Page 391 of Alchemised
He knew the destructive ways her mind tilted. Since the moment she’d arrived at Spirefell, he’d gone out of his way to needle and antagonise, trying to provoke her. He’d given her a target. When she’d hated him, she’d been less self-destructive.
If she was angry now, it would make leaving easier.
He was managing her. She swallowed her anger, but all her emotions sat like poison inside her.
A LORRY BROUGHT A FRESH batch of prisoners to Spirefell, and Kaine was gone again.
Helena couldn’t help but wonder at the relationship between Kaine and his father. They were both unveiled in their contempt for each other. Atreus seemed to find so much in his son to despise, and yet seemed to constantly find reasons to need him. Kaine blamed his father for the tragedy of his mother, and yet Atreus was among the Undying he’d spared, despite seeming an easy target.
Helena was sitting numb with despair when the door opened.
She looked up, blood running cold as one of the uniformed lorry guards stepped into the room.
He tilted back the cap on his head, and it was Ivy.
Helena stared with deadened surprise as Ivy gave a tentative smile.
“You were hard to get to.”
Helena didn’t move. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to rescue you.”
Ivy had no sooner spoken than there was a scream of metal as the iron around the door warped inwards, barring the door. Ivy whirled and tried the door, finding it completely immobile. She turned and started to move towards Helena.
“Don’t,” Helena said sharply, standing up. “The last time someone came and got too close, he broke almost every bone in their body before he arrived.”
Ivy froze, the look of a caged animal filling her eyes. However difficult Helena had been to reach, this was clearly not a well-plotted rescue.
“Why are you here?” Helena said, staring at the girl. She was a girl. She was so young. “You’ve known I was a prisoner here since last year. Why are you here now?”
Ivy drew back and then moved around Helena in a wide arc, making for the window, rattling it forcefully, and trying to break the panes of glass. The girl had lost her touch, or perhaps been too impulsive, too misguided in what she thought the difficulty of the infiltration would be.
“I thought you were here for interrogation,” Ivy said. “I didn’t know the High Reeve would do—” Her eyes flicked to Helena’s stomach. “—that to you.”
Helena scoffed. “They’re doing the same to plenty of girls in Central. Why do you care about me?”
Ivy stilled. “Sofia liked you. Wanted me to be your friend. She was always telling me that I should be more like you. That I should help people. I never listened.”
“I don’t want to be your friend,” Helena said coldly. “Your sister is dead. You betrayed us all for a corpse.”
“I know!” Ivy’s voice rang with grief as she whirled to face Helena, face pale, eyes bright. “I know, but I couldn’t—I couldn’t let her be dead. I thought—” Her face crumpled. “—I told myself she was just hurt, but she would come back. But she doesn’t. She—can’t. Even if she did, she would never forgive me for all this. Would she?”
Helena felt no sympathy. “You cost us everything. Even if we were always going to lose, there were people who could have run, they could have fled if they’d had time. But you made sure they didn’t.”
As she spoke, the doors warped, metal screaming, and Kaine walked in. The wrought iron peeled itself from the floor, elongating into countless points, all aimed at Ivy. A flick of his hand and Ivy would be run through from every side.
She could try to flee, but she would not make it two steps.
Ivy turned to face him, her face strangely resigned.
“What an unexpected traitor,” Kaine said with complete insincerity. “I have to admit I thought you were too smart to fall into a trap this obvious.”
Ivy gave a bitter smile and shook her head almost sadly. “You don’t remember me, do you? I thought eventually you might.”
Kaine studied her. “I can’t say I do.”
“I was different when we first met. Smaller. Screaming.”
