by S. K Munt
‘You did it! So don’t blame me if you hate how ugly it sounds now!’ Mimi snarled, backing up near the open French doors of the balcony as Finn re-lived the way Cara really had shoved her with two hands between Michael’s open legs before commanding her to kiss him right there at the lunch table while everyone had watched on. ‘Don’t you get it Cara? Power corrupts! And you can’t force people or trick people into liking you or respecting you without being likeable and worthy of their respect! And if you do, they’ll just end up fearing and resenting you the way I’m starting to fear Amory!’
She’s right! Finn thought, gulping hard then. But then again… she’s sort of out of her mind too, isn’t she? It’s nice to know she opposes her sister’s behaviour, but she’s also overreacting a lot to something that happened years ago!
‘No, you don’t get it!’ Cara snarled, advancing on her sister while Finn watched with mounting apprehension. ‘I never had a chance of being liked or respected for who I was while living under your shadow, because no matter what I did, it was never enough! Not with our parents or teachers… or even with you!’ Her eyes slitted. ‘But that was then, Mimi- things have changed! Because I’m almost as powerful as you are now so if you want out of this life that I’ve also worked hard to secure for us then do it: leave!’ She reached out and grasped Miriam’s wrist as she quietly snarled the words: ‘But do it by throwing yourself off the balcony right now, so you won’t have the opportunity to ruin my life ever again after!’
Then Cara released Miriam just as violently as she’d taken hold of her, causing the bride to stagger back over the threshold and onto the terrace. For a terrifying moment, Finn thought that she’d used enough force to send her toppling over the side, which was why was she lunged forward, dropping her bouquet and screaming out a warning. But Miriam managed to regain her balance and then stood there, gaping at her younger sister for a moment, causing Finn to sag, catching herself on the edge of the inverted French door.
She’s okay! Finn thought, gasping in a breath. The wedding’s probably, off, and their relationship is probably ruined forever, but-
But before Finn could finish that thought, Miriam’s pupils completely blackened, like a light had been turned off inside her. One moment, the bride was standing there staring blankly at her little sister, and the next she had turned and hurled herself right off the side of the building, and toward the unforgiving flagged walkway below, and proving to Finn that the line between being an insecure teenage girl and an evil one was a lot thinner than she’d ever believed it to be.
Even in her worst nightmares.
EPILOGUE
Finn screamed as Miriam and her beautiful, billowy dress fell from view, but she didn’t have to see what came next to know how it had ended, because the shrieks of the people that had gathered in front of the castle in anticipation of a magical day began to rise in chorus a second later.
‘No!’ Finn squawked the word and dragged her clawed hands down her cheeks, convinced that this was all a nightmare, and that she could make Miriam come back if only she could re-choreograph everyone’s actions before she woke up. But a cold, hard hand wrapped around Finn’s wrist, shaking her, and Finn shrank down to the floor in fear when she realised what Cara was- and what she could now force Finn to do if she couldn’t get out of her grasp!
She’s a Wilful! Finn’s heart spasmed violently in response to Cara’s touch. And if she can make Miriam KILL herself-
‘You’re going to tell people that Miriam threw herself over the balcony because she was hysterical and couldn’t deal with what her life would be like with or without Amory…’ Cara’s voice was low, lethal and eerily calm, but her grip on Finn’s forearm was unyielding. ‘And if you ever speak against me in any way- even by revealing the fact that I’m an Enigma to anybody- it’s going to cause you more physical pain than you can tolerate, got it?’ She released Finn quickly, who shuddered hard as she felt the other girl’s power reverberate through her, like bass throbbing through a speaker. ‘And in case it doesn’t go without saying- I’ll do what I did to her to you if I find out you’re even trying, understood? You- and your mother too.’
‘Why?’ Finn croaked. She meant: ‘Why would you do that to the only family you had left?’ But Cara answered a different question:
‘You could have thrown me under the bus a few times lately, but you spared me- so I’m sparing you because as far as I’m concerned, loyalty is everything. And girls like us have to stick together- especially against people like Liam, Georgia and Ag!’
