The Anamnesis: Whitewashed, #3

PART I - SAECULA

Chapter 1

THE ECHO JOLTED ME AWAKE.

I hastened upright and received a good-morning pounding in my skull, a headache that doubled as the background clatter continued. Gradually, the noise grew fainter. One last hollow echo before silence resumed. Adrenaline petered out. In the pitch black room, my awareness grew. I understood exactly where I was. And why.

Quickly, I ran my hands over anything I could touch and found four tight walls of stone. Chron’s Grifters had stuck me in a cell barely wide enough to stretch in. Damp rock kneaded my feet with every step, until my toes brushed something soft. I knelt to pat the material. The fabric separated into two—a longer piece and something stubbier. I felt along the fabric for several moments before recognition hit. Grifters might’ve tossed me into a cell wearing only my underwear, but at least they’d thrown some clothes after me.

Dressing in the dark relied solely on instinct and the hope that Grifters designed clothing the same way metas did. I shimmied into what felt like a tunic and pants; then, no longer frigid, continued inspecting the cell. It was longer than wider, and one of the walls leaked a steady trickle that dribbled into a floor crack that spanned the width of the room. Something told me the crack was meant as a makeshift toilet.

I leaned against a dry wall to think. My exhale joined the mist that hung invisible in the air. Each breath in smelled like sour water, and each breath out clouded my nostrils. Pieces of reality dropped like pins.

I’m in Chron’s prison.

So are Kara and Ethan.

Freia won’t help me.

If I can’t figure out how to escape this place, we’re all going to die.

The last realization hit like a wallop. It reverberated in my gut and echoed off the walls, a continual clop of misery. Die. Die. Die. No—those were footsteps.

Someone was approaching.

I faced the source of the noise—at least I knew where the door was now—and waited, grateful I’d found the clothes before the Grifters arrived. I counted a dozen paces before they halted. Rumbling vibrated in the air and against my feet; it sounded as if someone was driving a drill into my cell. The quake rose in violence, then silenced. Cracks of light framed a rectangular door, enough to spray the tip of my toes with warmth. A series of clicks grated on the door as, presumably, locks unfastened. The door scraped stone and opened.

I stood with fists formed and tried not to squint as light assaulted my unaccustomed eyes. Orange shrouded the silhouette of someone tall, bulky, and dressed in a maroon tunic that reached shin length.

Do you know where you are?

I allowed myself a blink. I recognized that voice, and, once my vision adjusted, that gray, pockmarked face. Freia, captain of Chron’s guard, consumed the width of the doorway, allowing only snippets of light to glow around her. It was enough for a meta to work with. I saw the tray in her hands, the severity of her expression, and the flame of a wall torch behind her.

Yes, I said. Where are my friends?

Far. You are alone, Ella Kepler.

How far? I locked gazes with her, finding those black, pitted eyes that used to terrify me. While Durgan’s community had fed me scraps, their leader had taught me how to read minds through empathy. Even his own. His lessons remained fresh. After all, I’d seen him just the day before.

Had it really been yesterday? One Grifter lair to the next.

A map of Chron’s territory, pieced together from snippets of Freia’s memories, unrolled in flashes of scenery. Water led to a boulder, which spread into a hallway. Caverns, a bridge, two guards beside a door, tunnels stacked upon tunnels. I studied the pieces until they made a map.

While I occupied a higher level of the caverns, Chron’s other prison for civilians and metas sat below me. Even lower than that was the normal prison for any Grifters who failed in their duties. Classrooms and bedrooms and kitchens and storage closets wove through the caverns, separated by rock and puddles. The Grifters had lived in this national park for a very long time. Civilians suspected nothing. Or maybe they did, and they got cleared. That was why the Tacemus existed. Civilians couldn’t report anything if they couldn’t remember what they’d witnessed.

A slap against my cheek smarted. Freia stood with one hand raised, like she might strike again. Only seconds had passed since I entered Freia’s mind, but she knew what I could do.

I have endured enough infringement upon my thoughts, she said. I will not tolerate it from you.

Freia, why are you here if you have no intention of helping?

Maybe I should’ve acted bold, demanded that she keep her word to Helix, but I no longer felt like an angsty teenager, a frustrated adolescent who might spout off sarcasm. I was simply human now, a helpless prisoner who’d just learned to pity the very creatures imprisoning me.

Freia shook the tray she held. Ledare does not wish you to starve.

You can help without him knowing. We have a few days before Chron returns from Durgan. We’d be gone—

Durgan? Her twitch rattled the dishes. What do you know of Durgan?

