“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, and he sniffed. I turned my head to look at him, my brow furrowed. “For—for giving her that chance. You didn’t know it would end like this. And Lila—” His voice caught in his throat, and he cleared it. “She didn’t feel any pain. It happened too fast. She probably didn’t even realize...” He wiped his eyes. “All she wanted was to leave. She died happy.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, either, so instead I took his hand. He didn’t pull away.
“You gave me a second chance with her,” he said. “And the past few months...they’ve been a gift. I got to say everything I wanted to say. I got to tell her how much I loved her and how much she meant to me. But she stayed because of me. She let Daxton catch her because of me. I was always holding her down, and I’m glad—” Another sob escaped him, and it took him a moment to regain his composure. “I’m glad she finally had the courage to leave me. Shedeserved to be free.”
“She didn’t want to leave you,” I said softly. “She loved you, and she made sure I knew how important protecting you was.”
“She was always trying to protect me, but she should have been protecting herself.” Greyson turned to me, his eyes red and puffy. “I don’t care what promises you made her. Promise me you won’t make the same mistake.”
My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard. “I can’t make you that promise. I’m sorry.”
He closed his eyes wearily and leaned back against the headboard. Another minute passed, and at last he whispered, “We’re going to kill him.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We are.”
* * *
I waited for the news of my death to hit the media, but it never did.
Part of me was glad. Even though Benjy and Knox knew better than to believe everything they heard on the news, I didn’t want to give them any inkling that they might have lost me. Not before I could explain what had happened.
But the other part of me—the part that had given Daxton’s speech and knew that if news broke that I’d mysteriously died only hours later, everything I’d said would be thrown into question—wished Daxton had crowed about it fromthe rooftops. He certainly did about everything else. The camera crew even had an interview with him and the former Minister Bradley the day after Lila’s death, and Bradley was all too pleased to discuss how the Ministers of the Union had felt that, during this time of war, it would be best for the country if the Prime Minister could bypass the usual government channels. They left the lingering impression that the dissolution of the Ministers of the Union was temporary, but Greyson and I knew better.
Though we were nearly always in the same room, I gave Greyson as much space as he needed. Sometimes he sat in bed with me and read aloud, and sometimes he sequestered himself on the far side of the room, not saying a word for hours at a time. We watched the news together as much as we could stand, but try as I might, it was impossible for me to read between the lines the way Knox could.
Every morning I woke up with my stomach in knots, certain Daxton would take one look at me and know I wasn’t the real Lila, but over the course of the next several days, I didn’t see him at all. Greyson and I discussed plan after whispered plan of how to take him out. While he slept, at dinner, bribing a guard for a gun—there were any number of ways we could do it, but nothing was a guarantee. And the more distance Daxton kept between us, the more impossible it became. As terrified as I was of having to once again step into Lila’s shoes, I was more than willing to take that risk if it meant getting a clean shot at Daxton. But soon enough, it became painfully obvious that he might not give us that chance at all.
Four days after Lila’s death, I woke up to a crackle in my ear. “Kitty?”
I blinked in the darkness. It was after midnight, and I could hear Greyson’s soft snores from the sofa bed. So where had the voice come—
“Knox?” I gasped. Greyson’s snoring stopped.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” he said, sounding relieved. Greyson sat up and turned on his reading lamp, giving me a questioning look.
“The earpiece,” I said, tapping the cuff. “Knox is on the other end.”
While Greyson fumbled with his, I hugged my pillow and tried not to grin too hard. It had worked. It had really worked.
“Are you okay? Is Benjy all right?” I said, the words tumbling out of me in a rush.
“We’re fine,” he said. “I don’t want to give you too many details, just in case, but—we’re fine. I’ve put Benjy in charge of another division, and he’ll be moving out soon.”
My enthusiasm deflated. “But—you’re supposed to watch his back.”
“I am,” he said. “He’ll be safe, I promise. Safer than the rest of us still in Elsewhere. But talk to me—tell me what’s been going on.”
Any lingering joy I had left over making contact with him dried up completely. He didn’t know. Of course he didn’t—how could he?—but in my excitement, I hadn’t thought about being the one to deliver the news. I didn’t think I could, and I hesitated, trying to force the words to come together.
“Lila’s dead.” Greyson’s voice joined our conversation, and I looked at him in shock. He stared at his hands.