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The Elders know the truth, and I’m royally fucked.
The realization causes me to become more alert as my adrenaline starts to pump. I start to scan my body, gauging what sort of situation I am in and if I have any injuries. I realize that I’m strapped into a metal chair that’s bolted to the floor. I try to tug at my restraints, but there’s no use. There’s a light aura around the buckles and I notice that even if I did physically break them, there’s an enchantment around them that would hold me in place.
I give up on the notion of breaking free and instead take in my surroundings. They’ll need to let me out eventually, if only to use the restroom, or at least I hope, and maybe there’s something in the room I can try to grab when that happens. Much to my dismay, the room is completely empty save for a large hover screen embedded into the wall in front of me. Other than that, just four plain white walls. I don’t see a door, so I assume it’s on the wall behind me.
My assumption is proven true when I hear the door creak open, causing me to startle, familiar footfalls growing louder with each step. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, and then school my features as I open them again. Just then, Elliot comes into view.
He looks good; so much so that it’s clear he’s here of his own volition. His blonde curls are carefully coiled and greased back, and he’s dressed in a tailored dusk blue suit. He takes me in with cold, hurt eyes, hands clasped in front of him. “Amelia.”
Fear spikes in me, but I refuse to show this outwardly. I simply raise my chin and look him in the eye, using every ounce of willpower to keep my expression carefully blank. “Elliot. So, you work with the Elders? They, what, tasked you with watching me?”
Surprise flashes across his face, which quickly transforms into anger. “Tasked?You’rethe one keeping secrets, Amelia! Going off, and for what?” Once he realizes how quickly his demeanor broke, he stops and takes a calming breath before continuing. “You really need to learn to be quieter. I heard your conversation with Olivia at the party. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, I wasn’t meaning to, but then…she said you were leaving. And then talking about some ‘him’.” His tone matches the earlier disgust on his face on the last word. “So cut it with the whole betrayed spiel.Youbetrayedme.”
So, he wasn’t acting the whole time, that’s clear. I swallow, feeling the familiar hint of guilt. He’s not wrong. I had my reasons for what I did, but I can’t fault him for hating me. I let my eyes break contact and fall to the wall in front of me, unable to meet his gaze.
“Thing is,” he continues, beginning to pace in front of me, “the betrayal, fine, whatever. It’s not like we were in love, no matter how much they want us to be.Youmade sure we didn’t get close enough for that.” He stops in front of me and leans in, forcing me to look at him. “But what you did do is putmy whole family in danger. What would they have done, do you think, when you disappeared? Of course, they’ll question everyone left behind. But how could you care about that, when you don’t evencare about your own family and what’ll happen to them? What’ll happen to your dad?” He raises his brows. “Remember him?”
“I’m sorry, Elliot.”
He continues like I didn’t say anything. “AndthenI find out it’s because you’re fucking aDark Elder. They told me. They told meeverything.” He shakes his head with a sneer, but I can see the fear in his eyes. “You know what they say about them, Amelia. Ofcourse,they’ll question everyone. You’re putting our whole community in danger!”
“Elliot, please, you don’t understand. The Elders, they’re lying to us. The Dark Elders aren’t evil, they don’t want to hurt us,” I plead with him, though I know it’s fruitless. No matter what I say, he will either assume they’ve manipulated me or that I’m trying to manipulate him. The Elders begin establishing these notions as soon as we start talking.
“Just shut up, Amelia! Don’t pretend that you have some special cause for doing everything you’ve done. You did all of this foryou.” He gives me one final look and stalks to the door, but before he leaves, he turns to me one last time. “Did you even think about what this would do to us all? You know about the prophecy, Amelia. You quite literally fell into the trap we’ve always been warned about. There’s no excuse.” When I don’t respond, he simply sighs in disappointment and leaves.
I want to deny his claims, but he’s right. I now know how bad the Elders actually are, and how badly they need to be removed from power, but there’s no denying that there was another reason I started all this. I did it because I was curious; because a handsome stranger caught my attention and it felt good to have something to look forward to.
I just hope my family is okay.
Because Elliot is right; as soon as the Elders knew I was gone, they would have been questioned.
Have they already been questioned? Has Olivia?
Oh god,Olivia.
She’s helped me so much, and Elliotknowsshe knows. He heard us talking.
Where is Olivia?
Chapter 20
Idon’t know how long it’s been when my next visitor appears. It’s quite difficult to tell time in solitary confinement. I don’t have a window, so I don’t even know the time of day.
I’m half-awake when the door opens, and if I weren’t so downtrodden, I probably would have jumped at the sudden noise. I take deep breaths to try and lower my heart rate from the intrusion when I hear the person dragging a chair across the floor.
I am startled again when my father plants the chair in front of me and takes a seat. When he looks at me, it’s not with contempt or worry. In fact, there is nothing revealed through his features at all; the carefully crafted look of a top official with one toomany secrets. The truth of it hurts just as much as it provides comfort to see him alive and well.
“Where is everyone?” My voice croaks from a lack of use.
“Your mother is at home with your siblings. You’ve worried her sick, Amelia.” His words are those of my father, but his voice is so devoid of emotion that it makes my stomach roll. He has always been a man of few words and not a sentimental type, despite being more open with me than my siblings, but this is something entirely different. This is not my father; this is a chief interrogator for the Elderhood.
Maybe it’s from the exhaustion, but I can’t stop tears from pricking at the corners of my eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to the times when he would affectionately link arms with mine on the way home from the training center. I’m losing my family. I’m losing my father. I know that I have Arman, that he must be looking for me as we speak, but right now, in this cold white room, I have never felt so alone.
He leans forward, elbows on his thighs. “Tell us about Arman, Amelia. What has he told you?”
I simply stare at him with tired eyes, willing the tears to stay at bay. I know they’ve sent my father here on purpose; either to loosen me up enough to reveal secrets or break me down until I no longer care to hold them. I don’t want to admit that if I were in a different position, if I had any knowledge to provide, I might give in. Of course, I had pictured this as a possibility when I started sneaking out of the Society. But imagination and reality are very different, and I certainly wasn’t prepared.
I sigh, looking anywhere but my father’s face. “I won’t tell. Please. I promise I have my reasons; he’s not bad. I know you think he is, but he’snot.”
