”
“I will if you will,” she said, a smile in her voice.
“Now that’s too much to ask, Cee.”
We said goodbye and I smiled to myself, feeling hopeful and closer to decent.
Maybe I didn’t have to betray Keane a second time. I would much rather leave Cambria without the guilt that I was sentencing them all to a life of captivity. With Graham on the throne and my friends free, I might finally be able to live with myself and leave behind my betrayal on this side of the wall.
I sat on the top step, leaning my head into the metal banister and dreaming of the free life we could live.
It was just my father I had to convince, but I couldn’t imagine he’d choose to stay imprisoned down here where he’d never again see the sun. He was far too restless for that. And even if he wanted to stay, the Academy would eventually realize my father wasn’t in prison, and Cael would have to put him in one to save face.
We could never go back to how things were, and he had to accept that. We’d be at Cael’s mercy for life if he stayed here,and I longed to get away from him for good. His violence against me was much less amusing now that I wasn’t half-delirious from being strangled. I also found no humor in the fact that he’d lied to me when he was the one who’d killed Pearce, or the way he was putting Graham on the throne only to control him.