I dropped my gaze to the food, which appeared much more appetizing than the meals at my last imprisonment. My stomach gurgled, but I returned to Freia. Let us go, and I’ll tell you whatever you want.

She lifted her chin. Trickery. I have hid my mind from Ledare for four years. Do not believe I am weak, mind-reader.

I didn’t read you. I know Durgan. I was just with him yesterday.

The lies of elaks—

He lives in stone caves, in a swamp. His wife is Svea, and his oldest son Durgson. His first officer is Jurstin, who betrayed him right before Durgan told me to escape. Chron’s headed there now, probably to kill Durgan so Jurstin can rule. The pronouncement soiled my mouth. I wanted Durgan to be alive, but I’d learned the probabilities of battle.

This is.... Freia caught her falter and shoved strength into her words. If the harsk is dead, then there is no hope for svags.

Svag—how some Grifters referenced civilians.

What do civilians have to do with Durgan? I asked.

His voice alone defended the weak. She thrust the meal tray into my hands. Even should you escape with your companions, you cannot succeed. Hela have patiently awaited their dawn. It comes now. She stepped back and flicked a hand. The door stole the light when it shut. Locks refastened and the rumbling resumed as the extra barrier over the door took the last slivers of luminescence.

I wished I could call her back and tell her I’d made it up. Durgan is fine. Completely alive. But I couldn’t lie. Not to her, and not to myself.

***

DUSK HAD BEGUN marring the sky when I’d surrendered to Chron’s Grifters. Freedom had seemed a short reach away when the captain of the guard presented herself. Freia’s name existed on the short list given to me by Helix, Chron’s twin sister, who quietly worked against her brother’s cruel regime. Helix had assured me the six names would help if Chron ever imprisoned me. Every Grifter on her list was either MIA or dead, all but Freia.

She let Banks escape, argued the inner voice that hoped she’d change her mind. Thoughts of Freia lost to the stronger draw of Banks, Operation Whitewash’s agent who’d convinced me to trust him so he could lie to me for more than a year. Despite hating Ethan and hardly knowing Kara, he’d agreed to rescue them in my stead, because Whitewash needed me alive. I still hadn’t determined Banks’ motives, good or bad, but a liar would always be a liar.

He hasn’t lied as much as—

I cut the thought short. As it turned out, very few people in the Metahuman Training Academy had managed to avoid lying to me. Perhaps Banks could hardly be blamed. He’d learned from the best.

Bitterness ground fingers in my skull, but I had no time to sit around dissecting the MTA, Whitewash, Tacemus, and memory loss; Chron would eventually return, and I couldn’t be here when he did. The telepathic Grifter had the same ability as me, and though he might not have learned the trick to reading minds, he had two incentives he could use to threaten the answers out of me. Freia refused to help, and this cell had no weaknesses; I was left with nothing but the ability I’d surrendered with. What was the extent of my telepathy?

In the hours after breakfast, I analyzed what I knew about my ability. A few rules seemed constant: mental communication and the potential to see all of a mind—past and present—so long as I made an empathetic connection. Reading Freia had given me the layout of Chron’s hideaway, but information wouldn’t break me out; only someone else could. Could I try communicating to Freia from here, pester her until she relented? Once, I’d communicated with Ethan through three floors, so it must’ve been possible to do the same with Freia. Right? Although, no amount of badgering would change her mind. I was better off convincing another guard, though they’d only answer to Freia.

What if I sound like Freia?

As soon as I asked the question, I set to answering it without my usual routine of over-analyzing. I put my fingers to my temples and conjured the sound of Freia’s voice.

There is no hope for svags.

What had that meant?

Focus, Kepler, I muttered.

Time felt stagnant in my cell. It must’ve passed as surely as I breathed, but it seemed caught in a black hole that swirled Freia’s voice around and sucked out everything else. The faint recollection grew in density until it could be summoned as easily as my own. Freia spoke purposefully, yet a thread of resignation bled through. Maybe she felt as trapped as me.

When footsteps marched in the tunnel outside my cell, I was still mimicking her words. I wouldn’t risk attempting this on her; she’d know exactly what I intended. Instead, I’d search her thoughts and figure out which of her guards could be tricked.

The cacophony began as she cleared the obstacles that barred my cell. After the last lock clicked and the door groaned open, I stood ready—but another Grifter had taken Freia’s place. This guard levitated the food tray through the entrance, then slammed the door shut without a word. I caught the tray, frozen in surprise. My idea was walking away.

Lunch consisted of fish, berries, and a slice of cheese. Somehow, food tasted worse in the dark. It took several moments of testing the meal with my fingers before I risked nibbling it. While eating, I drafted Plan B.

