Once again, like the ghosts in the church or graveyard, I felt her presence skating past me, and I felt relief come from her.
“Get the fuck up, 839!” A guard was suddenly in my face, snapping me out of my trance. He grabbed me, tossing me back onto my seat, slamming reality back into my face. I was overwhelmed with the loud sounds of the machines and peoples’ stunned stares. Curiosity. Trepidation. Confusion. I could feel them from everywhere, so many wondering if they really saw that girl come back to life.
Feeling jittery, I peered around as other soldiers dragged her body away, no more than trash to them. My gaze landed on Ash and Lukas, but it was Tracker next to them who twisted my stomach. Most might chalk it up to the last throes of death or some other explanation, but his gaze pierced through me. He showed no emotion, but the way his jaw was set, the way his eyes held mine, it was as if he were saying, “I see you.”
“I need someone to fill this spot,” a guard yelled, twisting me back to my area, not even waiting until the girl’s dead body was completely removed.
Nora stood instantly, moving from the overcrowded press machines to the vacated spot. Silently claiming it, her head bowed, picking up exactly where the girl left off.
The guard huffed, clicking his tongue. “Get back to work! All of you!”
Feeling Scorpion’s shadow brush up behind me, my gaze met his across the room.
“What the hell happened?”
“Later,” I muttered under my breath. I didn’t have the strength to link or explain right now.
He nodded, turning back to his duty.
Nora cleared her throat, shifting next to me, her gaze going up, noticing most of the guards were chatting at the far end.
“You all right?” she muttered.
“Fine.” I kept working, not physically responding to her question.
“You saved my daughter twice now.” Every word was between her teeth, watching the movement of the guards while we worked. “I’m in your debt.”
“She’s my friend. Even if she doesn’t believe it right now.” I tried to still my shaking hands as I threaded my needle. “You all have been in my life for a long time. I’m sorry about Mr. Molnár.”
Nora stiffened, her jaw clenching, holding back her emotion. She dipped her head with thanks, taking several moments before speaking again.
“You and Andris saved Hanna’s life that night. It would be what Albert wanted.” Her voice wavered. “I wanted you to know how much it means to me. And I’m sorry I believed the lies about you. I see clearly now. And I’m sorry for the girl who sat here…if you knew her.”
I didn’t, but sensing her soul, experiencing her pain, felt personal.
My gaze darted to the soldiers, still in conversation.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” she replied.
“What is happening in Leopold? What happened to Rebeka?”
Nora sucked in, only pausing a moment on her stitching.
“Soon after Samhain, after Istvan declared the fae ruler was killed, things changed quickly. Rebeka saw it, but I was too blind to take her seriously. She had been having sleepless nights and episodes since Caden was taken. We were each other’s solace at the time, afraid for our children and what was happening to them, if they were even alive. So, I chalked her paranoia up to exhaustion. She invited me to tea one afternoon and told me she was scared, that Istvan was no longer the man we knew, and if she disappeared, it was because she knew things she shouldn’t.”
“Did she say what?”
Nora shook her head. “No. She said she would not put my life in danger.” Nora swallowed. “The next day she was gone. Just vanished. Her clothes and items were boxed up, her room emptied. That night, Istvan threw a party, announcing his engagement to Olena. He moved her in immediately, as if Rebeka never existed. Of course, I demanded he tell me what happened to my friend, that I would not stand for such a thing.” Nora scoffed, her head shaking. “I thought years of friendship would mean something. As you can see, it did the opposite.”
“That’s why you are here? Because you demanded to know where she was?”
“Partly.” She glanced over at the sentries still grouped up. Without Joska, Samu, and Boyd, the guards seemed less inclined to stomp around us continuously, instead enjoying their gossip time.
“Years ago, Albert was losing money in his factories. A lot. We couldn’t pay for basic necessities, let alone Hanna’s training. We were desperate. Istvan stepped in with a deal to save us. He took possession of the underground space and rights to the building in exchange for a bailout. We agreed, thinking he was our friend. Rebeka and I had been friends for years.” A sadness watered her eyes. “Istvan made sure we succeeded. Albert and I stupidly looked away as money rolled into our bank accounts, while workers and other factories suffered at our expense.” Her lips pursed. “I can’t say I’m proud of my actions now, but we did what we needed to and continued to look away when things shifted at the factory. Albert was never good with money, so I would come in and do all the books. It wasn’t just odd influxes of huge amounts of money in and out, it was people disappearing, factory workers found drowned in the Danube, trucks hauling in things late at night, and screams from deep below the office floor.”
“Did you know what was happening down there?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I see now I purposely kept my head down. Albert kept reassuring me all was fine. He was lying to me to keep me in a safe, protected bubble, but I saw his fear grow each day.” She tied off her thread, starting on a new patch. “When Rebeka disappeared, and Hans and Petra also vanished, Albert confessed he knew what Istvan was doing below his factory, and he said he discovered a secret.”
“What?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. But whatever it was, it greatly changed his view of Istvan. He was petrified of what he would do to us. He wanted us to sneak away over the wall and disappear that night. I said no because of Hanna. At dawn, we were taken from our beds.”
“It must have been terrifying.” I glanced at her. “You don’t know anything else about what Albert knew? Or maybe something you saw?”
Her lips pinched together.
“What?” I asked as we continued to work, talking out of the sides of our mouths.
“I saw a layout of the underground Istvan had built under the factory. At the time, I brushed it off.” She paused as a guard broke from the group. The anticipation waiting for him to pass us knotted up my muscles, the soles of his shoes clipping up the back of my spine as he went by.
Once he was out of earshot, Nora spoke again. “There are three levels under the factory.”
Three? I saw maybe two.
“Not only do they all join each other, but from the top level, the tunnel leads straight to the Ferencvárosi railway station.”
My shoulders tensed at her news. Ferencvárosi was the largest train station in Hungary and was now only used to distribute cargo, heading to all major ports in Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia, Czech, and beyond. How easy it would be to get the pills to the train station, load them, and send them out to your allies without being noticed at all. How far out had they reached by now? How many leaders were in possession of them?
How fucked were we?
“We were taken not just because of Rebeka’s disappearance, but because Albert knew too much. Istvan made sure he was silenced. I’m afraid I am next.” A noise came up her throat. “Please protect my baby girl. She shouldn’t suffer because of our selfishness.”
Hanna could undoubtedly take care of herself, but I nodded in agreement.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her what horrible things Istvan was doing in that factory. The very thing they ignored in favor of protecting their family, for money, was already in their daughter’s system. It could be too late for Hanna as well.
Nora’s information shoved my need to escape this place into overdrive. Every moment, more and more shipments of the pills were being sent out. He wasn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart; it came with the agreement he now commanded your country if he said the word. How long until Istvan had control of the entire East? If he ever found the nectar or discovered it in me, we were screwed. Bringing that girl back today, it was clear my powers were not only coming back with gusto, but no fae spells could block them.
If he somehow procured them from me, he would have the power to take the Unified Nations as well.
We were running out of time.
Boyd and Joska always seemed to rile the soldiers up, get them in a primal state, their anger and hate rubbing off on the rest. The atmosphere was slightly less strained at dinner with Joska, Boyd, and a few others still absent. Even so, no one was suddenly skipping to other tables to say hi or doing anything out of line.