broken thieves

fourteen

"I know what you're thinking, Aurora," Blake says eventually. His eyes meet mine for a single second before he gets out of his chair, stepping across the room to pick out a flower from a vase. A red rose. "And you better stop."

"You're not a mind reader, Blake," I say. My chest still feels heavy, but when I felt like I was drowning before, I'm now able to breathe a little bit easier.

"It's all over your face," he replies.

I swallow down the blockade in my throat, pressing my cold knuckles to the burning skin of my cheeks.

"Blake's right," Zavier says, folding his arms across his strong chest. "None of us are going to let you hand yourself in to the Drakan's, so you might as well stop thinking that that's where you're going to end up."

"I certainly won't let you," Blake says. My eyes travel over to him and I watch him for a short while. He still looks pissed, and I can't exactly blame him. I would probably be mad if the roles were switched, if he were the one planning on disappearing for good.

But I can't help it. This is where Enoch and Chelsea belong. They don't deserve to be trapped in cells, to be beaten and tased and tortured purely so that I can stay safe. My mother is with the Drakan thieves and is desperate for me to be with her.

The right thing to do would be to give myself up. Then everyone would be happy.

My happiness shouldn't matter.

"How else are we going to get to Chelsea and Enoch?" I ask. "They shouldn't have to suffer any longer if we know how we can save them."

"It's not happening," Danielle says with an air of finality. "I would do anything to bring Chelsea and Enoch back, but the only exception to that is losing any more of my thieves." She leans forward in her seat, looking me straight in the eyes.  "You're staying with us, and you're not to go out by yourself at any time. In fact, I'm not even sure if I'll let you go on raids from now on."

"What?" I ask incredulously. "I get that you're trying to keep me safe, but you can't lock me away in this village forever. Don't you think I've been locked away from the world for long enough?"

"Aurora, if you go to the Drakan's, you'll be locked away for the rest of your life. And you won't be in a village; you'll be in a cell. Is that what you'd want?" She asks intensely.

I can't breathe again. I have to lean back in my seat, trying to ignore the spots that swarm my vision, but the walls are closing in on me as if I'm already in that cell she's talking about.

I was trapped for the first seventeen years of my life. Now I might be trapped for as many years as I have left. Will I ever live a life where every choice I have to make isn't already made for me?

Blake makes his way over and sits beside me again, seemingly a lot calmer than he was a few minutes ago. He takes my hand in his again and grazes his thumb along my knuckles, comforting me to no ends.

I don't ever want to leave him. Or Danielle or Maeve or any of the others. I couldn't leave Posie. I couldn't leave my brothers and my Dad. I desperately want to hand myself in to the Drakan's, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't tear me up inside.

"I'm just saying, if it means Enoch and Chelsea get to come home, I'm willing to do whatever Simon wants," I say calmly.

Zavier shakes his head. "I don't think this is what only Simon wants," he mutters, glancing between the three of us.

I let out a shuddering breath. "It's my mother," I say, speaking the words out loud. "She's the one pulling the strings as Simon's second-in-command. She's the one who wants me."