Freia may have decided it was too risky to deliver my meals; or, she had better things to do. Either way, it wasn’t her I needed to fool. Chron wanted me fed, which meant someone would bring me dinner.

When the rumbling began hours later, I assumed a dejected position. Floor bound, with knees to my chest and arms wrapped around them. Light crept on my feet when the door opened.

Your meal, elak.

Definitely not Freia.

I shrugged. Then, shifting my arms to create a gap, I peeked. The Grifter busied himself with guiding the tray toward the floor. He’d be gone in seconds. I brought Freia’s voice to mind and spoke.

You are with the elak?

He paused. The tray hung a foot off the floor.

Bring Ella Kepler to the other elak, I said.

Reading minds required empathy, and it didn’t take much to relate to the confused Grifter who heard Freia’s voice out of nowhere.

... not until Ledare returns.... He debated with himself.

Your Kapten has spoken, I said. These are Ledare’s orders. He has just given them to me.

The Grifter wrung his hands, then waved until the tray stilled. Up, elak, he said.

My heart seemed twenty sizes bigger. What?

Up. Move.

I staggered to my feet and tripped over the tray for good measure. When I edged out of the cell, he moved behind me. Iron fingers gripped my arms, and he pushed.

The cavernous hallway felt like a four-lane street. Freedom distracted me—the change in air and smells. I treasured fresh oxygen as he steered me through the stony passage, guided by bowls of flames that hung from the ceiling, flickering chandeliers as hollow as this lair and with barely enough warmth to pass as a fire.

Holy crap. This is working.

This hall reminded me of the cavern of stalactites and odd rock formations my elementary school had once visited. Only that cavern had colorful spotlights to guide our steps and ropes that kept curious kids from exploring the crevices.

The tunnel ended at an oval door of white stone. Purple and black webbed along the rock like inky stains. The door groaned when the Grifter swept his arm in a motion. He directed me through.

My lips parted. Freia’s memories had not done the sight justice.

Beyond the tunnel, Chron’s lair forgot it was confined. We stood on a Grifter-made bridge that spanned ahead until the cave swallowed it. The cliffs stretched like a dome, with us like ants passing through. A surge of water gushed continuously from an opening too high into the cavern ceiling for me to spot. It cascaded into the water beneath the bridge. Eroded structures of rock grew out of the pool that glowed orange by the light of the torches set every ten paces.

Five minutes separated my cell from the curve that carried us away from the cavern. The bridge dropped us onto an earthen path that took us to a lower ceiling and tighter walls. The crash of water grew faint. Once the awe dissipated, I felt the tremble of anxiety. What if we ran into Freia? Other Grifters—some in maroon tunics, others in simple linen dresses—passed by. Unlike Durgan’s Grifters, who’d jeered and assaulted me, these seemed unmoved by the sight of a meta in transport. Maybe they’d grown used to it.

My guard slowed at a dip in the wall, where more bowl chandeliers dangled. He forced me around the corner, and I nearly rammed into the approaching Grifter.

Explain yourself, Arvid, came Freia’s voice.

I closed my eyes. Despair punched like a cold fist.

Arvid’s hold faltered. "This is Ella Kepler, yes?"

Where are you taking her?

The spricka, Kapten. Did you mean otherwise?

I have given you no orders to move her.

Arvid fumbled to defend himself, and I tuned him out. My plan had disintegrated as soon as we rounded this corner. Freia was a second away from uncovering my latest ability. Once she marched me back, I’d be under tighter scrutiny than before. This was my one shot; I had to make it count.

As soon as Arvid’s grip relinquished, I kicked back—not to hurt, but incapacitate. His legs buckled as I shot past Freia. Grifters were stronger, but metas faster. She reached and touched only the fabric of my shirt, which tore as I bolted past her. The hallway ended, but a gap ran along the side wall. I dashed sideways, into a room illuminated by a claw-like light fixture that hung at eye-level and spread like an angry hand. I blinked past the blaze of fire light and realized I’d met my destination. To my left ran a block of impenetrable cells, with not even a window set in the door. On my other side, standard metal bars formed one cell the length of the room. It contained a single prisoner.

I tore around the light fixture to the huddled figure on the dank, dirty floor. She stared, letting scraps of food fall from her fingers to the clay plate in her lap. When she jerked forward, the plate clattered on the floor. You can’t be here, she whispered.

The words extinguished my frenzy as if someone had snapped and shut me off. I wanted to charge, but I could only stare at the wispy frame of the person who’d once been Kara Watson.

