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In bed, I couldn't have lasted a second longer. Whenever I closed my eyes, I again found myself in Mr. Baldur's arms, dancing with him to the waltz sounds.
"Or are you going to claim that it's just imagination on my part to have accompanied you to the meeting with theBrotherhood?" he asked inquiringly. According to Chris, I returned to our table with him after my first visit to the bathroom. We would have eaten the steak and dessert, a savory cheese platter with bread and salted butter, and then left for the various halls. Since Anne could barely keep on her feet thanks to the alcohol, Chris had taken us as far as the Great Hall, where all the young women between the ages of 20 and 30 were supposed to gather. What happened after that, the men knew only from what other ladies had told their families.
According to these reports, John Adam Nash had personally walked from woman to woman and then given instructions as to which of them should be taken. When one of the chosen ones began to resist and then tried to escape, she was summarily shot. Anne had been among those who were taken away.
My brother claimed that I had calmly stepped out of the chaos that broke out in the hall and said that I had to go to the toilet. What had happened after that, I knew.
“Are you saying then that I imagined the roof terrace?” I hissed angrily by now.
Chris first looked at Alex and Edward before sadly lowering his head. Sighing, he put his face in his hands.
“Tell her, Chris,” Alex said.
"What is he supposed to tell me?" I asked, annoyed. This back-and-forth was getting too stupid for me.
My brother raised his eyes again and observed me uncertainly.
"Myrina, we had decided not to tell you because we wanted to preserve for you and your soul the brief peace you seem to have unconsciously chosen. But you leave us no choice." His voice quivered. "So you took an elevator up to the roof terrace, where there was supposed to have been a garden with flowers, shrubs, and a gazebo?"
"Yes! My goodness, how many times do I have to say that?" My patience had really run out by now.
Once again, his gaze flitted to Alex, who nodded at him.
"That elevator doesn't exist. It was removed five years ago when they also removed the garden at the top of the roof terrace to put a huge satellite dish there that only the top Knights can access." He looked at me expectantly.
“It can’t be,” I stammered. It had all been so real. The elevator wasn’t supposed to exist at all? Confused, I tried to remember if I had seen the elevator before. To my own dismay, I realized that it hadn’t been there at the last gala.
“But the garden really existed,” I protested weakly.
“Don’t you remember how outraged the upper class of New York was when they closed the roof terrace to the public and removed everything from the roof? It had been the talk of Central Park for over a week,” Alex now said to me softly.
A tear rolled silently down my cheek as the memory he conjured up manifested itself in me. “But the garden and the music …” I sobbed. “Why, … why did it all look so real?”
“Music?” asked Chris. I nodded silently and knew immediately that this was impossible.
“Am I losing my mind?” I cried, and Alex took me comfortingly in his arms. Arms that really existed, that didn’t just exist in my imagination.
“It’s going to be okay, Rina,” he whispered to me as he stroked my hair. “Eventually, the memories will return. In the meantime, use your strength to better absorb them later. You are not alone. We are here for you and will always be by your side.”
"Maybe you should go home for today after all," Chris mused, looking at me with concern again.
He was probably right. Leaden fatigue tugged at my being and prevented any clear thought.
“It’s fine,” I relented, wiping the tears from my face.
"I'll take her through the tunnels all the way home," Aspasia said and stood up.
"But I'll be back tomorrow," I announced firmly. "We have to finally figure out where they take the women. We can't abandon Charly and Anne, do you hear?"
The men nodded, and my gaze fell on Edward, who sat at the table with his head bowed. He avoided any eye contact with me. The nameJohn Adam Nashhad been in his Koran. Of that, I was sure. It had not been imagination. Today, I did not have the strength to think about how to handle this problem with him. But I could not continue to trust him either.
Tomorrow,I thought to myself. Now, I suddenly wanted nothing more than to lie in my bed.
"Let's just train today then and postpone the research work. It's better to do that together with the ladies," Alex suggested to the two boys, although Chris seemed to be anything but enthusiastic.
"Come, Myrina. Let's go," Aspasia urged me and walked to the door. Swaying slightly, I followed her. Silently, we walked side by side through the tunnel that led back to the shelter of the women and Amazons.
Suddenly, Aspasia stopped and looked at me.
