34.

There's a painful throb in the back of my head, like somebody's repeatedly bumped an open wound, never fully let it heal. Every sense seems to return but my vision, my eyes glued shut. In the distance, water taps methodically against a pipe. A damp, mouldy smell invades my nostrils, something cold and hard presses into my spine. And a voice, reaching into the darkness, soft and warm and familiar. I crawl towards it in the void of my mind, seeking its comfort. "Milena Milena Milena."

Slowly, my vision returns, heavy eyelids peeling open. I'm lying flat on my back, staring at a dark, stone ceiling. Something wet trails down the side of my face, the painful throb only growing. I reach up to touch it, wincing when I see the red on my fingers.

"Milena?"

I groan, shifting my body. My movements are sluggish as I twist, blinking into the darkness. I'm alone in the cell, but beside me, hands reach out through the bars. I blink, trying to clear my blurry vision. My heart drops.

"Elias?"

"You're okay," he breathes. "When they brought you in I thought..." He leans closer. The metal shackles around his wrists have been removed, leaving raw skin, but the brace around his neck is still there, puncture wounds wrapping around his throat. "Can you come closer? I want to check your head."

I drag myself along the ground towards him, blood flow slowly returning to my legs. When I'm a few feet away he grips my upper arms and pulls me closer till I'm leaning against the bars, my head resting close. I stare at him as he reaches for my forehead, fingers gently brushing my stiff, bloodied hair back. His eyes are duller than usual, and there's a bloodied scratch above his nose. I flinch when he brushes the cut.

"Sorry," he murmurs. "It doesn't look like you'll need stitches."

"I'm not sure Cynthia would provide much of a medical service, anyway."

He doesn't laugh at my poor attempt at a joke, doesn't even smile, just stares at me through the metal bars. Behind him, I notice the state of the cell. The walls are charred black. Elias notices me looking. "They injected me with something before I could do any real damage. I-I can't access my gifts. I had the shadow still, but they chucked it in your cell so I couldn't reach it." I notice it in the corner and reach for it. "Don't. It'll burn you, remember?"

I remember the way Eric flinched back when he touched it and draw back, turning back to Elias. "Would it work? If I used it against a hollower?"

He nods. "You'd kill them, but it would also kill you."

He winces. I notice the neck brace is attached to the walls, and he's straining against it. "You should move back. Your neck—"

"It's fine."

"How come you're the only one who gets to worry about injuries?" I ask, reaching out to touch him. My fingers brush his jaw, just above the brace. He leans into my touch, ignoring the way the nails dig in more. "She didn't get Cassia or Eric," I say quietly.

"I told them to go to a village in the east to get help. Malik's village is the closest, but I don't trust any of them. Not anymore. We just have to stall for time till they get back."

"I don't know how much time we have," I murmur. "Cynthia is going to kill me, she almost did but Malik stopped her. I think she wants you to watch."

His eyes darken at the mention of Malik and he closes them for a moment.

"Elias, I'm so sorry."

He opens his eyes, narrows them. "You're sorry?"

"I should've known something was wrong. I should've known what he was planning." My voice chokes in my throat. I was so stupid. "I trusted him." But it was more than that, more than I'm willing to admit.

"You never could have known."

"Eric tried to warn me, he hated him."

"Eric doesn't like anyone. Milena, listen to me." He takes my face in his hands through the bars, forcing me to look at him. "He had us all fooled. This isn't your fault."

"Cynthia said something about Malik wanting revenge for what I did to his brother. Who is his brother?"

Elias narrows his eyes, confused. "I didn't know he had one. He must've been born after Malik moved away."

"But you've never heard about him? From the elders or other villages?"

"Never."

It doesn't make any sense. Whatever I did to Malik's brother had to have been insignificant enough for me to not know about it, but big enough to warrant Malik playing us the entire time and teaming up with the hollowers, his mortal enemies.

"Don't think about Malik now," Elias says, softening his voice.

I stare at him through blurry eyes, wishing more than anything that there were no bars separating us. His thumb brushes a stray tear, caressing my cheekbone. I can't help but lean into his touch, trying to commit his face to memory—the golden flecks in his eyes, his pinched scar, the slightly crooked front tooth.

"I think I'm going to die," I whisper.

His jaw tightens. "Milena—"

"She'll kill me, Elias. She doesn't need me alive like she needs you. I'm purely a revenge plot," I say. "Don't say she won't. Don't lie to me. Please."

He moves closer than I thought possible, so our bodies are pressed against one another against the bars. One of his hands go to mine, intertwining our fingers, the other stays caressing my cheek. This close, I can smell the remnants of smoke on his clothes, and dried blood. His grip on my hand is so tight it almost hurts, and despite where we are, locked in a prison awaiting execution, I can't remember ever feeling so safe. If I squeeze my eyes shut, I can pretend we're in the library, on the coast, in the mountains—anywhere but here.

