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“Good.” I looked at her, surprised by how different she looked than she had when I arrived. “Can you act?”
“You know the answer to that,” she said.
“I need you to go down,” I said.
“Done.” She got back on the ground and slowed her breathing. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was dead. She was very, very good.
“Help!” I cried. There was no time to waste. I wasn’t going to get stuck in here. “Help! She needs a doctor.”
“Shut up, you,” a voice called.
“This girl is dying,” I called out. “If you’re okay with that, that’s fine. But get her out before she starts to stink.”
The goblin shuffled over and peered through the bars. To her credit, Clara really looked dead. No rise or fall in her chest. Her face even looked paler than usual. She was very good at this.
The goblin screamed and jumped. Then he ran off. It was an odd reaction. As if he was worried he’d be in trouble. I supposed Clara was a valuable prisoner. Not that they were caring for her as they should if they wanted her to bring in her brothers.
That’s when it struck me. The queen had both Elias and David in her palm. She’d let them go both times. I hadn’t spent too much time trying to figure out why the queen had Clara or why we’d been lied to. I was too worried about the stone.
Now, the whole thing was making me question everything. The twins had said Clara used the stone on them. She was alive after all this time.
I turned and dropped to the ground, then lowered my hand onto Clara’s neck. What if she had helped the queen with the stone? What if she was playing me? What if she was pressing me for information?
“Explain yourself, fast,” I said. “You’re my mates’ blood, but I don’t owe you anything. You have the benefit of the doubt only because they’ve been killing themselves trying to find you.”
“We have that in common then,” she said in a hoarse voice.
I loosened my grip. “We have nothing in common if you’re a traitor.”
“We both know what it’s like to have a mating bond with a monster,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. A few days ago, I might have said both Elias and David were monsters. Now, I didn’t think that was the case. I knew I had a lot to learn about them and their past, but there was good there. There had to be.
“The queen is my true mate but I won’t be with her. So I’m in here to wait until she uses the stone on me again,” Clara said.
I blinked a few times, letting that information sink in.
“Can you move your hand now? When he comes back, it’s not going to look great,” she said.
I lifted my hand off just as I heard footsteps returning. I jumped to my feet and turned to see the goblin with another guard. They both looked flustered and overwhelmed. I supposed if Clara’s confession was true, having the vampire queen’s mate die on their watch wouldn’t be great.
The keys jingled as they unlocked the door. I moved aside as if I was going to let them through to claim Clara. Reaching behind, I gripped the small knife Madison had stashed on me.
The Goblin stepped into the cell first and I didn’t hesitate. In a blur, I was on top of him, using the knife to silence him before he could scream. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Then I turned to the second guard. His eyes darted back and forth, looking from me to the hallway. It was as if he couldn’t decide if he should engage or flee.
“What if you leave the keys with me and walk away?” I suggested. “Nobody has to know you came here with him.” I kicked the goblin’s body.
To my surprise, the guard turned and walked away. The keys the goblin used were still in the lock. I grabbed them and headed toward the cell across from me.
“What are you doing?” Clara asked.
“You’re kidding me, right?” I said.
The shifters in the cage started hollering and cheering as I opened the doors. “Get out of here. And make a mess on your way.”
“You got it, princess,” they said.