Two navy eyes, sunken in exhaustion, gaped at me. Water pooled around the red rims. Black shadows hung from her eyes and consumed the majority of her sunken cheeks. Her hair fell below her shoulders, tangled and without a trace of curl. Her dress was tattered, covered in layers of dirt and sweat.

I dropped to my knees before her. Kara, I mentally said.

A thin wrist slipped between the bars, a hand stretching toward me, as if she didn’t care that I was the reason she’d spent the past six months in this miserable condition.

Thunderous footfalls alerted me that this reunion was brief. I zipped back to my feet and spun to the entrance as four Grifters burst through it.

Stop! I shouted.

Freia led the charge. Her soldiers carried short spears, though her hands were empty. We faced one another in breathy silence. My pulse couldn’t drown out the sound of another heartbeat from behind the barricade of stone that hid him. Rock-steady Ethan, feet away—so close, yet untouchable.

I looked to Freia. Let me see him, or I’ll tell every Grifter here that you work for Durgan.

Seconds dented the tension. Freia had let Banks escape. She kept me well fed. How much compassion did she have?

Desperation makes us wild, she said, then raised her arm.

I saw the flash of silver before it escaped the barrel. The gun discharged after I ducked and swiveled sideways. Air whistled as another round released. Grifters used guns now, something the MTA had never taught me how to oppose; but dodging these required precision and speed, two things Ethan had ingrained in me. After several shots, Freia emptied her weapon, having hit only stone. I stood near the back now, obscured by the gnarled chandelier.

Freia cocked an arm, and her squadron spread out, after dropping their spears. She wanted to capture, not kill. I eyed the incoming Grifters and knew she finally had me pinned. When their bumpy hands closed in, I leapt against the ceiling like a jumping spider. I landed next to Kara—and before Freia, who had a fist already raised. I reached for Kara and knew I wouldn’t make it.

Ethan! I’m—

Something hard as a brick met my temple. Vision went foggy just as my legs gave out.

...here, I mumbled to the floor as it cradled me. A single word penetrated the haze before unconsciousness reigned.

Ella!

It could’ve been two voices, or one, or none at all.

Chapter 2

CONSCIOUSNESS CAME AS if someone slammed my face into wet concrete. I spluttered, hair streaming, eyes blinking past blurriness.

You are foolish, Ella Kepler.

That voice belonged to Freia, as did the only heartbeat I heard other than mine. My head and neck throbbed from the blow, and the rest of me felt equally uncomfortable. I lay sprawled in a wooden basin the length of a tub. My armpits ached from how the tub propped me upright. Other than us, the room was empty except for a chair, cushioned and all, most likely stolen from a civilian store.

She stood over me with a dripping bucket and brush, as if she intended to clean the floor with me. Literally. Helix never informed me of the extent of your power, she said. You are a weapon.

By power, she must’ve meant my ability to mimic her voice. If I hadn’t been stuck inside a tub with the knowledge of my failure freshly ingrained, I might’ve experienced a glimmer of excitement over my potential.

I don’t want to hurt anyone, I said.

You threatened my life and the lives of my children.

I’d forgotten she had children. The idea stripped away her tough soldier exterior and rebuilt her as an overprotective mother, far more intimidating. Our visual contact lingered enough to creep toward discomfort.

Yet, she said, and it seemed the grooves in her expression unwound, I would have done as you have.

Comprehension clogged the otherwise empty room. For the first time, she understood me.

Wear this, she said. A scrap of fabric floated over the rim and dropped over my chest.

I inspected the gray dress and frowned. Why?

I cannot wash you through those clothes.

You’re... giving me a bath?

No. I am telling you to change your clothing. Then I will bathe you.

For a beat of time, I rejected the idea. Letting someone bathe me—a Grifter working for the one imprisoning me—sent a crawl through my stomach. Then I let it go. Maybe this could earn her trust.

After I shimmied into the dress, Freia returned. She spoke little as she scrubbed me with a brush that must’ve worked great on the stone walls. Raw pain tingled in my nerves, but it felt good, as if she shaved away more than exterior dirt. I closed my eyes and let her attack me like a muddy floor. Awkwardness had extinguished at every forceful stroke. She viewed me as a project, not a body.

Why are you cleaning me? I asked.

None under Ledare’s rule can be found unclean. There is a punishment. Her attention moved from my toes to heel, and she scrubbed until she must’ve sanded down my callouses.

I saw no obvious expression shift across her features, but her thoughts did the speaking.

You’re hoping, if Chron sees that I’m clean, he’ll be less inclined to kill me, I said.

