Wicked Games

Chapter 30

LISA

I stand and watch Roseanne, my heart shattering. She never turns to look at me, never speaks, never acknowledges my presence. It's as though I've vanished out of existence.

Of all the things we've done to each other. All the times she's poisoned me, I've stabbed her, tied her up, the injuries and paralysis she's given me. This... this hurts more than all of them. I'd take a knife to the gut over this. How did we get to this place?

Her golden curls bounce around her head as she potters around her brother, crushing herbs and mixing ingredients. Her hands work in a rhythm of mixing, crushing, selecting. Years of experience and expertise enabling automatic movements. She mops his brows, tips potions down his throat, checks his pulse. Over and over. And never once does she turn around. I lose track of time, but eventually a hand finds my arm and pulls me away.

"Did you know?" I ask Hyeri.

She wrings her hands, her shoulders sagging. "She asked me not to tell you. I'm sorry."

I should rip a rib out and cut her throat with it. But I don't. I don't do anything. I follow Hyeri in silence, wondering how the hell everything went so wrong. We find Jisoo outside the observatory.

"I sealed each map piece in a separate bag and placed them in two different rucksacks. The Border Lord's soldiers have taken his body. I don't think there was a second in command. None of them know what to do."

"It's not our problem," I say.

"Everything okay?" Jisoo says.

"Not even close to okay. But I don't want to talk about it."

"Let's get out of here," Hyeri says.

Jisoo hands me a ring. The Border Lord's ring, gold signet with a ruby. I ball my fist around it.

"Thank you," I say to her. "I'd usually take his head and give it to the queen, but given our revelations this afternoon..."

"I figured as much," Jisoo says. "Is Roseanne—"

"Staying put."

"I see."

We leave the palace via the rear exit and through the gardens in the open air. There are soldiers running scattered like ants in every direction. Somewhere in the distance a siren rings. But no one stops us, no one pays us any attention.

"Lisa? Can you hear me?" Jennie says in my ear.

I press my finger to my ear to make her voice clearer. Hyeri and Jisoo follow suit as we make our way through the gardens.

"Loud and clear," I say.

"You need to get to the derelict station. Do you remember on the map there was a disused station to the right of the second palace?"

"I do," Jisoo says and heads off in another direction.

"Get to the station. You'll see us."

Jisoo is way ahead of us by the time Hyeri and I set off after her. If I strain, I can make out the overhead lines. The further I get away from the palace, the further I want to be. I need to get home and wash this place off my skin.

We enter the station. The station door hangs off the hinges, the roof is caved in, and as for the train tracks... Gods... broken sleepers and fissures crack the metal rails. There's a train parked on the rails, but it doesn't seem any more usable than the station. Half of the windows are smashed. There's silvery graffiti smeared down the outside of the carriage that looks like some kind of magic residue. The roof tiles are peeling off, and there's a hole in one of the carriage walls.