When he's made himself presentable, he snatches me by my elbow and pulls me from the room. Moderators are everywhere, lining the halls, clenching rifles in their hands. As we close in on the stairs, I peer over the bannister and see more moderators. They watch the uneasy house Unfortunates as they go about their jobs. "Kade," I whisper, terrified. "Don't say a word," he murmurs. He escorts me through the manor like a prisoner. His grip is tight and punishing, his demeanour different to what it was moments ago when we were enjoying a morning coffee. He rushes me out the front doors and into the bright morning sun. I squint and struggle to keep up with his long, purposeful strides as he ushers us into a breathtaking horse-drawn carriage. From its golden frame to its black woodwork, from its large wheels to the two sleek, black Dutch Draft horses with bright blue binary codes in their eyes, it's perfect. Like the carriage in every princess story I've ever read."You'll have to open the
The council speaks, but their voices fall before reaching my ears. All I can focus on is her, Thirteen, the timid blonde who slept on the mattress beside mine, the girl who fought for the mustard-coloured dress. The Unfortunate I grew up with but never knew."The council will take Kaden Sario's word as fact until Michael Sario says otherwise.""I find it convenient, brother, that Michael is unavailable—""Shut up," Kade snaps under his breath. The moderators leave, and Thirteen lies still on the floor, her breathing laboured, her blonde locks stuck to the blood on her face. "Unfortunate Thirteen, do you recognise the Unfortunate kneeling before us?" Rita asks. Thirteen surveys me with her one good eye. She shudders, then nods. "You spoke to this Unfortunate prior to fleeing from the manor, did you not?"She nods. "Did she aid or encourage your escape?"Thirteen closes her eyes, and her body settles. My heart stops. Is she...?"Unfortunate," Rita probes. Still nothing. I gasp as
I don't want to believe it, but deep down I know it to be true. I gaze at the whip in his hand. It looks nothing like the whips I saw in the unfortunate camp. It lacks metal accents and has no pieces of bone strapped to its delicate tips. Still, it looks like it can do a fair bit of damage. Kade brandishes the whip, lifting it above his shoulder, and brings it down with more power than I imagined him capable of. It snaps against her skin with a crack so loud it hurts my ears. It takes her a second to feel it. Her shrill scream comes a heartbeat later. It gets louder and louder until she catches her lips between her teeth and swallows as much of it as she can.Thirteen. She's supposed to endure thirteen of these lashings? I choke down my own pain in fear of making it worse for her. Selfishly, in fear of making it worse for myself. I look at Kade. If it's something he doesn't want to do, I can't tell by looking at him. The expression on his face gives no indication of how he might be f
KADEHe chased her. His heart pounded a million miles a minute, and his lungs burned, but he kept pushing. The sun bounced off her auburn hair like a beacon. He had to catch her before someone saw her running, but damn, she was fast. Nine sprinted through the bush and manoeuvred around the debris like she'd done this run a million times. Sticks stabbed his ribs and cut at his face, his neck, but he didn't slow. He couldn't slow. In a few minutes, he entered a clearing, and ahead of them was a wide lake. Nine ran toward it like she knew how to swim. She didn't. Freeport was surrounded by lakes. Unfortunates weren't taught how to swim for that very reason. Even so, her feet sank into the mud that lined the lake's edge. She fell into it and kept going, dragging her feet behind her, digging through the sludge like she had a chance. He shouted her name as he closed in on her, but she kept pushing. His shoes sunk into the mud, and he had no intention of going further into the sludge. "A
NINEThe chamber room is as it was when I left it, minus Thirteen's crumpled body. I kneel on the floor, keeping my attention cast down. The only other person in the room is Kade, and he leans against the opposite wall, staring at me. Both of us are covered in dry mud, and Vince made sure we couldn't get our story straight prior to summoning the council. I don't know how he will spin his tale to get me out of this. I don't want him to get me out of this. Maybe this is for the best. In a few minutes, the meeting will start, and I'm a goner. "You said you loved me."I flick my gaze to his and hate the way my heart beats for him, the way it bleeds for him. My love for him has worsened every second in his presence since I realised it. Like an infection, he's poisoned my blood."I do," I say, my voice void of the tenderness I feel inside. "Do you?""Yes.""You've got a funny way of showing it." "If I kissed you and declared my love for you, would the outcome be any different?"He swallow
KADEHe stared at Kathryn. His heart raced, and his pulse pounded like crazy in his neck. Nine, a Fortunate, could it be? Vince threw his tantrum, but it was white noise to the thrum of Kade's soul as it vibrated within him. The more he stared at Kathryn, the more he absorbed her features, the more he saw Nine in her. The violet irises. The auburn hair. The heart-shaped face. "Bullshit," Vince boomed. "Do you think I'm stupid? That I'm dumb enough to believe that she is of the same blood as me?""Believe what you want. She is my daughter, and you can test my blood to prove it."Kade flicked his attention over the council members. They looked disgusted. They looked embellished in scandal. Within the hour, the whole of Freeport would know about this. "How did this happen, Kathryn?" Rita asked, sitting forward."I was very, very young when I fell pregnant, barely completed my education." Choking, Kathryn dropped her head and took a breath. Her husband placed his hand on her shoulder and
I flinch as a rogue drop of cold, stagnant rainwater falls from a crack in the stone ceiling and splashes on the tip of my nose. It sobers me, and I blink away the fog. I'm still alive. Still locked up. Still a pending Fortunate. I grant my cheeks reprieve from the iron bars that hold me captive and pull away from them. Kade hasn’t visited me, and I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed. Both emotions wage war inside me. I expect his priorities have shifted by now, and he's impartial to what’s happening in my life. He killed his father. He got what he wanted. Why would he stay? I’m just a girl who caused him more trouble than I'm worth. Even so, my lovesick heart twists painfully in my chest, and I grit my teeth. God. I miss him. I miss his face, his smell, his eyes, and the firm press of his hand on the small of my back when he holds me close. I even miss the way he purses his lips when he’s displeased. I hate that I miss it. I hate that I miss him…after everything he’s done
KADEHe felt sick.As he sat at the table in the front row, his stomach twisted and clenched, threatening to expel the slice of toast he had for breakfast. It’s a miracle he kept the buttered carb down as long as he had. Since Nine was taken and locked up, he hadn’t been able to swallow a single thing besides water.He was exhausted. Every day he fought for her freedom, but it wasn’t enough. The harder he pushed, the more Vince and the council resisted. They didn’t want to see an Unfortunate rise from the ashes. They didn’t want an Unfortunate to become one of them. They were intimidated by her and what she stood for. Or at least most of them were. Kade knew Vince only wanted to see him suffer, but he’d do more than that. Without Nine, he would die.Kade understood that the best thing for her was to sentence her to death. Only in death was she safe from them. Safe from him.Trumpets sounded off in the distance, and Kade clenched the armrests of his chair. He knew this wasn’t a dream, b