Do not speak his name. Doing so to anyone other than me will ensure he kills you.

I guess it’s our little secret, then.

Her chin lifted. A flicker moved her lips. You are a strange one. Her voice grew a layer of warmth, a familiarity reserved for a mother reprimanding her children.

How many children do you have? I asked.

We are permitted only two.

Do you have boys or girls?

My sons are Dag and Dahl.

Good names.

Freia scrubbed a bit softer.

I decided not to speak for a while, afraid I’d prod her into silence. Under the splashes and her distracted concentration, my mind felt the freedom to wander below, where my childhood best friend sat covered in grime while I got spa treatment. A twist started in my gut, and I forced my attention back to Freia.

My friends could use a bath. Though one of them probably won’t let you near him.

She dug the brush; its teeth felt like spikes in my knee. I will never touch an elak.

You’re touching me.

You are no elak.

I can’t help how I was raised. Neither can he.

Freia paused. Dribbles of murky water trekked to my calf and slid off. Each plunk made a new ripple. They’d grown into a giant swirl by the time Freia answered.

I will clean the svag. Not him.

I touched her hand. Thank you, Freia.

Her gaze rose to mine. My eyes met two mangled holes, but they were hers, and she let them stay on me for a moment.

Bend your head, little älskling. The room held her voice so it seemed to condense around us.

A quick search of her mind revealed that älskling had no formal definition attached to it; just a series of moments with her two sons. I saw their cheeks as she stroked them, their foreheads before she kissed them. An older Hela, his face inches from hers, whispered the word as he drew her close, and she whispered "My Axel" in return.

The bath had succeeded in cleaning me but also in gaining her trust. She’d started to care.

Freia, I said, what do you mean, no hope for svags?

She scrubbed and scrubbed, though surely my hair was clean enough. Ledare was not interested in them before, she said. Now, he knows he could persecute them with no consequence.

The MTA will stop him.

Ledare cannot be stopped by one man, Ella Kepler.

One man. She meant Eugene Andrews. He had to be stopped first.

But I was just one person, too.

***

I PULLED MY LEGS tight to my chest and scooted so my back hit the wall. Freia had exchanged my scratchy, burlap clothes for cotton pants, undergarments, and a shirt that fit properly. Fresh clothes and smooth skin felt great, but I would’ve traded it in a heartbeat for a chance to see Kara again. Since her kidnapping, I’d tortured myself by imagining her in a cell. A few of those images had looked far worse than Kara’s actual state, but I’d always told myself She can’t be that bad. Self-sparing naiveté had encouraged me to believe that Chron had distinguished her from his hated elak enemies. She was only a civilian—surely he would’ve supplied her with fresh water and three meals a day; a cot to sleep on; blankets for the chill of isolation; access to proper hygiene routines.

No, he’d dumped Kara in a barren cell with only torchlight for company. She’d lost weight, her clothes were filthy, and her complexion fell dangerously close to waxy. Kara needed a way out of this place. Ethan was across the room from her, though blind in his own cell without a window.

Images of them starving, bleeding, and slowly dying harassed my thoughts until they were all I saw. I bolted upright and kicked the wall. There had to be a way out of this cell! A civilian couldn’t break free, but a meta could.

The door felt sturdier with every blow, cackling in my face, but I thrashed at the solid stone as if it could wither away to cardboard. Then, when my skin puckered with bruises, I turned to the walls, followed by the floor. The fracture at the back of the cell, the one that ran along the floor, had to go somewhere. I could fit both hands in it; my fingers, still crooked from being broken by Jurstin, dangled in cold air, dampened by the constant trickle from the wall above it. I clawed at the hole until my fingernails tore.

Stupid mountain! I yelled. Some metas had extra abilities. I was telepathic, Agent Chang could move animate matter; why couldn’t—

Ella?

My heart received a jolt so fierce, it felt like someone had reached in and pinched it. I kept frozen and replayed the sound. I must’ve imagined it.

Can you hear me?

Okay, that was real. Ghostly and faint, but real.

I stuck my face toward the crack. Ethan? I called, hearing his name reverberate all the way down.

Yes. His voice echoed upward from whatever space lay between us. Ella, you’re... here. It could’ve been the distortion of the cave walls, but his voice sounded choppy. Strained. Are you hurt?

I fought the urge to start cheering and crying simultaneously; my voice cracked as I answered, I’m fine, I’m fine. I lay on my stomach, as close to the crack as I could get, wishing I could squeeze through it. Are you?

No.

That’s... good. The last word fell out as a whisper.

Ella?

I’m here, I called.

Don’t stop talking.

