Page 30 of Splitting Secrets
“Why? What are you getting at?” I press.
“I just thought you said before that your mother was Aeternum and Poppy was Valerian.”
“They are.”Were.Whatever.
“As an Aeternum, you shouldn’t have been able to feel Matilda’s emotions at all,” Ava supplies, her tone carefully flat.
“You also shouldn’t have been able to control the lights,” Beatrix pipes up. “Only a Luminara can do that.”
“Especially in an enchanted cell . . . ” Jonah adds.
Frowning, I consider their words. “We don’t know that I did any of that.”
“It certainly wasn’t us, and judging by how fast those two asshats flew out of here, it wasn’t them, either,” Jonah scoffs.
“What are you doing?” Beatrix asks. Even without seeing her face, I can imagine the irritated puckering of her brows and tightening of her lips.
“Nothing,” I grunt out, then suppress a squeal as I pick something up between my fingers and feel tiny little legs moving against my skin. Chucking it in the direction I think the door is in, I turn back toward the wall and keep running my hand against the uneven stones.
“You’re breathing heavy,” Ava points out.
I feel something unnaturally smooth and pick it up, tossing it between my fingers to get a full idea of the shape. It’s some sort of metal, but judging by the twisting teeth sticking out of it, I’d guess it’s a screw.
Definitely not a key.
“Who cares? Did they mention if they were coming for any of us when they took you away?” Jonah asks me, and I realize he’s repeating the question.
“No.” I find a gathering of smoother material again and press my fingers against it to decipher its shape. Something sharp bites into my flesh and I hiss out a breath, squeezing my hand against my chest to stop the blood that I can feel dripping down my palm and onto my arm.
Fuck, it hurts.
Why is there a razor sitting beneath my bed?
“The two who brought me here knocked on the door and told Raze—I mean, Dr. Whitlock—that they had to get going. I thought they were all called back to whatever circle of hell they came from,” I explain, if only to keep them from realizing how badly I’ve just been hurt and distract myself from the pain.
“Why would they kill Matilda first?” Beatrix wonders out loud.
“She had the most information,” Jonah guesses.
Leaning forward, I keep my injured hand squeezed tight against me and use my good hand to slowly rake over the ground again, carefully avoiding the area I just passed. “I don’t know. I just—” I stop when my hand hits something long and smooth.
Sliding my fingertips along its glossy edge, I find two uniquely shaped teeth on one end and a rounded hole on the other.
It’s a key.
Fucking Raze.I’ve been sleeping beside the key to my own cell for who-knows-how-long.
“Tell us what is going on with you,” Beatrix demands.
I ignore her, instead pushing back to my feet to lunge in the direction of my door. I miss by a few feet, too blinded by this goddamn darkness and my exposure to the lights earlier that I’m way off kilter. But I recover quickly, side stepping until I can feel the cold metal against my palms.
The next challenge is going to be getting my arm through the grates and finding the keyhole. I silently chastise myself for notknowing. That was one detail I should have paid more attention to when those asshats had their headlamps down here. If I can control the lights, it would be nice if I could do it right now. I’m going to waste precious time over something I could have had figured out before.
“If you don’t start explaining yourself in five seconds, I’m going to scream as loud as possible,” she threatens.
Ava and Jonah mumble their objections, but Beatrix doesn’t back down.
I’m not ready to tell them, though. Not when the hope of getting out of here could crush them if it turned out to be a lie.
