Amaranthine

Chapter 25

Jorick didn't look at Katelina, didn't look at the horror in her eyes, or the way her lip quivered at the thought. He said that they had her, that Claudius and his men had-

Sarah.

"They took her with them," Jorick explained without really answering. "They thought they'd found you. Once they brought her before Claudius, of course, they found out that it wasn't you."

Katelina's breath stuck in her throat and her hands trembled. "Was it Sarah? Is she all right?"

"They aren't torturing her anymore."

Her mind whirled as it tried to deny what she knew to be true. He couldn't really mean that Sarah was... she couldn't be-. "Dead? She is, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's dead." He sighed heavily and made the sign of the cross.

"Oh, God," she muttered numbly. She dropped to the floor and stared up