Okay. I swallowed. Can Kara hear me, too?

I’ll ask. He went quiet. If he asked, I couldn’t hear. After a moment, he said, No, she’s out of range.

Have you been with each other the whole time?

Separate cells, but yes.

And you’re able to talk? I said.

Hardly anyone monitors this area.

Good. I’m glad neither of you are alone.

She’s all right, Ella, he said.

I nodded. Pain wrapped around my throat and sealed it tight, but the vice around my heart hurt worse.

Ella? You need to keep talking. I need to know you’re there.

I coughed into my shoulder before moving my mouth back to the gap. I’m sorry, I’m....

This isn’t your fault. I’ve told you. Kara doesn’t blame you.

I had a plan, Ethan, but it didn’t work. I don’t know how to save you. Anguish scrabbled for escape; I gripped the crack and smooshed my forehead against stone. "I have to fix this. I’m trying."

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You.... Though distance and the mountain’s structure oscillated his voice, I heard the frustration in it. Ethan was patient, but our situation had a way of robbing us.

He’s also frustrated, a little voice nagged, the one I’d come to associate with EN, because you don’t remember him.

I shut my eyes. Of course I wanted to tell him. More than anything. Ethan had waited long enough for me to regain my memories. Could I tell him here, with my face stuck in what was probably a toilet, with a mountain between us and danger at our heels?

She knows how sorry you are, he said. She heard you.

I blinked, forgetting my conflict. Heard me?

You told me about your... internal conversations with Kara.

Yeah?

Somehow, she heard those.

I frowned into the gap until a Whoa! shivered through me. Months ago, I’d clued Ethan in to my odd habit of holding imaginary conversations with Kara. From my frustrations with Lydia Burnette to my feelings for Ethan, Kara had sat invisibly on the receiving end. She’d heard me? That meant my telepathy could span not just floors, but across state lines, from Georgia to South Carolina.

I’ve heard you before, he continued. I thought I was imagining it. Dozens of times, even last— He stopped himself.

Last year. Before I forgot him.

Ethan?

Kara and I think you’re a telepath. That’s why these Grifters want you.

I—

Thuds began in the hallway outside my cell. They fell in sync, the clack of multiple footsteps.

Someone’s coming, I called.

He hushed.

These footfalls sounded nothing like Freia’s. At least two Grifters neared, then continued past, beyond my cell to the area that Freia’s map told me belonged to Chron alone. A chain rattled, and fabric flapped against air. So far, only Freia and one other guard had passed through this corridor. They must’ve had work to do in Chron’s quarters.

The footsteps grew fainter, then stopped. A slam echoed. No noise followed after. The Grifters were likely out of earshot.

All right, they’re gone, I told Ethan.

We’ll discuss this later. What’s your layout? he asked, and I nodded.

We’d spent valuable time reminiscing; we needed to plan our escape.

From what I’ve learned, I said, I’m attached to Chron’s private quarters. You and Kara are in the prison reserved for elaks and svags. I mean, metas and civilians. Two guards man the entrance; there’s only one way in. Outside, there are scouts. Inside, there are dozens of Grifters, so we can’t meet up without being seen.

So we need low coverage inside and out. But we have no gear, and I’m not in top form.

I can use my telepathy, I said. You guys were right, Ethan. I’m still trying to figure it out, but... I’m kind of like the Tacemus.

Ethan had plenty of questions about that. The frustrating part was, he’d already learned this before One wiped his mind at SPO-10. But I’d picked up an extra skill since then.

Could you mimic the voice again? he asked after I explained.

I don’t know if it would work twice. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for an idea to burst into existence. Freia had probably told her guards not to listen if they heard her disembodied voice. Who else would the guards obey?

Chron.

"I could try his voice. He’s gone, but I think he can communicate long-distance."

If he’s gone, then this is our best window.

Okay. Let me prac—

New footsteps sounded, these heavy and fast.

Hold on. Someone else. I stilled, listening to the Grifter zip past my cell and continue toward Chron’s quarters. Something was going on. These might’ve been servants, preparing his room for his arrival. That meant our window was shrinking while we planned.

The Grifter stopped, footsteps beyond my door. Half a minute passed while Ethan and I kept a silent vigil. When the footsteps reversed in my direction, they’d picked up another pair. The first set whizzed by and kept going. The second paused right outside my cell. Thunder began to grumble as the blockade over my door moved. During the commotion, I called to Ethan.

Company here. Keep listening.

I stood above the crack and faced the door. Either Freia or another Grifter must’ve brought a meal. Which one was it now? I’d lost track of time.

