The Seers

by Katherine Bennet

  “No one can protect me from him, remember? Those were your words.”

  The muscles along his jawline tensed. “You may not like it, but you need your brother. As long as he remains ruler, no one has to know about your eyes. I can’t stop the other families if they know about you.”

  “You want me to thank you for keeping my brother in charge?” she snarled.

  “Why can’t you just trust me?” he shouted.

  “You? The Head of the Guard?” she shouted back. “Why would I trust Cyrus’s second-in-command?”

  His muscles tensed under his shirt as he glared at her. “That’s all I am to you, isn’t it?”

  “You were the one that reminded me we couldn’t go back—that you are who you are and I am who I am,” she replied. “This was your choice.”

  He sneered. “You’re so blinded by your hatred for your brother that this shouldn’t even surprise me.”

  Blinded? She forced a breath out her nose. “I see my brother quite clearly. It’s your pride that’s the problem.”

  “My pride?” His eyes widened.

  “Yes. You’re overconfident. I’ll admit that you’re good at your job—”

  “You’re right.” He was only inches from her now. “I am good at it, which is why I can protect you.”

  “You can’t control Cyrus.” She met his glare. She was right, and she wasn’t backing down. “No one can. To follow his orders means you’re okay with the outcome.”

  Every muscle in his body looked tensed, primed to explode. Her palms stung where her fingernails were pressed tightly. They were worlds apart. It had been a mistake to hope for anything more from him.

  “And since no one can protect me, I have no need of extra security.”

  A twitch, then the slightest flash in his eyes before he took a deep breath. “Annabel—”

  “Don’t come to my suite anymore.”

  “Don’t do this.” His voice twisted.

  “You’ve made your choice. Now, I’m making mine.” She turned for the door.

  He grabbed her wrist. “I’ll agree. Outside my normal duties, I won’t visit you again. But you have to make me a promise. I meant what I said. Kalos is coming. I needed you to see for yourself that getting to Leonora wouldn’t be easy, but that won’t stop him from trying, and the damage he’s going to cause in the process…” He swallowed hard. “If something happens, promise me you’ll come here. I need to know you’ll be safe.”

  “Safe? From Tobin Kalos?” she asked with a slight snicker.

  Why would she worry about a threat a world away when there was a far bigger one sleeping right down the hall from her? Jasper’s eyebrows were pulled together, and his breathing was tense.

  Her grin faded. Something about Kalos had him really scared. “Fine.”

  He nodded, letting go of her wrist, and she went back to her suite alone.

  Chapter 23

  Nora’s mind swam. The rough, cold ground pressed against her cheek. She blinked to focus.

  Stone. Torches. Bars.

  Where am I?

  The last thing she remembered was sitting in the hotel room, waiting for Tobin, then an explosion. Henry had come. Had she really jumped through a window? And then…

  Her eyes flew open.

  Jasper Bishop.

  She clambered to sit up, but something caught her wrists—shackles. She wasn’t going anywhere. She leaned on the rocky wall behind her, trying to piece together the last day.

  She could still feel Tobin’s arms around her. The way his lips had felt on hers made her heart race. She’d felt more whole in those five minutes than she had in the five years before it. She’d waited in that hotel room for hours after he’d left, and she hadn’t been able to stop smiling the whole time.

  She shivered against the cold, unyielding rock. As if she needed a reminder that everything had changed.

  No.

  She was in a Tavian dungeon, but nothing had changed. What she had with Tobin was real.

  She combed her mind again, yearning for the memories of him—the full version, not just the vague emotional remnants.

  What had it been like to stare into his eyes in front of an altar as they vowed to love each other until death? How did it feel to make love to someone with whom she shared such a deep love? How amazing it must have been to know him, to read his thoughts through every smirk and twitch of his eyebrows, to be able to calm him with a touch or a smile, to know every part of him by touch and sight.

  She blushed. In Minnesota, she’d always wondered why she didn’t crave love more. Yes, her job had been crazy. Of course, she had been lonely, but no one ever really moved her. No one pulled her out of that rut. She’d feared that part of her was broken, or maybe wasn’t there at all, but she finally understood.

  Memories or not, no one could replace Tobin.

  She loved him, even without remembering him, and no one could compare to him. A week with him had brought life to those parts of her she didn’t think were there. She wanted to be close to him. She wanted to make him smile, to encourage his touch.

  She wanted to be his wife.

  She grasped her chain and glanced around her cell. That future had been taken from her once; she wouldn’t allow it to happen again. It didn’t matter what it took. She’d get out of here. She’d find him. They’d make new memories and reclaim the old ones.

  A metal clang echoed in the distance. Sharp footsteps approached. She swallowed hard.

  A tall, lanky Tavian with his white hair cut short emerged from the hallway, and a small, frail Tavian crept behind him. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and though her gaze immediately settled on Nora, she quickly looked away, grimacing.

  “Oh good. You’re awake,” the tall one said, dropping a black sack on the ground as he got close to the cell bars.

  He looked her over with cold black eyes set in a pale, gaunt face. Something about him made her wish she was still dealing with Jasper. He opened the gate and approached her with slow, deliberate steps. “Do you know who I am, Leonora?”

