Under the Willow Root

Chapter 48

"It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." ― Phillip K. Dick

I crawl out of the water with Sadra's help, shivering uncontrollably. Blood runs down my arms from several scrapes. My forehead stings. I put a hand to my head and realize my wig is missing. It must have torn loose underwater.

"Where's Luca?" Sadra asks. "Is he alright?"

"Yes," I gasp, still shaking. "At least, he was. He was..."

"I know," Sadra murmurs.

There's a strange tightness in my chest. I can't reconcile my gentle, goofy Luca with the killer I just saw. I've never once seen him use his knife for anything but cutting his meat--until now. It never even crossed my mind that he could use it for anything else, though I knew he had all the same training that the Prince had.

Luca's head bursts through the surface and he hauls himself out of the water, shaking drops out of his eyes. His mouth is a flat, straight line and his brows are drawn together. He looks...dangerous. Not like my Luca. I back away from him uneasily.

"Let's go," he says shortly.

Luca leads us through what seems like miles of dark, twisting tunnels. He doesn't look at me, and I don't speak to him though I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the back of his head. Ismeni has been staring at me ever since I ditched my wig, but she hasn't said anything yet. I really hope she doesn't, though I can't help feeling pleased that she's finally recognized me. If Luca doesn't know the truth about me, that's definitely not how I want him to find out--especially now.

Of course, since it's exactly what I don't want to happen, Ismeni finally does confront me.

"Who are you?" she asks, grabbing my arm and turning me around to face her.

"Sasha," I say, barely resisting the urge to put my knuckles to my forehead and look away. "We don't have time for this."

"We will make time for this," Ismeni snaps. "You've stolen something precious to me, and I want to know who you are."

Now I'm just lost. "I don't understand."

"Liar," she says, clearly furious. "That's the body of my thrall Blue that you're wearing. Who are you?"

"What?" I stare at her in complete astonishment. "What in the name of all the stars in the sky are you talking about?"

"My husband's sister has high standing in the House of Light and Shadow," she says threateningly. "She told me all about how spiritwalkers invade the bodies of compromised thralls. So who are you and why did you take my Blue from me?"

I can't help it. I laugh in her face.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," I inform her. "And neither does Cimari, assuming she wasn't lying to you. We really don't have time for this."

"We're not finished," Ismeni says hotly as I turn away. She tightens her grip on my arm. "Answer me! Cimari saw Blue die. She cleansed and destroyed Blue's body. How did you get your hands on it?"

"Hah," Sadra says. "Is that what she told you?"

"No one believed your lies," Ismeni says primly. "As if anyone could believe that a sister of the House would purposely destroy a thrall."

"That's why she was sniffing around the Temple?" Sadra laughs. "She thinks I told the House that she killed your thrall? I almost wish you knew the truth so you could appreciate the irony."

"She would have killed me," I snap, and jerk my arm out of Ismeni's grip. "She almost did."

"Killed you?" Ismeni cries, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I don't even know who you are--aside from a thief, that is. Why Blue? Surely there are other thralls to steal."

"I am Blue," I shout. "But that's not my name. My name is Sasha. I was torn away from my home and beaten, starved, enslaved. You truly thought I was a toy, and I forgive you for that because you didn't know any better and because you were mostly kind to me. But you were--you are--wrong. You're so wrong.

The House of Light and Shadow doesn't create thralls--it steals them. They're the thieves. The House mages steal the voices and free will of real people. Men and women with jobs and friends and families that they'll probably never see again because of ignorant, complacent people like you."

"I don't believe you," Ismeni says tightly. She's gone dead white.

"Well, that's your right, I suppose," I say with a shrug. "I honestly don't care what you think. We need to keep moving."

I turn away to hide my lie--of course I care what she thinks--and find Luca staring at me with an expression I can't define. We lock eyes for a moment, then look away. He doesn't say anything. He just gestures for us to follow and continues into the dark.