‘B-but Miriam wanted to stand against them too, Cara!’ Finn blubbered. ‘Only you-’
‘No! Miriam wanted to run away!’ Cara seethed. ‘To surrender all the power we’ve amassed here, and come at the kingdom from the outside like a peasant with a manifested torch instead of influencing it from the inside, where we could make a real change! And you can judge me for that all you want Finn, but you have to understand- she’s supposed to be looking out for me, okay? She’s supposed to be keeping me safe from the Outside now that mum and dad can’t- and she was about to blow that and for what? Because she’d decided that the most perfect man left on earth wasn’t quite perfect enough for her?’ Cara made a disgusted sound, but tears were still rolling down her cheeks as she whispered: ‘She was weak, Finn. I loved her, but she would have lasted three minutes on the Outside, and I am through being compared to her anyway! Of having everyone’s opinion of me and my survival being completely reliant on someone who can’t get it through her head that its survival of the fittest now, not of the most idealistic!’
‘God…’ Finn clutched her head in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to wrap her head around the reality of everything that had just happened, and of what Cara was asking her to do. Not, not asking her- commanding her! ‘I can’t b-be a part of this-’
‘But you will be, because I’m not giving you any choice in the matter. Well- not much of a choice anyhow.’ Finn looked up and through her veil of tears, saw Cara shaking a finger at her in warning. ‘You’re getting one chance to prove that you really belong in the Hive Monroe, so don’t blow it, because if you do, you won’t survive it!’ And then Cara turned and began hysterically screaming, throwing herself into a crumpled ball on the floor just before the bedroom door flew open and the king rushed in looking more handsome than ever in a in a beautiful, dove-grey suit, but wild-eyed and ashen too.
‘What happened?!’ he cried, but his eyes flew immediately to the open shuttered French doors and widened, like he’d heard something on the way there already that the sight of the open doors confirmed. ‘Where’s Mimi? Where’s my bride...?!’
Finn opened her mouth to scream that Cara had willed her off the balcony, but no words came out- just a sound that was a cross between a sob and a honk. She gasped in a breath and tried again, but her jaw clamped shut so hard she bit the inside of her cheek and her tongue with enough force to draw blood.
It really worked! Finn cupped her aching cheek and squeezed her eyes shut against the pain. She enforced her will on me, and I don’t know how to undo it!
‘She jumped!’ Cara howled, clutching at Amory’s leg and preventing him from rushing to look over the side of the balcony, which Finn was actually grateful for. ‘We tried to stop her, your highness, but she just-’ and then the room was full of bellowed cries, gasps and sobs while Cara plead with everybody to help her sister or to tell her that she was okay.
But no one would be able to do either of those things, and when Finn realised that this wasn’t a dream that she’d be able to shake off, and that Miriam Wiley had just leapt to her own death at her own flesh and blood’s behest, Finn hugged her knees to her chest and began to shake with sobs, wondering if being Cara’s next victim could feel any worse, than watching her first victim succumb to her power had been!
*
The kingdom collapsed under its grief for Miriam, and the next few hours were a wet, hysterical blur for Finn, who was passed from one set of hands
to another in Miriam’s chamber as people either comforted her or interrogated her. Of course, she tried time and time again to articulate what had happened and at one point even locked herself into a bathroom so she could attempt to write it down using the pen she’d had in her purse and some rough toilet paper, but every time she tried to speak her body would be wracked with sobs, and when she tried to write it down, her entire arm seized up and attempted to drive the pen into the opposite hand, like a puppet master was controlling it. She managed to move her hand away in time to keep from stabbing herself, but a Charlie-horse like pain exploded in her shoulder joint after that, and did not relent until she’d dropped the pen, surrendering to Cara’s will.
Okay, so Cara’s right- I can’t tell anybody! And I can’t write it down! So… what now?! Finn had tried going to the toilet hoping to rid herself of her tummy pains, but there was nothing inside her but grief and anxiety, so she gave up and stood up, wondering if what she actually needed to do, was vomit. I can’t live with this secret, but I don’t know how to expose it… so what do I do? She washed her hands and regarded herself fearfully in the mirror above the vanity. Run away, so I never have to look any of these people in the eye ever again? Or play along until I find a way to break her hold on me?
