The Replaced(78)

Five days, not five years.

Still, that was three days past the forty-eight-hour mark.

She must’ve read my thoughts, because she said, “I knew it was too long, and at first I assumed he was confused. It happens. People—those of us who’ve gone through it—tend to lose track of time. It’s disorienting. But even when I figured out he was right, I didn’t tell him how unusual that was.” She didn’t say unheard of, because we both knew that wasn’t true; I was proof of that. “And then . . . when he could heal the way he could, I assumed they’d done something more to him. More than they’d done to the rest of us. It just never occurred to me . . .”

I nodded because I knew what she meant—even with everything her father had told her it would be a stretch to assume Tyler had been successfully Replaced.

I could hardly believe it myself.

“His memory,” I whispered. “Do you think that’s a side effect? Maybe they sent him back too soon . . . ?”

“Maybe.” She looked over her shoulder. Ever since we’d been here at Blackwater, I hadn’t known her to be anything but confident and in command. It was strange to see her so spooked.

“Do you think he’ll get it back? The part he’s missing.”

Griffin gave me a look. “That’s the least of my concerns.” Then she smoothed her hand over her hair. It was a nervous gesture. “Who knows. Look, I get that you want this to be like some kind of happily-ever-after fairy-tale sort of thing, but that’s not the way the world works. I’m just trying to keep him alive. I can’t worry about your little crush.”

My heart crashed. “Alive? Why? What happened?”

“Kyra,” she said, saying not just my name, but saying it so sincerely and looking me in the eye that I couldn’t help the jolt of alarm that boomeranged in my chest. “I need you to get Tyler out of here.”


I didn’t understand why Griffin was being so secretive, or why she was all of a sudden confiding in me, especially considering she’d been the one to order my detainment in the first place.

“Where are Simon and the others?” I demanded, wondering if they were being held the same way I was.

“Simon’s safe. He’s making plans as we speak.”

“Plans? He was there when you had me arrested. I seriously doubt he’s helping you make any plans.”

“I explained everything to him; he gets why I had to do that now.”

“Mind explaining it to me?” I gave her my best this-better-be-good look while I waited.

Griffin pinched the bridge of her nose, releasing her breath on a hiss. “I know you don’t trust me, but you need to believe me when I tell you we have a traitor in our midst.”

Traitor. The word hit me like a thousand tons of lead.

I thought of Simon’s complicated history with Griffin.

“It’s not Simon,” I defended, my voice raising and echoing off the concrete walls. “And it’s not Willow either.”

“Shh!” she shushed, flapping her hands and warning me to keep it down. And then she met my gaze directly, her expression weary. “I know that, Kyra. It never was.”

I lost some steam with her admission. “So who, then?”

Pulling out a key, she unlocked the door and opened it. I didn’t know if she was coming in or if I was coming out, so we both just stayed where we were. “I wasn’t sure until I had you locked up. I had to make it look believable, so everyone would think I was keeping you prisoner.”

“Well, bravo. You were convincing.” I cocked my head to the side, crossing my arms. “But for what purpose?”

“I needed whoever the traitor was to think I was willing to trade you myself. That I planned to turn you in to the Daylighters. And then I waited.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For someone to try to get a message out.”

“I take it they did.” It wasn’t a question. Of course they had or Griffin wouldn’t be here now, telling me what her plan had been, and asking me to get Tyler away from this camp. “So . . .” I was almost afraid to ask. “Who was the traitor?”

Griffin came inside and dropped to the bunk. She put her face in her hands. It was a strange reaction, not at all what I’d expected.

I ran through the list of possibilities. I’d already ruled out Simon and Willow, and I mentally ticked off Jett, and Natty since she’d been with me almost every minute of every day since Simon and I had landed in Silent Creek.

“Thom,” I breathed, almost at the same time Griffin said it. But even hearing her voice echoing mine, I shook my head. “No . . .”

“It had to have been him back then too.” The accusation was pitiful, as if it was painful for her to say. “He must’ve been working with them, colluding all these years. I’ve always wondered how they could know so much.” Her face lifted so we were eye to eye. “Has Simon ever wondered how the Hanford camp was found out?”

“Thom?” I asked with almost as much disbelief as her. “But . . . why? And if they knew where the camps were, why didn’t the Daylighters just round you all up years ago?”

“Because we’re not the ones they really wanted. They’ve been looking for a Replaced. The Returned are child’s play.” Even her shrug was unenthusiastic. A whisper. “I mean, sure, they’re willing to do their experiments on us if we’re all they can get. They extract our DNA and dissect us and . . . who knows what else they do in that lab of theirs.” I hugged myself tighter, her words making my skin tighten. “But it’s always been about finding a Replaced. Thom’s no good to them, none of us are, not if they can’t get their hands on one of you.”