His hand brushes through my hair as we stare at one another, neither knowing the right thing to say. It feels like hours when he finally parts his lips, his words no more than a whisper. "I'm so sorry, Milena," he whispers.

"For what?"

"I didn't want this life for you. I wanted you to get the happy ending you deserve."

I stare at him. "You deserve one too, you know."

"All I ever wanted was to see you happy."

"Why can't you see it?" I put my hand over his, holding it to my cheek. "You make me happy."

Through the bars he holds me impossibly close and kisses me, without hesitation, without a thought to what could happen, how he could hurt me. And though my body hums, a heavy feeling rests on my chest, because I know he wouldn't risk kissing me if he thought we had a fighting chance.

He tastes like smoke and tears but he makes the world fall away, his hands like fire against my cheeks as he pulls away, only inches, so our foreheads are resting against each other in the small gap.

His eyes search my face, the light returning to them. "I love you, Milena, you should know that."

All my life I craved those words. I thought they'd solve all my problems, that if someone could just love me, everything else would be okay. But the confession doesn't hit like a wave, not like I thought it would, instead, it settles something raging inside of me, fills me with peace. Because, I realise, I've known Elias loved me—it's in the way he looks at me, the tone of his voice, in his touch.

"I do," I whisper.

We stare at each other. His eyes have died down somewhat, but his body still burns. He's so hot his hold almost hurts, but I don't dare complain. Not now, not when he's finally looking at me without a guard up, shielding his true emotions.

"Well isn't this lovely?" I spin in Elias' grasp to face Cynthia, standing at the bars. A few inches behind her is Malik, expression unreadable. "Unfortunately, we have to bring this to a close. We have a little ceremony of our own to attend."

I glare at her.

"Malik, grab the wisper. I can handle Milena." She opens my cell. I shift backwards, against the wall. Then, I remember the shadow. I don't even think twice before darting towards it.

"Milena, no!" Elias shouts.

It's too late, I pick the shadow up and hurl myself towards Cynthia, waiting for the burning sensation, waiting for it to plunge into her chest. But neither happens. Malik is in the cell before I get to close, shoving me backwards and jamming the door shut again. The shadow is still in my hand.

"I... I don't understand," I murmur. "How can I hold it?"

Cynthia looks confused. "She thinks it's the shadow," Malik explains, staring at me.

Cynthia looks between Elias and I. "You mean they really believed that myth was true?" She laughs. "It's just a common silver knife. You're really stupider than I thought."

I blink at her, disorientated. "But it burnt Eric—"

"Silver burns shifters," Cynthia reminds me, she looks at Elias. "But not this one. You need something much... stronger to subdue him."

All the hope seeps from my body as I turn to look at Elias. He looks just as horrified as I feel. How did we not notice? How did we so blindly ignore Eric, accepting anything Malik told us? The one thing we thought we had against them doesn't even exist.

"But... but why would you lie about this?" I direct my question to Malik.

"Well, he needed something to convince you to come after me, didn't he?" Cynthia laughs. "I just can't believe you fell for it."

"How could you do this, Malik?" Elias asks. "How could you side with them against your own kind? What did she say to you?"

"Oh I didn't do anything," Cynthia says. "Your Malik offered me a deal when you came to visit on the island."

I don't have long to revel in my shock. When Malik 'saved' me, was he really making a deal with her?

"Bring them up," Cynthia orders. "Milena first, then the wisper. I'll get the others ready."

She turns, leaving us alone with Malik. He steps towards my cell, eyes on me. I walk backwards until I'm pressed against the wall, nowhere to go. When he reaches me, he grabs my wrists, but I don't fight against him, I stare into his eyes, searching for the Malik who spoke confidence into me back in the forest, the Malik who told me he thought I was worth fighting for. But he doesn't stare back.

"Your village will never forgive you," Elias says. "The elders won't. What you've done is unforgivable."

Malik ignores him.

"Is it worth it?" I ask him. "Whatever you offered her, is it worth all this?"

He pulls me towards him, so close I can feel his warmth. I wish I could read the words in his eyes, understand why he did this, why he's betrayed his own kind, what he thinks I've done to his brother. "It will be."

He pulls me forward, from the cell. I look over my shoulder as he drags me out, back at Elias. He's pressed up against the bars, his neck brace piercing his skin completely. But then we round the corner and I can't see him anymore. Malik leads me above ground, through the castle foyer, outside where the entire village is waiting. He chains me to a pole. That's when I notice his guards. So maybe he made the deal with Cynthia on the island, but that must've been his plan right from the start? How long did the guards protect the village from? Did they help Cynthia take it over?

Everyone stands around watching as Elias is brought up, the neck brace then attached to the pole opposite me. Cynthia stands in the middle and smiles.

"Now, we can finally begin."

~

DISCUSSION:

1. Eric was right all along lol. Did you expect that the shadow was fake?

2. What TV show are you watching right now?

3. What do you think might happen next?