“Caden doesn’t know anything.”
She huffed derisively. “Please, he’s the son of a powerful general and is being groomed to take over.”
“I know him. He doesn’t know.”
“How do you really know anyone?” She shook her head at me like I was naïve. “Everyone keeps secrets. Even from those they love.”
Her statement felt full of meaning, but it scraped at the doubt building in my gut. Since I left HDF this last time, turning my back on everything I knew, even the boy I loved, so much could have changed. Istvan would certainly use Caden’s anger to turn him even more on me. Maybe Caden couldn’t kill me, but he’d be fine with testing and killing fae.
My stomach twisted, not sure how to handle the fact that Caden was here as a prisoner. A situation I forced on him, but the other way was not an option for me, though he might disagree. I had to try and show both Hanna and Caden the truth—everything we were taught was wrong.
“I want to come tonight,” I stated. “Who knows, I might have insight I don’t know about.”
“That’s up to the lieutenant.” She started to turn. “Though if you do, I’d bring the legend. He seems good when you need a distraction.” She winked at me.
“Have you seen him?”
“I saw him storm out of here this morning. Haven’t seen him since. And he’s not someone you can miss down here.” She twisted, glancing over her shoulder. “Or anywhere.”
Birdie dashed out of the room, her long white-blonde hair swishing down her back. She was like being around a hummingbird. A murderous one. She fluttered in and out of your life at transient speed, but you couldn’t help feeling awed and a little fortunate you got that time.
And lived.
Following the connection I had to Scorpion, I found my other ex-friend being held in an old furnace room. Two fire bulbs flickered above the mainly empty concrete, windowless space.
Scorpion sat in a chair near the door, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, a gun on his lap. Across from him, handcuffed to a pipe on the cold ground, was Hanna. Leaning against her arms, she tried to turn as much as she could away from him, her lids closed, but I knew she wasn’t fully asleep.
My entrance startled Hanna, her body flinching, going on defense. Seeing me enter didn’t ease her; it only made her grit her teeth more, her eyes sparking with fury and disgust.
“I thought you were difficult, but your friend here is a grade-A pain in the ass,” Scorpion grumbled under his breath. He hadn’t even looked up at me, probably sensing my presence before I even entered.
“Same to you, fairy,” she shot back.
“I told you. I’m not a fucking fairy.” He pulled his legs in, leaning closer, snarling at her, both glaring at each other. “My family roots are Aos sí. Unseelie.”
“What’s the difference?” She rolled her eyes.
To them, there was a huge difference. It was like saying Hungarians were the same as Australians. It was who they were, their race, beliefs, and where their powers stemmed from. Humans tend to think Seelie, meaning light, were good, and Unseelie, dark, were bad. But that wasn’t true at all. Queen Aneira was a good example of that. Just one used to live more in the light, and the other prefers to slink through the dark.
“What’s. The. Difference?” Rage boiled under Scorpion’s skin, his hands flexing with aggravation. “Fuck, this one has a mouth on her. One that won’t do her any favors.”
“Certainly not for you, fairy,” she spat.
Scorpion stood up, and I darted between them. “Okay... calm down.” I pushed at his chest, his shoulders rising, his lip curling, his eyes set on the figure behind me. “Scorp, take a breath.” He didn’t respond; his ire was still directed over my shoulder. I took in how tired he looked and realized he was the one who had been guarding her since we first arrived, which was more than fourteen hours ago. “Have you been here the whole time?”
His lips curled, but one shoulder shrugged.
“You haven’t left this room since this morning?” Again, he didn’t respond, but with us, he didn’t need to. I pointed at the door. “Take a break. Get a drink and something to eat. Has she eaten?”
“She threw it in my face,” he grunted, his attention flickering down to the stain on the ground. It was an oil splotch from the potato soup. “Next time, I’ll force it down her throat.”
“I dare you, fairy-boy,” she seethed, the cuffs scraping against the metal.
“Don’t tempt me, blondie.” He stepped forward, bumping into me.
“Go!” I pointed to the door. “Take a walk. I got it.” Scorpion’s eyes dropped to me, and, again, without saying a word, I felt his concern. “Believe me, I’ll be fine. She’s latched to a pipe, but also, I always kicked her ass in training.”
She snorted with a derisive breath.
His gaze went to her, taking in a breath, contemplating before his head dipped. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He pointed at her. “You do one thing, you even blink at her wrong, and I will use your bones to pick food out of my teeth.”
Her scowl followed him as he stomped out of the room, the door slamming, echoing the quiet, awkward silence inside.
Her hatred turned on me, her jaw locking down.
Blowing out, I grabbed the chair, pulling it closer.
“And here I didn’t think Scorpion liked anyone.” I sat down.
“And as usual, every man is bending over and pining for you, fae or human doesn’t seem to matter.” A pointed, spiteful tone curled around her words.
“What does that mean?”
“Please.” She glowered at me. “Like you didn’t notice. Actually, knowing you, you didn’t.” She shook her head. “Every guy you got near was drawn to you like they were in a trance.”
The term stabbed into the back of my neck like a needle. Drawn. It was the word they all used, like they had no choice.
“Every guy in our training group had a crush on you. You know Aron was secretly in love with you, right? Bakos adored you. Caden worshipped you. Princes, lords, nobles. Fae don’t seem immune to you either... even Istvan let you get away with almost anything.”
“Istvan?” A bubbled laugh came up from my throat. “He wants me dead.”
“Gods, you really didn’t see it.” She stared at me with bewilderment. “What makes me mad is it would be so easy to hate you, but I can’t. I considered you a friend. Someone I trusted.”
“I am your friend.”
“No,” she replied, emotionless, shifting her back flat against the wall. “You’re not. You chose them. You chose fae over us!” Her voice rose, grief watering her eyes. “Your friends, family. Caden. You turned on us that night. You killed Elek!”
“I-I didn’t.” I didn’t actually kill him, but I was the cause of his death in the alley.
“You let them brainwash you. Erase everything you used to stand for and believe.” Her head shook. “I-I don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t.” I rubbed my face, frustration pinching my nerves. “It wasn’t until I was outside the walls of HDF, fighting for my life in Halálház, that I realized HDF is the one brainwashing. The world is so different outside those gates, and we aren’t truly trained for any of it. Fae are not what you think.”