Metal finished grinding, and the door groaned open. The Grifter’s frame blocked most of the torchlight that washed the stone around my cell, but I saw what the light hit—and didn’t hit. A spasm of dread gripped my heart like icy fingers. I would recognize that armless frame in any setting.

I warned you, Chron spoke. You will watch them bleed, Ella Kepler.

Chapter 3

AS IF REACTING TO the familiarity, a wire in my brain pulsed. Chron stood, chest heaving, in a black tunic that neared his shins. When our gazes met, time got stuck. A year earlier, our minds had connected like magnets. No way could we look at each other without our brains leaping to join again. Yet, nothing happened. The split-second gaze ended when Chron stepped forward, reached his single arm toward me, and squeezed my face so hard that my cheeks touched inside my mouth.

You were elusive, but no longer. His fingers dug so roughly that talking would’ve been impossible.

Let them go, Chron. Please.

Misshapen flesh jerked with a smile. You are pleading? I have extinguished your fire.

I’m not here to fight. I’ll lose. You’ve captured me, Chron. You don’t need them anymore.

No. I do not. But you do. The hope of their safety will keep you pliable until I am finished with you. Then, I will be merciful. You can die in one another’s arms.

Looking at Chron, I knew neither fear nor anger. A chunk of me, that anxious bit, had gone somewhere else. My response was purely practical. I jabbed the pressure points on his palm. With effort, I unhinged his hold. Had he been a lesser Grifter, he would’ve stumbled.

You’re forgetting something, Chron, I said, loud enough for Ethan. I’m more powerful than you. Isn’t that why I’m here? I can read minds consistently. You can’t.

Do not lie to me. You suffer the same limitations.

Yeah, I did, a year ago when we met. But not anymore. I’ve learned how it works. And I’ve learned that I can communicate through walls, to every Grifter living here who thinks their Ledare is a fully fledged mind-reader. How do you think they’ll treat you once they realize you’re a fake? The idea spilled as it came to me. I had no idea whether it was a bluff, nor what Chron believed. My mental efforts, diverted to blocking Chron from my head, preventing me from reading him. Durgan had taught me how to shield my thoughts; I’d been building that wall since I arrived. There was a chance Chron’s telepathy could knock it down, but for now, I clung to hope.

His shoulder twitched. Any attempted contact with Hela will result in a slow death for Kara Watson.

But the damage will have been done. All it takes is a single sentence from me.

They would not trust an elak.

Some would. You have to know not everyone trusts you. I’ve realized that even without reading all the minds here.

He swung as the last syllable passed my lips. I ducked, but I had little space to hide. Chron gripped my wrist and wrenched me forward, forcing me into a hunch at the doorway. Pain shimmied along my nerves as he pushed my hand back farther than it should go. He kept it awkwardly angled as he crouched before me to breathe words in my face.

I do not know pain, but I have often imagined how it might feel. His voice, even murmured, raked the air. An elak knows to build tolerance, but what does pain do to a svag? A weak svag, fragile, slipping from this world. Kara Watson will feel this pain infinitely more than you. Does this hurt you, Ella Kepler? It will hurt her more. She will weep. She will beg me to relent, but I will not. I will not stop until—

Helix, I whispered.

Chron’s mouth gaped. His hold lessened.

We all have our weak points, Chron. Yours is love, just like the rest of us.

What do you know of my sister? he demanded.

Let my friends go.

He inspected me. Trembling began in his torso and caused my arm to waver. He was trying to read me. Trying and failing.

Chron pulled me upright. I’d hardly registered the relief in my wrist when he grabbed the back of my neck and shoved me through the hallway. I wanted to shout Ethan’s name but refused to give Chron any more ammunition.

He forced me along the hallway of cold, dank stone. Eight chandeliers accompanied us. I let Chron maneuver me like a sack, only half present on the trip.

Ethan. I hope you can hear me. Chron is back.

I saw a flash of a richly furnished room, decked out with maroon tapestries and upholstered chairs—and a single, dirty occupant who contrasted the luxury. Chron set me before a Grifter who stood in chains. My eyes glued to his cloak, torn and dirty, but with a mural of colors visible beneath the wear.

Mingled elation and fear scurried my pulse. I knew that cloak. I knew who wore it.

Chron angled me upright, so the Grifter in the multicolored cloak would have a full view. Tell me, harsk, Chron said, how your ward knows of my sister.

The Hela king appraised Chron. Durgan had always carried himself with the knowledge of his rank, and he held the same posture now, a wall of composure to contradict the shaking in Chron’s fingers. Cuts marred Durgan’s skin, and iron bound his wrists close to his chest in a forced prayer; yet, he looked as if he could have flicked his hands to cast his imprisonments free. This could have been his lair and Chron his prisoner.

