Cloud Piercer

Eighteen

You're the way in.

The words haunt me as I duck beneath the water, scrubbing my skin of the grime and filth that's accumulated over the past day or so. I have no idea what time it is, no idea whether it's even day or night. All I know is that Killian led me here in the middle of the night and I've fallen asleep. I don't know for how long.

After Cas dropped the truth of why the deserters brought me here, we were abruptly interrupted. Trina wanted to see Casimir. He looked worried when he left, telling Jax to take me to the springs. I think of how nervous he'd been to tell me his mother's plan. Did someone know he'd told me? Will he be in trouble? On one hand, part of me is still reeling that Cas has lied to me the whole time I've known him. I understand why, but it still makes me feel unworthy. He knows every piece of me and a large piece of who he is has always been hidden for me. But I believe him when he says he loves me, when he says we're family.

And yet that doesn't make it hurt less.

"Hurry up in there." Jax's voice, low and gruff, sounds closer.

"Don't come in," I say, frantic, eyes on my clothes discarded on the edge.

"I'm not." He's stationed outside the entrance. "Just hurry up."

The water is warm against my skin, bubbling from some underneath cavern. I pat myself dry with the garment Jax left with me, and quickly pull on the clothes from one of the drawers. They look like men's clothing, but the fit is different, like they've specifically been tailored to fit a woman's body. I feel uncomfortable with the way the pants hug my legs every inch down, grateful the tunic covers much of my lower half.

Jax is waiting right where I left him, that ever-present frown etched into his face.

"Took you long enough," he grumbles.

I squeeze the liquid from my hair, holding up my ruined dress. "What should I do with this?"

"I'll throw it away." He grabs it from me, wrinkling his nose as he holds it up. "Come on. It's mealtime."

I follow him through the dark passage. "Mealtime?" I ask. "Do you all eat together?"

"Whoever is around, yes."

"And how many people live down here?" He doesn't respond. "Have you lived here your whole life? Or are you an informant like Cas?"

"Your questions are very annoying."

"Not as annoying as your lack of answers."

"Look." He spins around, eyes angry. "Trina thinks we need you. That's the only reason you're here. Don't forget that. The second she realises we don't, you'll be out on the street."

"You think she'd let me go?" I ask. "Knowing I know your identities?"

He rethinks his statement. "You're right. She'll probably just kill you."

I shudder. But he's only trying to scare me, I know that. And if I show him it worked, he's won. "Cas would never let that happen."

"Casimir wouldn't have a choice." He turns, continuing forward. "Hurry up."

We reach the dining area. It's filled with people eating at tables, at least 50. I spy the room but can't spot Casimir anywhere, nor anyone familiar. Jax shoves a tray in my hands, a bread roll, and some soup on it. Dinner. At least a day must've passed. Has Cadence gone looking for me? She'd always visit my cabin when I called in sick, bringing warm soup.

Jax leaves me hovering alone in the door, taking a seat at one of the tables. I take a few moments to take in the room. There are at least 50 people in here, spread across four long tables, a fifth in the corner, empty. They appear to be a range of ages, congregating with others close to their age. I only spot one who looks below the age of 10. It's jarring seeing everyone there. When I imagined the deserters, I visualised them as dark, mysterious, faceless people. But they all wear normal clothes. Aside from the fact that the women wear trousers, they could be mistaken for any human village.