Aimee Carter - Pawn

Without saying a word, Greyson headed into another part of his suite. I trailed after him, refusing to let the conversation end like this.

“He attacked me,” I said, stopping short of his bedroom. He stood with his back facing me, and his arms hung loosely at his sides. “He talked about how Lila was so pretty, and he—he—”

“Did he hurt you?” said Greyson quietly, and I shook my head.

“No. I kneed him and—used the syringe Celia gave me. I know it was wrong, but—”

“If you poisoned him, then why isn’t he dead?” said Greyson, finally turning to face me. He was pale, but other than that, he looked as if we were having a normal conversation. Not discussing how I’d nearly managed to assassinate the man he thought was his father.

“I couldn’t do it. I tried, and only half of it...” I swallowed tightly. “That isn’t the point. Celia arranged it. I stupidly went along with her, and I’m sorry—not because Daxton didn’t deserve it, but because it hurt you. Celia’s unhinged. She—”

Greyson raised his hand, and I fell silent. “My family has been fighting each other for longer than I’ve been alive. It’s how they keep themselves entertained. I stay out of it. They know that, and none of them come after me.”

“It’s different now that Lila’s dead,” I said. “Celia really wants to hurt Daxton, and she’ll do it through you if she has to.”

“I won’t let it happen,” he said. “Can you try to believe me for now? If I’m wrong, you’ll be the first to get to say I told you so.”

A dozen reasons why he was being absurd ran through my mind, but if he refused to help himself, there wasn’t much I could do about it. “Fine,” I said. “And if you do wind up dead, I’ll be mad at you.”

“I’ll be mad at me, too,” he said with a rare smile. “So let’s hope I’m right.”

Benjy wasn’t with Knox when he arrived at the airport the next morning, and I said nothing as we boarded. If they weren’t willing to let Benjy come, then I wouldn’t be their puppet anymore. Maybe once I opened my mouth and they realized I wasn’t saying the words they wanted me to say, they would start treating me like a person instead of a weapon.

Greyson weighed heavily on my mind as the jet tore down the runway. I was exhausted; I’d spent all night going over ways Celia could get to him, even with the guards he’d promised to keep with him. If she could get to the prime minister, Greyson would be a cinch. But I didn’t know how everything worked well enough to begin to guess how she might do it, especially in her frail state.

“I need to talk to you,” I said once we were gliding through the air and my ears no longer popped. Knox had his nose stuck in a book, and he didn’t even glance at me when I sat down across from him. I was supposed to be memorizing Celia’s speech, but since I wasn’t going to say it, there was no point.

“Knox,” I said, sharper this time. “We need to talk.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Benjy, but he had to stay behind to take care of some things. I assure you he’s well guarded.”

“That’s not what this is about,” I said. “I know what Celia has planned.”

Knox raised an eyebrow, and finally he set his book down. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“She’s going to kill Greyson, and you’re going to let her.”

“You must not have heard our conversation correctly,” he said. “I made it perfectly clear that I’m not.”

“Then what are you going to do about it?”

“None of your business,” he said, opening up his book again. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’m not giving Celia’s speech.”

Knox’s eyes stopped moving across the page. Now I had his attention. “Why’s that?”

“I said I would if Benjy came along. Benjy isn’t here, so I won’t. I would have considered it if you were nice, but you’re being a jerk, so—”

He snapped his book shut. “You do realize the world doesn’t revolve around you, yes?”

“I grew up with forty other kids and one adult to watch over us,” I said. “Yeah, I realize the world doesn’t revolve around me, thanks.”

“If you can’t accept that this is all bigger than you, then fine, say whatever you want. But the audience doesn’t want to hear about how the pain they feel every day of their lives isn’t real. They aren’t there to listen to you tell them that everything they’ve hoped for is a joke. If you want to take that away from them just to piss me and Celia off, then do it. Right now I have more on my mind than how to keep you happy so you’ll do the right thing.”

I glowered at him. This was another trick, another way to manipulate me, and I hated him for it, but that didn’t make him any less right. The people in the audience—they were me, but their marks would never magically turn into VIIs. The frustration I’d felt that had pushed me toward theft and following Tabs to a brothel—they lived with that every single day. I hated that Daxton hadn’t asked me whether or not I wanted to be Masked, but if he had, I would have said yes. I didn’t want to live my life miserable and desperate for something eternally out of reach. These people had never had a choice.

They didn’t need me to tell them that, though, not if their lives were anything like mine had been. And I couldn’t keep living under Celia’s thumb.

“I warned Greyson,” I said. “I told him that I was the one to go after Daxton.”

Knox exhaled, and for a moment I thought he was going to yell at me, but instead he closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Greyson probably already knew. Augusta treats him like a child, but he’s smarter than the rest of us combined.”

Smart enough to know his father wasn’t really his father? “Are you sure Celia won’t hurt him?”

“She knows Greyson’s security has been beefed up since the attack. If she wants to get to him, she’s going to have to be a lot smarter than she has been.”

“And what if she is?”

When Knox looked at me, I saw a hint of fear, and it scared me more than anything he could possibly have said. “Then she’ll spend the rest of her life regretting it.”

New York City was unlike D.C. in so many ways that at first I wondered if we were still in the same country. Buildings as tall as the sky rose around us, and there were so many people that the sidewalks seemed to overflow. The streets were blocked off to other traffic, and as we passed by in a limousine with tinted windows, everyone stared at us.

“How big is this place?” I said as we turned yet another corner. I craned my neck to try to see the top of the skyscrapers, but it was impossible. I’d never known anything that tall existed.

“It’s the biggest city in the country,” said Knox. We’d barely spoken for the rest of the flight, but once we stepped off the plane, I hadn’t been able to contain my excitement. Other than my brief stay at the Stronghold, I’d never been outside the District of Columbia before. Was this what the rest of the country looked like?

“How many people live here?” I said, my eyes glued to the skyline.

“Now? Ten million. Before the population laws were put into effect, there were over twelve million people living here.”

“And they have the rank system, too?”

“The entire country uses it.”

“Oh. Right.” My cheeks grew warm. I tried to distract myself by figuring out how many floors there were in one of the buildings, but we drove by too quickly.

“You’re pretty when you blush,” he said, which only made my face grow hotter. “Lila rarely ever got embarrassed.” He shifted closer to me, and the leather squeaked underneath him. “I have to admit, I’m curious what you’re going to do about Benjy. Seems he’s quite in love with you.”