THE SILVEAN

CHAPTER 8

No one moved.

Vivian stood there shaking from the cold. Hair plastered to her face, academy uniform torn with blood on her lips.

'Please' she whispered again 'I'm cold', Kael's hand on his bow and Perry blocking the doorway, me behind them.

The voice 'Don't'.

'How did you find us' Kael asked 'I followed you guys' she said 'From the church', 'I saw the watcher', 'I saw him burn it down'. Perry looked at me 'She's lying'. 'Am not !' Vivian snapped then broke down sobbing.

'My dad is dead', 'The council. They killed him because of you'. We let her in not because we trusted her but because if we didn't and she was telling the truth all along then we'd be no better than them.

She collapsed to the floor, wrapped in a blanket shivering. Kael gave her water, he didn't touch her, didn't look at her. Perry paced 'So, traitor's daughter saves traitor's bully. How ironic' Vivian looked up her eyes red 'Don't' call me that'. 'Call you what ?' Perry asked 'Council princess', 'The one that put ash in her shoes ?'. 'That was a mistake !' She stood fast. Too fast.

'They made me do it. They said if I didn't-'. 'Stop', I said as everyone looked at me, I was still holding the folder. My mom's folder. 'What did they say ?' I asked.

Vivian's face crumpled 'That they'll kill my little brother', 'Unless I watch you', 'Unless I reported everything'.

Silence.

Kael jaw was tight while Perry swore.

- - - -

'Is that why you bumped into me ?' I asked 'In training class ?' Vivian nodded with tears in her eyes 'I was supposed to make you slip. Make you use the stone', 'So that they'd have proof'. The necklace went cold.

The voice 'She's the bait'.

'And now ?' I asked, 'Now they don't need me', she said 'Because they have you', 'They're going to take you tonight', 'To the vault', 'To cut you open'.

Kael moved fast and grabbed her arm 'How do you know that ?', she flinched 'I heard my uncle, he's in the council', 'He was talking to the head watcher'.

Perry checked the windows 'Can we trust her ?' Kael let go but didn't answer, I did 'Why should I ?' I asked her, Vivian looked at me, really looked.

For the first time. No smirk. No mask. 'Because I'm scared too' she said 'And because..... I'm sorry', 'For the drawings, for the whispers', 'For everything'.

- - - -

We had 4 hours until dawn. 4 hours until the council moved. Perry operated the GPS tracker on his phone, 'The vault is under the council tower', 'Heavily guarded', 'We can't go in'. 'Then we make them come out', Kael said.

He looked at me 'Can you do it ?'. 'Do what ?'. 'Burn'.

The voice 'Yes'

I nodded as Vivian watched us 'Wait !, you're not actually-'. 'Yes' I said 'We're going to draw them out'. 'And when they do, we hit them hard'. Perry grinned 'Now we're talking'.

- - - -

We left Vivian with two guards. Rebels. 'Watch her', Kael said 'And if she runs let her'. But she didn't run. She stayed crying.

- - - -

We went to the square, center of the city where everyone could see. Kael on the roof, bow ready. Perry in the crowd, sword hidden. Me in the middle, alone with the stone awake and the necklace burning.

The mark MATE still glowing as I closed my eyes breathing. In. Out. And I pulled ash from my palms, from the air, from me.

The sky went black with screams and guards running echoing through the air. And in the middle of it. The Head watcher, the man in grey. He looked at me then smiled.

'There you are' he said.

- - - -

Kael fired and missed, on purpose to keep him talking. Perry moved, blade out but before he could-

A sound behind me. Footsteps. I turned to stare at Vivian with a dagger pointed at me. 'I'm sorry', she whispered 'I didn't have a choice'.

The Head watcher laughed 'Good girl', time seemed to stop right at that moment. Kael shouting, Perry running and me still staring at the blade an inch from my throat.

The voice 'Burn her'

The stone 'Burn them all'

And I smiled because the dagger wasn't touching me it was hovering in the air with black smoke around it just like before.

'Don't', I said to Vivian. 'Don't make me', The head watcher stopped smiling.

'Kill her', he ordered. Vivian's hand shook and I whispered one word 'RUN'