Page 128 of I Will Mend You

“Where is he?” I ask.

“Dead,” she replies, her voice a strained whisper.

My stomach lurches. They told us to drug the targets, not kill them. I rub my wrists where the ropes had cut into my skin. We head for the door, but footsteps echo down the hallway, making us freeze.

“What are we going to do?” I ask Dolly, my voice tight.

She glances around the room. “Grab his legs.”

We drag Cass’s heavy carcass to the corner, so he’s out of sight. My arms strain, and sweat breaks out across my brow. When he’s in place, I grab a rug and cover him up.

The footsteps disappear, and Dolly slips off her shoes. I do the same and place them in my pinafore’s pockets. She walks to the door, opens it a crack, and peers out into the hallway. I wring my hands, my insides twisting into painful knots. This is a disaster. What will the police say when they raid the mansion and discover Dolly killed her target?

“It’s clear,” she says.

We slip out of the room, clinging to the shadows as we creep along the dark corridor. Footsteps echo from below, but no one seems to notice we’re escaping.

At the end of the hallway, we push open a door leading into a stairwell and descend. Every time one of the steps creaks beneath our feet, I cringe. My breath shallows, even though my heart pounds loud enough to summon the butler.

At the bottom, there’s a door leading to a courtyard. Dolly pushes it open, and we slip outside. The night air cools myclammy skin, and I finally inhale a deep breath. Outside, the gardens are unlit, but we run hand in hand through the dark toward the distant trees. Behind them is an iron fence. We slip through the railings and sprint toward a parked car.

When we open the back door and scramble inside, I want to howl with relief. It’s over.

Kappa turns around from the steering wheel, her eyes wide with worry. “Did you do it?”

“Yes.” Dolly fastens her seat belt. “Let’s go.”

Kappa speeds away. I breathe hard, watching the mansion shrink in the wing mirror. The tires crunch against the gravel drive, putting more distance between us and the nightmare we escaped.

As the tension drains away, I collapse against the seat, my body trembling with exhaustion. I can’t believe I almost died. Dolly reaches across the back seat and takes my hand.

“We did it,” she murmurs, her voice a soothing balm. “We’re going home.”

“We’ll see Mom,” I whisper, already picturing her and the new baby growing in her belly.

I let my eyes flutter closed and melt into the back seat. The hum of the car’s engine lulls me into a state of calm. As I drift off, my chest relaxes. No more Three Fates. No more exercise drills. No more grabby instructors. No more fighting with Dolly.

We can go back home and be normal sisters for Mom and Dad.

Hours later, sunlight streams through the car window, pulling me out of sleep. I wake up in the back seat and spot the rusty old water tower. Heart sinking, I squeeze Dolly’s hand. This isn’t New Alderney. We’re minutes away from Three Fates.

My sister wakes up, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and leans forward in her seat. “I thought you were taking us home.”

“Not until you give Delta a debriefing,” Kappa says.

This time, when she takes the turning in the hedges, neither of us flinches. From what I heard from the other girls, Three Fates is an extension of a law enforcement agency. It recruits delinquents and turns them into contributing members of society.

Because of kids like us, criminal organizations around the country are falling. But our facility has to remain top secret to protect the world.

Kappa walks us back through the concrete building, where Mr. Delta waits in his office. There’s no sign of any of our instructors or Dad. The headmaster sits behind his desk, staring at his tablet while we wait for him to pay us attention.

Shuffling on my feet, I rub the back of my neck, which still aches from being choked.

Dolly clears her throat.

He flicks his eyes toward us like a whip. I flinch, but my sister holds still.

“Hand over the headbands,” he demands, his voice as cold as ice.

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