Page 64 of Dark Ink

The female voice squeezes my heart with its familiarity. The grumpy edge, the recognizable timbre, and the soft lilt that is present in the speech of everyone from the village—it’s Tanya.

She’s here. They’ve captured her and brought her back.

I toss the blanket aside and stand up, wincing at the pain in my thighs and butt. My skirt hides the purple bruises underneath, but my face can’t conceal how much every step hurts.

I press my ear to the door and listen in.

The sounds of doors opening and slamming make me flinch each time, but it’s worth the knowledge that she’s in the room next to mine.

When everything is quiet again, I drop to my knees and crawl to my bed, pressing my face to the floor and angling my mouth toward the small vent at the bottom of the wall.

“Tanya!” I whisper in it, my heart bursting with emotions as I hope she will hear me. “Tanya!”

“Jenya?” Tanya’s reply sounds like a question, but it’s undoubtedly her.

“How are you here?” I ask, straining to hear more than the rushing blood in my ears. The uncomfortable position I’m in makes me dizzy, but I persevere. Tanya’s presence is surely a good sign.

“I came to see this through,” she says.

I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t feel like the right time to ask.

“Did they lock your door?” I ask instead.

“Yes, but I can try unlocking it.” Strange scraping sounds come from the vent. “Are you in the next room?”

I sit up, my head pounding with the pressure I put it under when I pressed my cheek to the floor. “I think so. But the new village men will come take us to breakfast soon, so they shouldn’t see us together.”

The scraping gets closer and I flinch. It’s coming from my door.

“What is that?” I whisper into the vent, visions of fire and darkness taking over my mind.

The door opens a little and Tanya’s reply comes from a lot closer than expected.

“Don’t worry,” she says as she comes in and softly clicks my door shut behind her. “I will make sure no one finds out about our little chat. Tell me everything about this place.”

Chapter 35

Tanya didn’t reply. After her telling me multiple times that I shouldn’t assume what she wants and ask directly instead, I got the memo.

If her recent silence was a science problem, I would work it like this: Tanya misunderstood that I chose Jenya instead of her last week. In my head, it wasn’t a choice. We could all escape. Never mind that. So she’s upset and probably doesn’t want to talk to me. But this is an assumption.

She warned me not to assume. So going against what feels natural in this case, which is to disappear into the background, I’m going to visit Love and Err and confront her about her silence and the kidnapping.

If I manage to convince her that Jenya deserves saving too, all the better.

So I put on a thin gray sweater, dark jeans, and my favorite dark green jacket and head to the club. It’s 11:00 a.m. and she’s probably sleeping, but I can wait. The only thing I have planned today is waiting for news from Joshua and the Empress and to survive this upcoming conversation with Tanya.

By the time I get there, I’m stress-sweating. The sun is warm enough for me to feel it on my cheeks, and the air is full of the distinct smell of passing spring. I’m overdressed.

I type a quick message to Tanya before I start knocking on all the doors. I’m covering all bases, so she can’t say I came out of nowhere.

Ben:I’m outside. Come out for a sec

I give it ten minutes. The message doesn’t show as ‘seen,’ but I’m getting restless, so I go to Love and Err’s front door and knock.

With one knuckle at first, then two, then I rap on it with my fist.

Finally, I hear the lock turn and unlock and the well-oiled door opens slightly.

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