Durgan’s gaze hit mine without flinching.

You’re alive, I said.

Keep silent, he answered. His chin lifted, revealing a gash along his throat. Her mind is a more willing subject, he spoke in the powerful voice I’d heard every day for seven weeks. Read her yourself, Chron, and leave a prisoner to his prison.

Chron squeezed the base of my head so hard, I worried he would split my neck. Your commands are empty here, harsk. You lack the authority.

"My authority can only be revoked by a higher authority—which you, Chron, are not."

You suggest that you continue to wield power when your own subjects have denounced you?

Yes.

The laugh that twisted in Chron’s chest agitated his grip on me. Your misguided confidence is why you stand before me wearing chains and not your crown.

My crown remains, Chron, but your power does not.

I respected Durgan’s composure, but part of me wanted to beg him to stop antagonizing the Grifter whose fingers were a twitch away from snapping my neck.

Chron shook and lifted me higher before Durgan’s sight. What have you told Ella Kepler about Helix?

You can threaten me with nothing else, Chron.

I can kill this elak!

Yes, you can.

Saliva built in the back of my throat. In the Grifters’ silence, my pulse stuck out like a patterned knock. Somehow, it didn’t jump, as if keeping me steady enough to focus on my sole thought: I’m about to die. I stared at Durgan, solid as a statue, then let my eyes close.

Patience, Ella Kepler. Durgan’s voice slipped into my thoughts like it had already been there. You do not need Ella Kepler, he said aloud. I can answer in her stead. In return, you will release her and any other you have unjustly captured.

You told me it’s too dangerous for Chron to learn, I said.

I will ensure he does not.

You make foolhardy assumptions, harsk, Chron said.

I have spoken with Helix. It is no assumption.

Chron’s hand tightened, then he threw me downward. The floor rose to my face, but I caught myself before smashing stone and rolled out of Chron’s footstep. I lay on my back, an unnoticed observer as Chron set his face inches from Durgan’s.

You approached my sister? he said, close to a whisper.

"Your sister approached me. There is much you do not observe in your own flesh, Chron. While you wreak hate, Helix hunts for peace. She informed me of your inability to—"

Lies! Chron’s palm lashed, catching a fold of Durgan’s cloak. The material ripped as Durgan stumbled into the space behind him. He steadied himself before he hit the wall, but the garment had been stripped from him, a mural hanging from Chron’s shaking fingers. Chron struck again, whipping the cloak across Durgan’s face. Durgan absorbed every whip, uttering nothing, not until Chron relented. The fabric fell to the floor. "A rainbow disguises ugliness," Durgan had told me. Now, he was exposed.

When Durgan straightened, he resumed his former calm as if nothing had occurred. Read me, and you will find otherwise.

Chron’s frame tremored. I thought Durgan had finally spoken his last, that right there I would witness murder—and I knew I would not lay helpless. First came the assessment, because metas did not enter a fight blind. Chron couldn’t see me; a heel to the back curves of his knees would topple him. I eased onto my elbows and scooted on the stone.

You will do nothing, Ella Kepler. Durgan’s attention had not shifted from Chron, yet somehow he knew. This fight is not yours.

I can—

You will do nothing.

I gritted my teeth. Durgan expected me to follow his commands just as any other Grifter had. But this was a matter of life and death, a situation within my potential to fix. I couldn’t do nothing.

The thump of footfalls echoed from behind. I whipped my head around. If Chron had summoned another guard....

A slug of anguish ripped me open. A hooded Grifter marched into Chron’s quarters, half-dragging a slim body whose head spilled blonde hair no longer curly.

Kara! Forgetting that three Grifters monitored me, I rose off the floor and darted to her. The guard made no move to stop me from wrenching Kara free. She felt light enough for wind to carry away.

Kara gripped my upper arms. Her wide eyes portrayed that she knew, same as me, how this scene would end.

I said both of them, came Chron’s voice.

No. Not Ethan too. I knew what Chron intended, and I knew that I’d cave.

The guard raised an arm. I saw the gun right before it discharged. I doubled over Kara, shielding her, but the shot had only one target. The gun made a light plink, and a body behind me slumped heavily against the floor.

For Axel, the guard spoke, voice thick with emotion. She tugged her hood down.

Durgan’s soft word filled the room like cotton expanding. Freia.

She dropped to one knee. I am yours to command, Onkel, she said, then rose to unclasp his chains.

Uncle?

A sliver of warmth cracked through