  She shook her head, scooting as close to the back wall as possible.

  “I’m Cyrus, and I run things around here.” He pointed around the cavern. “In case there’s any confusion, you’re in my domain now, which means I can do whatever I want with you.”

  His gaze lingered over her before he bent and twisted a key in the lock anchoring her chain into the wall.

  “Where are my manners?” he asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice. “Let me give you the tour.” He pulled her up by the shackles, and she had to force her feet in front of her to stop herself from flying into the cell bars. “This is your new home. You’re surrounded by enough steel and stone to drown out any and all screams. I won’t bore you with all the security features, but trust me when I say escape is impossible.”

  He yanked her out of the cell and sling-shotted her into the wall on the other side of the cavern, her head and shoulder crashing into the stone. Blood dripped freely from a cut under the shackles.

  “You may be wondering why the chains are on the outside of the cells.” He waved a hand at a set of shackles hanging from the ceiling. His gaze wandered over her, pausing in terrifying places. “This way, all of the prisoners can watch me work.”

  Her shackles clinked as she cringed.

  “Let’s provide a demonstration, shall we?”

  A whimper escaped as he heaved her chain up to a hook and suspended her in midair. Blood from her wrist trickled down her arm. “I’m sure you’d like to know how you ended up under my hospitality. I’d like to think of it as righting a Niotian wrong.”

  He smiled, but the sharp edges and deep grooves in his face made the expression terrifying. “In their foolishness, the Niotians tossed you aside. We will restore your implants, retrain you, and in a few short weeks, you’ll return to your former glory.”

  Implants? Retraining? She twisted her wrists to move away from him but instantly regretted it. “I don’t want to be
a Seer!”

  His lips curled, and he drew a dagger from his belt as he neared her.

  “What would make you think you could refuse?” he asked. His warm breath washed over her.

  She stretched her head away from him, but there was no escape.

  “Let’s be clear with each other, shall we?” He dragged the dagger up her stomach firmly enough to know that it would have drawn blood were it not for her shirt. “You have no other choice. You will become a Seer and provide information about the enemy’s movements.”

  The enemy. He meant Niotian guards like Tobin.

  “If you are reluctant…” He pressed the tip of the dagger to her sternum so hard she winced. “I will convince you. If you have trouble with your training…” His chilling eyes flickered to her. “I will provide the proper encouragement.”

  She clamped her eyes shut. This is all a show meant to scare me. I will get out of here. I will see Tobin again.

  He stepped closer, placing a hand on her hip to hold her in place. “I’ve had a lot of practice with this dagger, but it’s not the only tool at my disposal.”

  He holstered his dagger and grabbed the black sack from the floor before retrieving a small roll of fabric from inside and tossed it to the other Tavian cowering in the corner. She bobbled it with wide eyes but secured it with both hands. “Those are drugs far beyond anything you’ve probably heard of in your pitiful civilian life, so let’s start with something you may have seen.” He grinned and pulled out something that looked like a saw. “You have these, right? Although I’ll admit I use it in an entirely different way.”

  She cringed, and his eyes darted to the move. Smiling, he brought it up to her hands and traced along her knuckles. She bit her lip.

  He leaned into her ear. “Most people who see this saw lose something—something they were pretty attached to. I’ll admit I’m going easy on you today because you and I have plans later tonight, and I need you to appear unharmed, willing to serve. That’s true, right? You’re willing to serve?” He pressed the saw against her thumb, drawing blood.

  He waved a hand at the other Tavian. “What’s your name again?”

  “Camille, sir,” she muttered, trying to pull her shoulders back.

  “Camille’s here to help keep up appearances. She’ll treat all your wounds and prepare you for the gathering I’m hosting this evening.”

  Camille nodded without looking at Nora.

  Cyrus circled. “There’s only one way to live through this. You either provide me with the information I need, or you’ll die—painfully.” He brushed the side of the blade along the length of her arm. “No one is coming for you.”

  Wrong.

  The thought was so immediate, so confident, it surprised her, but it was right. He probably wasn’t lying about all the security. It was probably accurate that no one had ever escaped.

  That wouldn’t stop Tobin.

  He’d come, and he’d probably get a lot farther than Cyrus could have dreamed in his worst nightmares. She longed to see him charging through the dark hallway to rescue her, but something about it felt wrong.

  Her shackles, the bars to her cell, Jasper Bishop lurking somewhere upstairs. How far would Tobin get before…

  She didn’t want him to come. It was too risky. It wasn’t that she wanted to die, or even that she was giving up. She had way too much to lose.

  It didn’t matter what the council had done, how her bosses had marginalized her, or what Cyrus had planned. She wasn’t the powerless data cruncher everyone thought she was. She had a future, and only she would decide how to spend it. She didn’t need Tobin to endanger himself to rescue her.

  She’d save herself.

  Orange torchlight flickered over Cyrus as his gaze bored into her. “Are we clear?”

  She pressed her lips together in a tight smile. She needed to be honest with herself. She wasn’t Tobin. She couldn’t fight her way out of this. To save herself, she’d have to be smart.

  I can do that.

