Queen (The Blackcoat Rebellion #3)(39)

“You need to be on the roof,” she said as she gently inspected it. It was still swollen enough that wearing shoes would be difficult. “I’m going to pump you full of painkillers and give you a shot to make the swelling disappear. It won’t be comfortable, but you’ll be able to walk.”

“Do you think this is enough to fool Greyson?” I said. I hated lying to him, but he couldn’t know, not until Lila was safely gone.

“Just pretend to be mad at him for making the deal,” she said. “If you can sell that, he won’t notice any other differences. Not right away, at least.”

I nodded. “And you can do my accent, right?”

“What, you mean sound like I grew up in the slums and never read a book in my life?” she said, in a perfect imitation of my voice and dialect.

“You’re horrible,” I said, and she shrugged, producing a needle from one of the cabinets.

“You’ve known that for months. Now hold still—this might pinch.”

At fifteen minutes to midnight, we walked down the hallway together. She limped on my crutches, my brace on her foot and my grimace on her lips. Meanwhile, I walked beside her, my foot almost numb. I would pay for this as soonas the painkillers wore off, but for now, Lila’s plan was working.

“Remember, you’re pissed off at Greyson,” she said as we stepped into the mirrored elevator. “Don’t be nice to him. I know it’s hard—he’s like a baby animal sometimes. It’s impossible to be mean to him. But you have to sell this, got it?”

“Got it,” I said, and I carefully adjusted my collar so the chain of my necklace wouldn’t show. I couldn’t bear to part with it, but I kept it hidden underneath my clothes most of the time anyway. Greyson would never notice. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

“Positive,” she said. “This is exactly what I want.”

At least one of us was certain, and I took comfort in that. We were silent on the ride up to the roof, and when the doors opened, a blast of frigid wind hit us. I pulled up the hood of Lila’s coat and shivered. She wore my bomber jacket, the one I’d worn while trying to sneak into Somerset, and I almost felt bad it wasn’t heavier. But in her excitement, Lila didn’t seem to notice the icy air.

The helicopter was already on the roof waiting for us, and the pilot stood nearby, along with several guards. I wasn’t sure what they thought we were going to do—hop on the helicopter with Lila?—but Greyson stood toward the edge, his hands shoved in his pockets and a thick scarf wrapped around his neck.

I kept my distance and did my best to look as silently furious about the whole thing as possible. Lila, on the other hand, approached Greyson and caught him in a hug, dropping one of her crutches in the process. I held my breath, waiting for her to put her foot down and give us both away, but instead Greyson ducked down and got it for her.

She had the hard job, I figured—she was the one who had to convince Greyson she was me. But if he suspected anything, he didn’t let on. As I wandered toward them, making sure not to limp, they hugged again, and I saw Lila whisper I love you into his ear. It was true for both of us, but from my vantage point, I could see the flash of pain on her face when she said it, and I knew that was directly from her.

She approached me next and caught me in a hug as well, this time holding on to her crutches. “Remember what I said,” she whispered, and I nodded. “Now glare at me while I go.”

I did exactly that, burning a hole in her head as she hobbled toward the helicopter. One of the guards stopped her and brushed her hair away from the back of her neck, and my heart pounded as I waited for him to touch the scarred X and feel the VII underneath, rather than the III on mine. It was the only difference between us and the only way to tell us apart for sure, but Lila was right; apparently the guard didn’t think anyone would purposely X out their VII like that, and he let her go without touching her skin.

Relieved, I watched as the pilot opened the door for her, and she climbed in with effort, selling the whole broken foot thing. It was impressive, and if I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought she was me. I could only hope the same held true for Greyson.

“Goodbyes are always difficult, aren’t they?” said an oily voice near my ear, and I set my jaw.

“Did you even think about sending us instead?” I spat, exactly the way Lila would have. The pilot hopped inside, and the blades began to spin. I held on tightly to my hood as it threatened to fly off. The last thing I needed was Daxton discovering the switch before Lila was safely off the mountain.

“Of course, but you made far too strong a point, darling. I delight in the thought of getting to show the Blackcoats my merciful side.”

“You don’t have a merciful side,” I said as the helicopter rose in the air and turned, heading toward the horizon. A trickle of regret ran through me—that could have been me getting out of this place, heading back to Knox and Benjy and the Blackcoats. But Lila had lived her whole life under her family’s rule one way or the other; she deserved to know what it was like to make her own choices for once.

“Don’t I?” His voice grew thoughtful. “I suppose you’re right, my dear Lila.”

“Kitty?”

Greyson’s voice crackled in my ear, and it took every bit of willpower I possessed not to react. The ear cuff, I realized. I’d forgotten to give Lila the ear cuff.