Page 22 of Sacrifice

“So let’s just go. It’s three o’clock in the morning. Everyone in the village is asleep except for the two guys on the night watch. We can go to the gate, make them let us out, and get the hell away from here.” He paused and patted his right pocket. “We might have to threaten the guys with my gun to make them let us out, but in the end, no one will get hurt. It’s the best outcome for everyone.”

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek as I considered his plan. It would work, but…

I shook my head. “I can’t. I have to speak to my father.”

“Rose.” Sebastian’s hand felt heavier on my shoulder now. His voice was tinged with a blend of irritation and worry. “If you confront him, he’ll know what we’ve been up to, and he’ll do anything in his power to keep you here. He’ll probably wake the whole fucking village to hunt us down before we can eventhinkabout getting through that gate.”

“I think it’s a risk we have to take,” I replied. “We need to know once and for all what happened to your mother, and we aren’t going to get any of those answers unless we confront him.”

He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. “Jesus, Rose,” he muttered. “You’re right, but… I don’t want you to get hurt, baby girl. I need to keep you safe.”

“AndIneed to help you get justice. Let me do this. Please.” I reached for his hand, rubbing my thumb across his palm. “I know you’ll never have any peace unless you know for certain what happened to Miranda. You know it too. It’s consumed your whole life.”

He was silent for a moment. Then he swallowed thickly and steeled his jaw. “Fine. We can talk to him,” he said gruffly. “But we’ll make it quick and leave immediately afterwards, before he has a chance to tell anyone else what’s happening. All right?”

“Yes. That’s fine.” I turned back to the path toward the village, Sebastian following closely behind me.

When we finally arrived at my front door, I turned to him again. “I need you to do one more thing for me,” I said.

“What?”

“Let me have a few minutes with him first. Just the two of us.”

His eyes narrowed. “No fucking way,” he said, arms crossing over his chest. “It’s not safe.”

“Please, Sebastian. There are a few things I feel I should say to him by myself,” I said. “That way he knows it’s coming fromme, and that I wasn’t simply taken in and brainwashed by an outsider.”

He sighed and scratched his jaw. A mix of frustration and concern was flashing in his eyes. “Jeez, baby girl, you’re killing me,” he muttered.

“Ten minutes,” I pleaded. “Then you can come in.”

“Five minutes,” he said stiffly. “And I’ll be right outside this door the whole time.”

I nodded and hurried inside. “Papa?” I called upstairs as I lit a lamp on the kitchen table.

He called back down a moment later, voice husky with sleep. “Rosamund, did you call me?”

“Yes. Can you come downstairs, please?”

I heard a grunt of irritation, followed by clunking footsteps on the stairs. My father appeared at the bottom a moment later, face drawn with exhaustion. “Rosamund, it’s after three o’clock in the morning,” he said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “What on earth is going on?”

“Please sit down,” I said, motioning toward one of the kitchen chairs. “I need to speak with you about something.”

“All right.” He moved toward the chair, smothering a yawn with one hand. He didn’t look suspicious yet. Just confused. “What’s on your mind, darling?”

I remained standing, eyes focused right on his face. “Papa, you’ve always told me that outsiders refer to the Covenant as a cult. They say we’re all brainwashed and not allowed to leave, apart from the few that go to college,” I began. “You’ve always told me that it isn’t true. That anyone can leave whenever they want. But no one ever has because Alderwood is like heaven on earth, and the work we do here is so important.”

“Yes, that’s all true.”

“So if someone wanted to leave, they could? No questions asked?”

Papa rubbed his chin. “Well, I’d certainly have questions. But ultimately, it is their decision to go, and I wouldn’t stop them. Nor would anyone else in the village.” He yawned again before going on. “May I ask what has prompted this topic of conversation so late at night, darling?”

I took a deep breath and lifted my chin. “I’m leaving, Papa.”

He blinked slowly, like he was wondering if he was still asleep and dreaming. “Pardon me?”

“I’m leaving Alderwood. I have lost my faith, and I no longer wish to be sacrificed at the Tetrad. I want to join the outside world.”

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