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“Lach!” Cait called.
“Take me with you,” he said, his voice weak.
“We have orders,” said the woman, “and they do not include you.”
The woman blocked his path, hoisting the gun.
Lachlan eyed the barrel as if considering, for one crazy moment, pushing past it. Instead, he looked up at Cait, holding her gaze for as long as possible before dropping back to his knees.
The woman lowered her gun and pulled something from her hip—a strange black box. I hoped it wasn’t another weapon. She raised it to her mouth. “Come in, Enforcer Cadwaller. This is Merrick speaking.”
After a second’s delay, a scratching sound came from the box. Then a voice. “Enforcer Merrick, this is Enforcer Cadwaller.”
I gasped, remembering the Academy’s book and its illustrations of past devices—technology, the book had called it. I’d thought these things were long gone, but here was an impossible device, right in front of me.
“We have Stroud,” said Merrick, “and Farrel.” She went ahead of us, still speaking into the box, but I couldn’t make out her words anymore.
Complete confusion was etched on Cait’s brow as she watched the woman use the strange device.
The two other Enforcers marched us along the beach toward the rowboat.
I scanned the trees, then the village.
Several islanders watched us, but they hung back—wisely. I wondered if Graham was among them, the one person who might have the power to control my fate. For a second, I wondered if he’d interfere—but no, of course he wouldn’t. He’d made it clear that he had no concern for me. He wanted me to go back to Cambria and surrender.
I had to accept that Graham wouldn’t save me. No one would.
The Enforcers pushed me and Cait past Enforcer Merrick and into the rowboat.
“Go,” she said to one of the Enforcers. “Secure their boat. It's hidden in a cove a few hundred yards south." She hoisted her massive gun as she took a seat in the rowboat, robbing us of any final hopes of escape.
The remaining Enforcer picked up the oars and launched us off the shore, leaving the green island of Tramore, and everyone on it, far behind us.
Chapter
Five
My stomach churnedwith the rise and fall of each wave. Deep in the underbelly of the Enforcers’ boat, Cait and I sat with our wrists chained. We’d been slumped over in this damp cabin for two days with only rats for company. It was almost too dark to see the creatures, but that didn't stop them from crawling over our chained bodies and gnawing on our clothing.
Cait didn’t speak for the most part, but the occasional curse word escaped her mouth, as well as a few suppressed sobs.
I regretted dragging her into my plans. This should've been her chance to be free. I had true crimes to pay for, on the other hand. I’d accepted that—or, I was trying to. If I thought too hard about my future, all I wanted was to run away.
And what about my father? I wished I knew what was happening to him.
I hadn’t lost my anger and distrust for him, but that didn’t stop the dread from consuming me. Cambria knew what I’d done, so they very likely knew he’d been involved. There would be little mercy for the Third House, not after committing treason of this magnitude. The only real hope I had was that, as Immovables, we wouldn’t be sentenced to execution—not unlesswe’d murdered a fellow noble. Lifelong imprisonment was still an option, however.
I wondered if anyone knew about Cael’s involvement. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t tell—not yet, anyway—on the slim chance he’d be an ally. Or maybe that information could save me if I played my game right.
“I hope my father lies,” I said aloud. “I hope he finds a way to convince them he wasn’t involved.”
“What?” said Cait. “This ishisfault. I thought you hated him for it.”
“I do, but I don’t want him in prison. I can’t help but hope he can lie as convincingly to the Academy as he has to me.”
Cait hesitated before answering. “If someonecanlie, they will. That might be my life lesson number one.”
I nodded, though she couldn’t see it in the dark. I'd been telling myself that I’d soon be done lying, but now that my freedom—along with Cait’s and my father's—was at stake, the truth didn’t seem so appealing. I had started to think I was ready to go back and confess, but now, in the shackles of captivity, I wasn’t so sure. The truth was cruel and lies kept me safe.
