Corrupt

Chapter 17

It takes me a few more moments to decide where to begin. I've learnt more in these past few days than in my entire life.

"When I was taken by the rebels, I... I woke up somewhere totally different from here. I don't remember how I got there. They took me out through some alleys, and I... While we were on the streets, there was a fight. One of the men taking me was killed."

"Oh, gosh, Lynny." She's terrified already, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Just you wait, I think to myself, biting my lip.

"I thought I was going to die then. But then, all of a sudden... There was smoke everywhere. Everywhere. I couldn't see a thing. And now I knew I was going to die. But... I didn't. I was taken... Somewhere. Then the smoke was gone."

"Gone?"

"In a second. I know," I say, noting her disbelieving expression. "It sounds crazy. But it's true, you have to believe me. And then, it turned out, the person who'd taken me... Was Daeva Korren." 

Drea's hand flies to her mouth, eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"Daeva Korren? The Daeva Korren?!" she squeaks. I nod. "Oh my gosh, Lynny, you're so lucky! You must've been terrified!"

"I was. But... Daeva Korren, they aren't... They aren't evil."

"Are you kidding me?" Drea frowns. "Daeva Korren isn't evil? Lynny, I... You know you can tell me the truth. Whatever happened out there... I'm here for you, okay? You can tell me-"

"This is the truth," I say. "Honestly. Daeva spoke to me, and they told me..." Lowering my voice, I stare into Drea's frightened, bewildered gaze, willing her to understand, to believe me. "Nikolas is Daeva's brother. Their real name is Raven Umber. And... They were exiled by him, because they share powers, and-"

"Lynette. Look at me." Andrea turns my face towards hers. Concern swims in her eyes: concern for her best friend, who's surely gone mad, who's surely traumatised and disorientated. "What happened to you out there? This... None of this can be true. What did they tell you?" 

Panic swells in my chest. 

She has to believe me. 

She's the only one I can trust. 

"No. No, they were telling the real truth. They told me... Nikolas exiled them when he rose to power, because he wanted his power to be absolute. He's been telling us - telling all of Vaskouyae - lies, hiding his secrets, hiding Daeva and the rebels. And the rebels... I lived with them, for a few days, and they're not murderers, they're just... They have to survive. They live in the streets, Drea, with the bodies and the rats and the... The bloodstains." I retch at the memory, collapsing with my head between my knees. My stomach whirls, the reality of my narrative only beginning to sink in. I'm going to throw up.

"Lynny- I'll go get someone, wait-" 

"No! No, Drea, stay, please," I beg. "You have to listen to me. I'm okay, I'm just- I need you to listen to me. I need you to believe me. Please." 

She pauses by the door, and I can almost see the thoughts battling in her mind, her intense inner conflict. 

"Drea. I promise... What I'm saying is true. I know it sounds crazy. I know it sounds like I've just been traumatised by what happened out there. I have, maybe, a bit. I think... I think my entire life has changed. But that's why I'm telling you. You need to know. You're my best friend, Drea. You're the only one I can trust." 

With a sigh, she returns hesitantly to my side, not saying a word. I take that as a sign to continue.

"The rebels aren't what we've been taught. They're not horrible people. They've been forced to fight, to survive in horrible places. They lose more friends, more family every day. I saw it. And Daeva... They're... They're terrifying, but... They're funny, and they care for all the others." 

"What do they look like? In real life?" My hand drifts to my neck, remembering Nikolas' fury at their mention. There's hardly anything said about Daeva in Carcaseau; it's a sort of unsaid agreement.

It's a perfect society, after all. 

"They... They're super tall, pale, with dark-red hair, and..." 

"You've gone pink." 

"What?"

"Are they very handsome, then?"

"What? No!" I say, a little too fast. "Well, yes, I suppose so... They always wear a suit, and, somehow, they're never in a mess, but... Stop smiling! It's not like that!"

"Whatever." Though I roll my eyes, I can't stifle a grin. Drea is returning to her usual self, at least. 

"...And they share Nikolas' eyes." 

A moment of silence descends upon the room like a stormcloud. 

"So... Nikolas..." In Drea's eyes, shadows flicker like flames as I watch her desperately attempting to avoid the truth, the truth that is too real, too cruel, too much. "He..." 

"He's not who he says he is," I say simply. That's enough. 

"He's not..." 

"He's not the hero of Vaskouyae. He saved us, once. But now... He's lying to us. To all of us." 

Hearing the facts said in my own voice seems to make it all devastatingly real. My blurs as tears dance across my eyes. 

"But he... He can't be..." 

"I know. I think... I thought the same. But... Just... Know that someone is lying. It might be him. It might be Daeva." 

"I mean, as smitten as you seem to be with your rebel lover-" 

"They're not my lover!" I repeat, my cheeks growing furiously red. Drea smirks, but it lasts only seconds before her face droops back into gravitas. 

"I'm just saying that they're a killer. We know they're a killer. We've been told they're a horrible person, a torturer, a psychopath. But Nikolas never seems..."

"I know." There's nothing more I can say. "Drea, you... Just in case, you can't tell anyone this. Okay? You can't tell anyone anything I've just told you. Not even the girls." 

"I wouldn't do that."

"I know. I just don't... I don't know who to trust anymore."

"Well, you can always trust me."

Our eyes meet, and I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. It doesn't stop tears from streaming down my face once again as Drea pulls me into a hug, but it's comforting nonetheless.

I am not alone anymore.

I can't help but wonder if this is how a revolution begins.