“How are you here?” I ask, looking between the sigil on his chest and his face several times. “Why are you here?”
Mads sighs, maintaining the distance between us. Even in the dim light I can see the familiar warmth in his eyes, behind the conflict.
“My family fell on hard times awhile back. My father asked High House for reprieve, but it came at a cost—my secrecy in aiding the Bards,” Mads admits, his voice soft. “It was always my job to report the goings-on in Aster to High House.”
There is a yawning distance between us. So much has changed since the time when I thought we were two mere ordinary people.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I almost did, more times than you’ll ever know.”
“But you didn’t.”
Mads catches his lower lip between his teeth. “I couldn’t. Only my family could know.” His voice lowers. “I suppose I just thought one day you would be…”
His words taper off into a heavy silence. We both know how the sentence was supposed to end.
“How much did you know?” I ask finally. “About my ma? About me?”
“I swear, I knew nothing,” Mads says. I always thought he was a terrible liar, but now I’m not so sure. After everything I’ve been through, my trust is at a premium. “Even when they refused to give their blessing for my proposal, they wouldn’t explain further.”
“They refused?” I frown.
Mads’s face is embarrassed as he rubs the back of his neck. “That was something I was actually planning to never share with you.” He pauses. “All my life I was told I was doing the right thing. I thought I was building a life I could be proud of. I know it’s a feeble excuse.”
“We all thought we were doing the right thing,” I mutter. Didn’t I hide my truth from Mads all along too?
“That doesn’t make it okay.” Mads shakes his head. “I should have been there for you. I should have listened to you. I should have helped you. Instead…” He lets out an uneasy breath. “I don’t know. Maybe I couldn’t have changed anything. But I didn’t even try, and I’m going to regret it the rest of my life.”
“What changed your mind?” I ask, peering up at him, tears beginning to slip from my eyes.
“I thought you had run off to the wasteland,” Mads says. “It wasn’t until Imogen told me what happened that I realized you were here.”
I blink. “Imogen?” I ask. “How do you know Imogen?”
“We’ve been friends for a while, ever since I started in High House’s employ,” Mads replies. “When I found out you were here, I asked her to keep an eye on you.”
I remember what Imogen said, back during my ordeal in the labyrinth. He told me to watch out for you. To make sure you were okay.
It was Mads.
“She was the one who put me in touch with your friend,” Mads continues. “She’s been a huge help.”
“My friend?”
“Your trainer. The tall girl? With the amber eyes? I think her name was Kendra?”
“Kennan.” I decide not to linger on the specifics of my relationship with her.
“She told me everything. Some of it was … difficult to hear.” Mads winces. “But you started something just by refusing to believe the lies. Kennan saw it. And now so do I.”
I frown. “See what, exactly?”
“Everyone in Montane is watched closely. You know that,” Mads says. “Turns out, people like me who do the watching wind up destroying people like you, who dare to ask questions. I don’t ever want to be a part of anything that could hurt you.”
Slowly, as if approaching a wounded wild animal, Mads kneels in front of me and takes my hands without hesitation. He doesn’t even look at the dark blue veins, his eyes locked on my face. The tenderness in his expression and the touch of his large, callused fingers are achingly familiar. I’ve missed him so much.
“So, Freckles…” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “Ready for a prison break?”
* * *
I have to admit, in all the scenarios I considered, not once did I expect Kennan and Mads to team up to break me out of High House.
I can’t help grinning, and a memorable smile touches the corners of Mads’s lips. The last time I saw it in earnest was when we were kids, sneaking into his mother’s kitchen to steal some freshly baked cookies. Kieran fell ill the next day, and for a long while, I foolishly thought my cookie thievery was the reason why.
The bittersweet memory fades as Mads gives my hands a gentle squeeze and stands, holding a finger up to signal me to wait. Not that I have much choice. I don’t think I can walk without assistance. The veins in my legs sear into me with every movement.
Mads moves to the door, winking slyly at me over his shoulder. The guards don’t pay him any mind until he balls his hand into a fist and knocks the nearest one out with a single, rapid punch. The second guard barely has time to react before Mads spins around, kicking him in the gut. The impact sends him stumbling back and his head connects with the wall. Mads flinches at the sound it makes, but his attention quickly diverts back to me.
My jaw drops. “Who are you?”
“I’ve gotten into a scuffle or two in my time here.” Mads grimaces. “Was it impressive?”
“Not if we get caught,” I say. He chuckles and helps me to my feet.
“We’d better hurry, then,” Mads says.
I shuffle beside him, biting my lip to try to ward off the pain radiating through my body. The dark veins seem to stretch the more I exert myself, constricting my every movement.
“Mads, I’m going to be honest…” I wince as each step becomes more painful than the last, and we haven’t even reached the exit to the cell block. “I don’t know how long I can last.”
“It’s only a bit farther,” Mads replies. “Don’t give up on me, Freckles.”
The faith in his voice gives me enough of a boost to keep going. The prison level consists of a hall of iron-barred cells identical to mine, constructed from rough stone and lit by flickering torches. It is quiet and deserted, unlike the sanitarium. The implications of that make me queasy.
At the end of the hall, Mads produces a ring of keys from his belt and fits one into the door.
“So … all those hunting trips?” I ask.
“I was here.” Mads nods tightly. “I never meant to lie to you.”
My mind goes back to the night of the ball, when I followed Imogen. I’d dismissed my recognition of him, no longer trusting my own mind. But it was Mads. He was here, trying to watch out for me despite everything.
“It’s all right, Mads,” I say, with a gentle squeeze on his forearm.
He’s not entirely reassured, but doesn’t argue as the lock clicks and the door swings open.
“I’m definitely not going to be welcome back here after this.” His mouth twists.
“You and me both.”
Mads shifts my arm on his shoulder and helps me forward.
“I know the way out of the castle, but it’s going to be tough getting past everyone unnoticed.”