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. Should we&  I motion at the girl bound by ropes to the rack. Should we free her?Laylen looks skeptical but slowly makes his way over to her.I follow closely at his heels.Thegirl looks dead, eyes sealed, her body still. Is she& is she alive? I ask Laylen as examines her.He assesses the ropes around her wrists and ankles. Yeah, I can hear her heart beating. Should we&  I move my hand for one of the ropes that s around her wrist. Should I untie her?Laylen hesitates then nods, extending his hand for the rope around her other wrist.The rack isn tstretching her limbs to their full capacity, but her skin is pulled tight and shows each one of her bones.Her curly black hair is matted and looks like it hasn t been washed in ages.Her blue dress is fadedand frayed and she isn t wearing any shoes.She remains still as Laylen and I untie her wrists and ankles and she doesn t budge even whenshe s free, her eyes staying shut as she breathes in and out softly. Maybe she s  I start to say, but then the girl s eyes open.She looks at us then pulls her arms in and bends her knees as she leaps from the rack and backsherself up into the corner where an array of whips hang from the wall. It s okay, Laylen says with his hands up in front of him. We re not going to  She lets out ablood curdling scream and Laylen rushes for her. Son of a&  Laylen grabs her as gently as possibleand covers her mouth with his hand. We re not going to hurt you, but you have got to stopscreaming.The girl s bright yellow, cat-like eyes scan the room, the rack, the stairway that goes to a door,panting profusely, then land on me.She grabs onto Laylen s arms and draws them down so his handuncovers her mouth. It s you, she says in amazement. I can t believe it. Yeah, it s me. I give Laylen an is-she-crazy look and he shrugs, unsure. You think you know her? he asks her.She nods, slipping from his arms and taking a step toward me, but Laylen gets nervous and placeshimself in between us. She s the one he talks about all the time.The girl with the violet eyes thestar. Stephan told you about me? I ask, peering over Laylen s shoulder at the girl.She glances apprehensively at the top of the spiral stairs and then nods. Yes, the man with thescar. Why are you here? Laylen wonders. Does he have you trapped?She cocks her head to the side, examining me over with her unnatural yellow eyes. I m the halffaerie, half Keeper he needs for his plan, so he told me I had to live here. She motions at the torturechamber we re in. This is my home where I was raised. She turns around in a circle, looking ateverything. But it s okay&  she says it as if she s trying to convince herself. Because I m hisdaughter.Chapter 15Time freezes.No one moves, talks, breathes.At first I think I ve heard her wrong, but then I seethe shock on Laylen s face and realize it must be correct, which leaves me wondering if Aislin andAlex know about her. No, there s no way. Laylen shakes his head in denial. Aislin and Alex don t have a sister. I m only their half-sister. She talks strangely, as if conversing is foreign to her. And they don tknow about me.My father keeps me hidden all the time.Down here. She gestures at the rack. Thisis kind of like my bed. She says it as if she s oblivious to the fact that it s so warped and wrong. Of course he does, Laylen mutters, disgusted. Why would he keep you hidden? I ask, moving around to Laylen s side. Keepers aren t supposed to mix like that with fey, Laylen explains to me, his attention focusedon the girl untrustingly. There s something about the blood& too much mythical creature on one sideand not enough on the other that creates an imbalance. He discretely nods his head at the girl andlowers his voice. It makes things a little off. Yeah, I can see that, I say, then turn to the girl. What s your name?She sticks out her hand awkwardly to shake Laylen s hand. I m Aleesa.Laylen shakes her hand politely. Nice to meet you Aleesa.I eye over Aleesa s yellow eyes, dark hair, sharp features and something doesn t add up. Youdon t look like them.Alex and Aislin, I mean. Oh, I get my looks from my mother.She was fey, she says, like it explains everything. Many of the fey have bright yellow eyes and dark hair like hers, Laylen adds. Nicholas was anexception. So Stephan s your father, I state still in a state of disbelief.She nods, tucking one of her tangled curls behind her ear. I am the half-faerie, half-Keepersacrifice he needs.I am what will bind the fey to him.My eyes widen. The sacrifice. Yep, she says simply with her hands behind her back as she rocks forward on her heels. How long have you been down here? I ask.Her face twists with complexity. I m not sure.Forever, I think.I shudder, feeling sorry for her. What about your mom? Where s she? Oh, she s gone, she says with a shrug. She left me because I m an abomination.I thought my life had been bad, but I think hers tops mine.At least I wasn t locked up and torturedfor god sakes and it proves just how morbid Stephan is; to do this to his own daughter. Laylen can I talk to you for just a second? I back toward the tunnel, motioning him to follow me.He does, looking confused. What s wrong? What are we going to do with her? I whisper, glancing at Aleesa. We can t just leave here.He looks back at Aleesa, who s fiddling with a hole in the hem of her worn-out dress. I guesstake her with us. He shrugs. But is she& I don t know& She seems a little off.What if she flips out on us or something? Ifeel bad for saying it, but it needs to be discussed, if nothing else to prepare ourselves. I could flip out on you and yet you re still with me. Yeah, but you re you.I trust you more than I trust anyone. Maybe you shouldn t.I sigh and press a kiss to his scruffy cheek. We ll take her with us.But just keep an eye on her,okay? I start to head back for Aleesa, but pause, an emotion arising inside me, one that I think meansLaylen and I are becoming good friends and that I truly care about him. And I ll always trust you,Laylen.I ll trust you forever.***Getting Aleesa to leave with us is a difficult task.She keeps saying over and over again that sheisn t allowed to go anywhere outside of the torture chamber.But after some persuading, she finallyagrees.We go up the staircase to the door that Aleesa tells us leads to the inside of the castle.When weapproach the top, I realize just how bad my palms are sweating. Okay, Laylen says as he grabs the doorknob. Everyone be on guard.I nod, clutching onto the sword handle, my legs shaking like a fawn learning how to walk.Laylencracks the door open and withdraws a small knife out of the back pocket of his jeans as he looks out.Then he lowers the knife and turns to us. It seems the secret entrance has led us to yet anothersecret entrance. Really? I ask as we cautiously step out into a slender hallway. Are we inside the walls?Laylen traces his fingers along the wood paneling. I think so.Aleesa hums quietly behind me as we continue down the hallway.The ceiling is low and thewalls are decorated with childish art.I sketch my fingers along the drawings of stick people, houses,flowers.Why do I remember this? Each one gives me a sense of familiarity.Then suddenly it comes violently rushing back to me, a memory once forgotten, or erased from mymind.Alex and I as children, running up and down the hall, drawing on the walls, laughing,playing.I can almost hear the giggles haunting the hallway now. You okay? Laylen asks me.I pull my hand away from the wall. Yeah.Sorry, I was just spacing off [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]