Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(36)

We finally get to the door that leads to the gardens, and it’s almost time to let Gavin take over, but I pause and signal for him to wait for me. We’ll pass right by the entrance to the family wing, and I don’t want anyone to hear me.

I stoop to slide the zipper down the boot and slither the leather down my leg before doing the same with the other. When I stand up, Gavin is watching me with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong?”

He curses under his breath and shakes his head. “Nothing.” He strides away and I frown as I chase after him.

About two hundred meters from the entrance to my gardens there is an alcove that’s about five meters by five meters. It houses a camera and a turret, both mounted to the ceiling and facing not toward the hallways, but the utility closet that houses the electronics for both of them.

“That’s it,” he says, nodding his head toward the utility closet door. His stance is wary, and he keeps casting glances all around. He must not trust me, despite what he said earlier.

“Are you sure? It’s just a utility closet.” I’ve seen dozens just like it.

He points to what appears to be a bloodstain on the wall and floor. “I’m sure,” he says.

I stare at the stain for a long time. Why is that still here? Mother should have had the Servants clean that up a long time ago. It also dawns on me that Mother obviously already knew where he’d come from. So why all the secrecy? Why all the questions?

Only one reason: She was waiting to see why I was so interested in him. Something shiny grabs my attention, and I see a little silver loop. It looks like an earring. I grab it and show it to Gavin, who stares at it, sadness pooling in his eyes.

“It’s Con’s,” he says, taking it from me.

“Your friend?”

“Yes.”

I raise my brow. “He wears jewelry?”

He smiles, but it’s still sad as he pockets the small loop. “Yes.”

“I see,” I say, but I don’t really. Why would a man wear jewelry? Only women do here.

But that doesn’t matter now. I place my hand on the glass plate next to the door. A red light emits and traces over every inch of my hand. Then the door unlocks with a click and I pull it open.

Gavin is right. It’s definitely not a utility closet, but it won’t do us any good, either. There’s a wall of dirt and rocks blocking the entrance. Apparently Mother knew what I was planning. She’s blocked the entrance—and the only means of escape he has.





CHAPTER ELEVEN



Differences are the root of all evil. Accordingly, all differences will be eradicated. At any cost.





—MOTHER’S JOURNAL, PAGE 176





Of course she has. She knew the whole time. She was just playing games with me, trying to figure out why I had taken to him. I should have known. How could I be so stupid?

“Damn it!” I punch the rock wall, causing the now somewhat fragile rock to crack and splitting my knuckles. Little bits of rock and dust fall to the floor in a cascade.

Gavin jumps forward, taking my hand gently between his. “Hey, hey. Don’t do that. You’re going to hurt yourself. It’s not that big of a deal. If there’s one, there’s more. She wouldn’t block off y’all’s only escape.”

Blood trickles from the wounds in my hand. I don’t think I’ve ever punched anything in my life. It hurts like hell, but I don’t care. I yank my hand from his grasp. Why does he keep persisting in touching me when he knows it’s forbidden? “That’s not it. She was expecting this. She was playing us the whole time and I fell for it. Damn it.” I kick the door shut, then hiss when pain zips up my toes. I quickly shove my feet back into the boots to avoid jamming my toes into anything else.

He narrows his eyes. “If she was expecting us, where are they? Shouldn’t they be trying to stop us?”

He has a point. I glance around and listen. Not a sound. Not even a peep. The slamming of the door should have brought someone.

“You’re right. Something is wrong.” I press my fingers to my eyes, smearing blood on my face. “Okay. This is what we’re going to do. We need to get out of the Palace Wing. It definitely isn’t safe here. Then we’ll need to come up with another plan. Follow me.”

It’s obvious Mother already knows what we were planning, or at least was sure Gavin would try something. But I need to get us out of here and to a place they won’t be able to find us—and it’s very much an us situation now. But finding a place they won’t find us is much easier said than done, especially with Gavin looking like the Surface Dweller he is.

I remember there’s supposed to be a waterproof map in my evac bag. Extremely mindful of the time we’ve been standing there, I pull out the map and study it quickly.

“What is that?” Gavin asks.

“A map. It lists all the designated evacuation areas in case of facility failure or Surface Dweller attack. If we stand any chance of escaping, one of those will be it.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “A map? Can we trust it?”

I don’t even spare him a glance. “Of course we can. It’s supposed to be used for emergency evacuations. Mother doesn’t want her Citizens to die and she especially wouldn’t want me to die.”