Finn still hadn’t decided on a course of action to take by the time she was done with the bathroom, but she let herself out anyway, grimacing when she saw that Cara was still on the bed with Amory, Abigail and Mila, wailing that she really was an orphan now, and that she’d probably end up being homeless too. Playing right into her hands, the bereft king assured her that she was family now and that she belonged with him and his children, and though Finn wanted to cry out that they were all fools for not being able to see right through her, all she could do was suffocate as her throat tightened around her truths, terrified as she tried to imagine all the ways Cara could sneakily use her powers on people, while they were oblivious to the fact that she even had them.
She could make Georgia suicide too, and hide it behind a hug! Finn thought, stomach cramping violently from anxiety, as she gazed around her room, realising how vulnerable they all were- even the Enigmas- now that she’d heard someone say that Paloney had vanished the night before, leaving only a note behind explaining that she couldn’t take the pressure of her royal position any longer, and that she feared Miriam was losing her mind. No one had contested the note because it had been written in Paloney’s handwriting, but what if Cara had forced her to write that before commanding her to swim out into the bay and drown or something? She could convince Bonnie to cut up her beautiful face! She could force Bailey to fall in love with her! Could force Amory to serve her agendas first! And there’s nothing I can do about it but WATCH!
Finn had expected to be put through more interrogations until she’d managed to give a rational account of what had actually transpired, but her tears and lack of contradictions seemingly reinforced Cara’s fictional explanation for what had happened, as did the fact that Miriam had been acting increasingly troubled all week. So although those that had gathered in her room that had known her best were all grief-stricken and shocked by the calamity, not one of them brought up the question of foul play, so the sun had still been hovering over the mountains by the time Miriam’s broken body had been taken away and her death had been officially ruled as a suicide.
After they’d received that terrible closure, and after Finn had been forced to accept a sisterly embrace from Cara that had made her nerves jangle with alarm and disgust, Finn had been escorted from the room and down to the harbour end of the promenade by Bonnie and Mischa, who had been instructed to take her to the stables, and request that one of the Tutelas give her a lift home on horseback by order of the king. Amory had offered to let her stay the night there in the castle, where doctors would be able to monitor her for shock, but she’d begged to be allowed to return home to her mother instead, not only because that was the only place she wanted to be, but because she knew she’d never feel safe around Cara Wiley ever again now that she’d seen what she was truly capable of.
‘I know everything feels awful now Finn…’ Bonnie had whispered, as she’d sat Finn down on a bale of hay before slipping a white crocheted throw that she’d brought from Mimi’s room over her shoulders, while a ghostly-pale Mischa had gone to relay the king’s orders to the stable’s grooms, looking as out of place in her formal wear as everybody else suddenly did as they milled around the promenade, crying and waiting for the king to come out and make some sort of official statement. ‘But if that was what she wanted, and if the life she had was really that hard for her to deal with, then maybe she really is happier now, you know? Like… in a better place?’ Bonnie sniffled, while Finn stared down at the bouquet of rancid-smelling flowers that someone had shoved back into her hand and wondered if soon enough, someone would be saying the same thing about her. ‘I don’t know how true that is, but I know that’s what my folks will say to me so…’
But Bonnie’s well-intentioned words only made Finn bow her head and cry harder. She wished she could believe in God- especially at a time like that- because maybe then she’d be able to believe that Miriam really had gone to a better place. But she didn’t and so, the promise of heaven was an empty one to her.
She’s not in a better place! Finn thought, shivering uncontrollably. She’s dead! She worked every second of her life toward building herself a bright future, and it’s been STOLEN from her by her jealous sister and I can’t fix it! And worse… I can’t help but feel like I’m responsible for it! Like I ruined her marriage plans by allowing that party to happen, because it unleashed more drama than anyone was prepared to handle!
