Unseen

Chapter 16

Violet had assumed it would take hours for Yvette to respond to the message she had passed on through the guards—if she responded at all. Yvette had to be busy, after all, doing whatever she did to run the Couvillion Syndicate—whatever that was. But after less than ten minutes, Violet heard footsteps on the stairs.

At the sound of those footsteps, Violet had to stop herself from instinctively disappearing. This it seemed like such a good idea a few minutes ago. Now she wondered what she had been thinking. Would Yvette be angry at her for interrupting her work?

Yvette reached the top of the stairs. "The guards said you wanted to see me?"

Violet nodded. The words had fled her mouth.

"Did you rethink what I said yesterday?" Yvette looked tense all of a sudden. "You want to leave after all?" A slight pause. "That's great. It's the right choice. I'll get you set up with money and an ID as soon as possible."

"No!" The panicked word leapt from Violet's mouth, breaking her silence.

Yvette looked strangely relieved at that, although she hid it quickly. "Then what is it?"

Violet paused. She had forgotten how to speak again.

"Please, if there's anything you need, tell me," Yvette urged.

"I... I was wondering..." Violet's fingers twisted together. "I thought you might want to... watch TV together for a while."

Yvette stared at her blankly.

"Or whatever you like," Violet added hastily. "We don't have to watch TV. I just thought... you said you don't have anyone."

"I was exaggerating," Yvette said, with a sharp defensiveness that told Violet she hadn't been.

"And you said you felt like you were a prisoner, like PERI kept me prisoner," she said. "Like you never had any choice about what you would do."

"That's not what I—"

"You offered me freedom," Violet said in a rush, before she could lose her nerve. "I thought... I could share it with you. Or at least help you be less lonely." Her nerves failed her; her gaze flitted from Yvette's face and lighted on the floor. "Since you don't have a target for me yet. I thought... maybe this was something else I could do."

Yvette didn't say anything. Violet didn't risk looking up at her face. She was afraid of what she might see.

She had never felt this nervous on a mission night.

"Maybe I was wrong," she said in a whisper. Her face felt like it was on fire.

"I didn't offer you freedom," Yvette said. "I offered you a few trinkets to distract you from your captivity."

"But they're good," said Violet. "Being here is... fun. Relaxing. It makes life brighter."

"Really? You didn't look like you were enjoying yourself the last time I came up."

Violet still didn't know how to explain the nagging dissatisfaction, so she just shook her head. "How long has it been since you relaxed?" She asked. "How long has it been since you've had fun?"

She had a feeling it had been a long time. She didn't know how she knew, but she did.

Yvette's long hesitation confirmed her intuition. "I have a lot of work to do," she finally said. "I don't have time to watch TV up here."

Violet's cheeks burned harder. She should have known better than to think this was a good idea. She should have known better than to think she could do anything useful except what she was made for.