  She’d have to wait for the perfect moment.

  I can do that.

  She’d escape, and when this was all over she’d make new memories with Tobin.

  I can definitely do that.

  She nodded.

  “Good!” He spun on his heels and tossed the keys to Camille. “I must run. I have other matters to attend to for tonight’s soiree, but I cannot stress enough the importance of your compliance.”

  He turned just before the entryway and nodded at Camille. “Do everything she asks. If there are any complications, you will regret it. I will see to it personally.”

  He disappeared into the tunnel still holding his saw, and for a moment her deep breaths were the only thing she could hear.

  Camille approached with skittish steps, fumbling with the keys. As she got close, Nora saw her eyes were brown, not black. What had Tobin called that? A Variant—secondary citizens in Octavius. She unlocked the shackles, and Nora’s arms dropped, allowing sweet relief to rush from her shoulders to her fingers.

  “Please show me your wrists,” she muttered.

  Nora held them out, studying her. Her sunken shoulders, lack of eye contact. Tobin had been right. Variants here didn’t seem to have it easy. She certainly wasn’t here willingly.

  “Is he always that way?” Nora held out her hands.

  Camille’s gaze darted to her. “Worse.”

  Nora nodded, studying her. Jasper was clearly an exception, but maybe not all Variants had the same level of allegiance. Maybe…

  “Is it really as hard to escape as he says?” she hedged.

  Camille’s whole expression changed. Her eyes froze, her features hardened. “Don’t get any ideas about me or this place. My orders are clear, and I’m here to do my job. That’s all. I wouldn’t have released you if there was any chance of escape. Turn over your hand, please.”

  Dead end.

  Nora obeyed, and Camille spread some ointment on her wrists. It burned, but the redness was gone in minutes.

  Camille worked silently for the next hour with lasers, more ointments, even something that felt like glue. When it was over, every cut, bruise, and abrasion she’d gotten over the last week was gone.

  Someone cleared their throat at the entryway, and Nora startled. She hadn’t heard the tall black man approach. His skin was flawless, somehow more perfect than that of the other Tavians she’d seen, almost like porcelain or marble, and his hair was bright white. Alert eyes were fixed on her.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Sir.” Camille shuffled some of her supplies. “I’m almost done. She was more beat up than we’d thought.”

  He nodded and approached, looking Nora over. “I’m Doctor Williams. How are you feeling?”

  “Captive,” Nora replied.

  A half smile spread on his face. “Fair enough, but there’s nothing we can do about that. Is there anything I can get you?”

  She shook her head. His kindness came with strings attached. None of this had been for her. The only reason why they’d healed her is because Cyrus had ordered it. She cast a weary glance at him as he neared and examined her, testing her joints, staring into her eyes, and listening to her heart with a stethoscope.

  He held up her arm. “Nice work, Camille.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Sorry about this, but we’ll need you to return to your cell now,” Doctor Williams said, holding an arm out to the door. “The prep team will be here soon to do hair, makeup and wardrobe. Try not to aggravate any of those cuts or the inflammation will return. It’s always harder to erase the second time around.”

  She bit her lip, positive he didn’t agree with Cyrus’s orders, but his black eyes were firm. Just as it had been with Camille, there wouldn’t be any alliances forged with him. He was just as bound by Cyrus’s orders as she was. She inched closer to the cell despite her heart fighting every step.

  Wait for the right moment.

  She’d escape, but she probably wouldn’t
be getting any help from anyone.

  They left shortly after that, and the silence felt heavier than ever. From the most fearsome guard to the lowliest medic, everyone here marched to the beat of a madman wielding a saw. How could she fight that?

  She rested her head against the wall behind her, fighting the hopelessness that pushed in from every direction.

  She had no allies. No one would even give her information. Her mind wouldn’t spark without details, and without even a window, this dungeon was void of all information.

  Her mind inexplicably darkened; the absence of sparks was tangible like a vacuous space that threatened to consume her. She searched the corridor with wide eyes but still felt blind. She filled her lungs with air, but it still felt like she was suffocating. She’d never had so little to go on.

  She sat up. That was the point. She’d always known that her sparks would come if she searched the details long enough. She would be looking over reports or listening to someone, and something would stand out.

  She stared at her wrists. The threats. The cover ups. He was going to bring her somewhere tonight, a place where he needed her to behave.

  A place that wouldn’t be devoid of details.

  She’d obey his orders for today. She’d comply with whatever the prep team asked. And tonight, she’d search. Her eyes would be open. She’d listen. She’d get what she needed.

  Another spark would come.

  Chapter 24

  Annabel swept the black pencil across the page. The rose petals slowly formed below her hand as someone tuned a violin downstairs. Sweet and savory smells had been wafting up for hours.

  Of course, she would have loved to go to the party. There weren’t many perks living in Cyrus’s shadow, but the parties had always been amazing. With her blue eyes, he’d made it clear that she wasn’t invited tonight.

  She tilted her head, appraising the blossom, and then deepened the shadows by the stem.

  She didn’t really want to go this time, anyway. Her hair could have been perfect. She could have worn a dress that would make her the envy of every woman at the party. But no one would be looking at anything but her eyes.