‘Oh… Reeve, hey...’ Bonnie sniffled then as Finn’s breathing hitched. ‘Look this isn’t a good time to-’
‘I know,’ Reeve said huskily, and the sound of his voice made even more tears slip down Finn’s cheeks. ‘I’m not here to- I mean, I know what she’s been through so-’
‘I doubt that’s possible,’ Bonnie said coolly, but she stepped aside. ‘Still, you get one minute, and if you upset her even more-’
‘I won’t,’ Reeve’s voice was huskier than usual, but when Finn lifted her head and saw that his green eyes looked gentler than the last time she’d seen him, her face puckered in a morbid greeting. ‘Oh, Finny...’ Reeve brushed a strand of hair out of her face, but pulled his hand back when he saw her stitches. ‘I… I don’t know what to say.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I mean, I know how much you loved her and how much this must be killing you…’
‘Yeah well…’ Finn hooked her finger around the edge of the throw, so she could wipe away her tears with one of her knuckles as she looked away and croaked: ‘I’m getting a lot of practice at losing people I love lately so…’
‘God…Finn...’ Reeve reached out and cupped her face, turning it so she had to look at him again, oblivious to how much it pained her to do that- and to see that Aaron, Bailey and Jade were hovering closely behind him, watching them like vultures waiting to pick a corpse clean once they were certain it was dead. ‘There’s so much I want to say to you. But now’s clearly not the right time so-’
‘So leave without saying anything else, okay?’ Every syllable made her throat feel like cracking mud, flaking away. All day, she’d imagined how she’d handle bumping into Reeve again, but now that the moment was upon her all she felt was… exhausted. Exhausted and furious with herself for even caring that he was there, in the wake of what she’d just witnessed. ‘Just go home-safe in the knowledge that you can’t make me any more miserable than I already am, regardless of how many dates you parade in front of-’
‘But I don’t want you to be miserable...’ Reeve leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers, making her heart skip a beat in the process. ‘I love you- and you breaking my heart hasn’t changed that!’
‘I didn’t break your heart!’ Finn’s voice sounded strangled and alien to her own ears. ‘I know you think I did, but what happened that night didn’t h
appen to you, okay? It happened to me!’
Reeve rested his forehead in the curve of her shoulder and murmured the next words against her skin like he was reciting poetry: ‘I want to believe that…’ but Finn grimaced, hating him for being selfish enough to want her to have been assaulted because for him, that would be preferable to believing that she’d been unfaithful. She understood where he was coming from, of course, because believing that she really had fought Liam off would make Reeve feel less like he’d been betrayed. Unfortunately for her, however, nothing would change the fact that by not believing her, Reeve had betrayed her, and she was only just now starting to see that. ‘So many people are saying that you’re telling the truth now, and that the prince was kicked out of here for what he did to you-’ he choked then, ‘but then so many others are saying-’
‘I don’t care!’ Finn whimpered, glowering at Jade and Aaron over Reeve’s shoulder as she lifted the bouquet and hurled it Jade’s way, enjoying the way it rolled to a stop in the dirt at Jade’s feet. ‘I did five days ago, and maybe even two hours ago… but I don’t care anymore Reeve. Not about what those bastards are saying about me, and not about us.’
‘What?’ Reeve pulled back, then followed her gaze back to his posse, visibly paling before he turned back to her and protested: ‘But the letter you sent the other day promised you’d keep fighting for me and trying to win back my trust back if-’
‘The letter you didn’t respond to you mean?’ Finn asked caustically. ‘Because you were probably too busy writing to Jade?’
‘I haven’t written a single letter to Jade!’ Reeve cried, and Finn was pleased when she saw Jade, who’d predictably bent down to retrieve the bouquet, pout. ‘And I didn’t write back to you, because I didn’t know what to say, or what to believe!’ He swallowed hard again. ‘Honestly, I wanted to hate you, and I’ve tried to do that all week! But I couldn’t, and that’s why I’m here, you see? That’s why I accepted Jade’s offer: not because I wanted another girlfriend, but because I needed an excuse to see you! To see if what I suspected was true- that I’d take one look at you and realise how much I missed you, and how badly I wanted to forgive you!’
