Chapter 158

Even though I don’t want to be permanently confined to my room, I can recognize that a bit of caution would go a long way given the current political climate. For that reason, I stay in my room more than I have before, even though I often grow bored.

To stifle my latest bout with anger, I head into my closet to sort through my dresses. I’ve already sorted them by function, but I’m thinking I’ll change it up and sort them by color instead. As I start to take out the dresses in the back, I feel something solid in one of my pockets.

Reaching inside, I pull out the necklace I had hidden there. Samuel’s.

Looking at it, I turn it over in my hand. I run my thumb over its raises and divots. It is such a beautiful thing. Year ago, I treasured it so much.

Now, I don’t know how to feel about it.

Samuel’s entirely disappeared, without a letter or a message. Through Tristan, Caleb, and the other servants, I learned that he never returned home to the Riverwood pack. Caleb assured me that he didn’t have Samuel killed, but this sudden absence seems so strange.

Where could he be?

Thoughts of Samuel quickly lead into thought so Leah, my sister still down in the dungeons. Even after these past few weeks, I still haven’t been able to decide what to do with her. Releasing her didn’t feel right, but neither did killing her outright. Sending her to the coliseum would be as good as killing her.

There has to be another solution I’m just not seeing.

Maybe it I talk to her…

Maybe she knows where Samuel is…

At the very least, I should check to make sure she is being fed and well-cared for. As her sister and the one responsible for whether she lives or dies, it is my duty to check on her.

A duty I have been avoiding from the start.

No longer.

Grabbing a cloak from the closet, I start to head toward the door.

I’ve already assured Bethany that I had no intention of leaving the room today. It wasn’t a lie when I said it, so I don’t feel so bad for leaving without her now. The guard at the door eyes me curiously.

“I’m headed downstairs,” I say.

“The King ordered I am to stay with you,” the guard replies.

“Come on, then. Though I apologize for the walk.”

With the guard in step behind me, I move into the stairwell and then descend down, down, down into the deepest parts of the palace – as low as the stairs will go.

The groaning is the worst part of the dungeons. It’s eerie and incessant, echoing, with no real clue where it’s coming from.

The guard beside me visibly winces. “You can wait here,” I tell him.

At once, he shows visible relief. “Thank you, Miss.”

Nodding, I leave him behind and press further into the dark and dreary dungeon. It’s cold down here and damp. And that groaning…

Before long, I reach the cell that I know holds Leah. Compared to the other spaces down here, hers looks like a princess suite. Compared to the rest of the palace, it’s more like a rundown motel.

But at least she has a bed, and a chair, and a bathroom separated with a door. They must have done renovations to make it look like this. A bedside table lamp is clicked on, and Leah sits in a chair near the bed, reading.

As I approach, she lowers the book down to her bed.

“What are you doing here?” she snaps, standing.

I take a good look at her. She seems no worse for wear really. A bit thinner, maybe, but not by much. Even though she is behind held in a dungeon, she is still being treated well, as per my request. In the future, I will have to thank Caleb for this kindness.

“I wanted to check on you,” I say.

“Well, here I am,” Leah says coldly. “Look your fill? Good. Now leave.”

“I was hoping to talk for a minute.”

“Why? What do we possibly have to talk about anymore, Harper? Or has the King finally been overthrown?”

I stilled. “What do you know about that?”

“There’s a reckoning coming, dear sister. If you choose to stay on the side of your precious Alpha King, then you will be killed along with the rest.”

Stepping closer, I grip the bars of the cell. “What do you know?” I demand, as fiercely as I can manage.

She just laughs. “I’m only guessing. But I’m right aren’t I? I can see the fear in your eyes. The rebellion is growing, and you can’t stop it. Soon, you won’t be safe here. Anyone loyal to the king will be killed.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Don’t I? Then why do you look so afraid, sister?” She laughs again, louder. “If I were you, I’d get out of here while you still can.”

“I’m not afraid,” I say, I lie. “But even if I were, I wouldn’t flee. I’m no coward. Not like you. And Samuel. Where is he? Do you know?”

That seems to startle her. “He didn’t return to the Riverwood pack?”

“No,” I tell her.

Her eyes fall for a moment. “Then he’s probably dead, Harper. Your man likely had him killed.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, but that’s the best guess I have. Where else could he be?”

I have no answer for that, as much as I wish I did.

“Are you being fed enough?” I ask. “Are you being treated well?”

“Don’t act like you care,” Leah scoffs.

“It’s precisely because I care that you have these luxuries at all.”

She glares at me, but after a moment’s thought, she says, “I could use more books. I’ve read this same one six times.”

I make a mental note. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Leah, looking away from me, nods, like it pains her to even do that.

“If you need anything…”

“Just go, Harper.”

Closing my mouth, I don’t say anymore. Instead, I turn to leave and start my trek back towards the stairwell.

Halfway there, a hand stops me, outstretched from behind one of the cells. There’s a piece of paper clutched in his fist.

“Take it,” the prisoner says.

“No thank you,” I tell him, intending to step around.

“It’s about the rebellion,” the prisoner adds.

That gets me to still and look back.

The cell is too dark for me to make out much of the prisoner’s face, though he’s wearing the clothing of a guard. Likely this is one of the ones that betrayed Caleb, now suffering the price.

But that arm I can see, and that hand, and the note.

For Caleb’s sake, I can’t pass up any lead, even one that is probably bogus. So I take the note from the hand.

The arm disappears back into the cell, and the prisoner shuffles further into the darkness.

I wait to open the note until I am in the stairwell.

When I do, I nearly trip over a stair.

“Careful,” says my escort.

“Sorry,” I tell him, then hide the note back in the pocket.

I’ve already memorized it.

The rebel leader wants to meet with you, Harper…