‘Stay focused,’ I whispered.
The wheels of the trailer came to a stop, and an engine shut off. My heart thrummed nervously. I was having serious second thoughts about everything. I didn’t regret getting Augustine away from the Romany camp, but I had no idea what to do next.
The heavy trailer door slid open and clanged into place. Faint light from the highway spilled through the opening, and my eyes instantly adjusted. Cold ice lodged in my chest, and a nasty burning smell singed my nostrils. Quentin Marks walked in. He was still in head-to-toe black, typical Marksmen attire, but his bow and quiver were gone. A snarl played across my lips. He stopped at the door to my cage, and it was at that moment another scent hit me.
Meat. Dried and spiced.
My mouth instantly watered. I curled my body into a tense crouch to keep from moving forward. Quentin smiled – thinly tight, like a piece of stretched rope. He pulled out a pouch of jerky and tossed it through the bars to the far side of the cage.
It took everything inside my head to force myself to stay where I was. My claws, my teeth … everything strained for the meat. The hunger was very close to controlling me completely, and it was disgusting. Utterly and thoroughly disgusting. I hated being under the command of this thing, this dark, murky part of me. I managed to turn my head away.
‘No thanks.’
‘Oh, you’re going to want to eat,’ said Quentin. ‘We’re still a couple of hours out of Savannah, and from what I hear, you don’t fare well on an empty stomach.’
I glared at him. ‘So why are you feeding me, then?’
‘It’s not my call,’ he answered. ‘I could care less if you starved. But Augustine wants you coherent when we arrive.’
Coherent.
Augustine not only knew about my gargoyle weaknesses, but also about my particular appetite as well. The knowledge of that made me feel sick. ‘And if I refuse to eat?’
Quentin leaned closer to the bars. ‘Trust me, you don’t want to do that.’
He leapt from the trailer and the door slammed shut again. I waited until we were moving again before I scrambled across the cage and ripped the meat free from the plastic wrapping. My instinctive reaction was embarrassing, and I was thankful no one was here to watch, especially Josephine.
Josephine.
Her name was like a punch in the gut.
I didn’t want to imagine what she thought of me now. I clamped my teeth together and shoved Josephine from my thoughts. But the farther away we drove from the camp, the more off-centered I felt. I didn’t know how I’d function separated from my charge, but I had to find a way to manage. She was safe in Sixes, and that’s what mattered.
The meat’s tangy scent was overwhelming. I wiped dribble from my chin. Eating would lighten the cloudy brain haze, but the thought of doing anything Quentin told me to was downright revolting. I gripped the package so tightly my knuckles burned. The jerky was probably tainted with something. That would explain why they wanted me to eat. No, I’d keep my head clear – not by eating their food, but by using my own force of will. I was not going to be Augustine’s pet.
I summoned my strength and flung the meat as far away from me as I could. The package thumped against the trailer wall and landed unceremoniously in a pile of old woodchips.
My stomach hated me immediately.
Underneath the thick manacle on my wrist, the dandelion tattoo burned. I tried prying my claws underneath the metal, but the spikes lining the inside of the cuff ground deeper into my already raw skin. The shadowen-proof diamond coating had zapped my energy and rendered my limited shadowing abilities useless.
‘Karl,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’
My stomach twisted, but not from hunger. If I’d listened to the old circus trainer more, if I’d managed to get past my trepidation of what I was, maybe I could’ve done something to save him. I’d failed him, and I’d failed the Corsis.
The Corsis.
I reached for my jeans pocket before remembering I no longer had my phone. Would Hugo realize something had happened if I didn’t answer his texts? Would he even text at all? Our communication had gradually waned the longer I’d been at the Circe, sometimes going a week between calls.
Josephine.
She didn’t have any more control over this situation than I did. Besides, I’d seen the way she’d clung to Quentin after I went completely nuts. I saw the horrified look on her face when they carted me away. Even if she had felt something for me, it meant nothing after tonight.
I leaned my shoulder against the metal bars of the cage. A year ago, I’d been a senior in high school, looking forward to the freedom of graduation. Now, freedom sounded like a foreign word. My head dropped heavily to my chest. I had no idea what kind of Gypsy trial awaited me when I got to Savannah, but I was going to have to face it alone.
*
The next hour slogged along. The cage rocked and jolted as we made various turns. I lay on my stomach, my face pressed into the rotting hay. I rolled my shoulders and cringed. My old set of nylon straps may have been uncomfortable, but they were nothing compared to the thick cords the Marksmen used to bind my wings. Each time I moved, all the muscles along my back cramped.
At last, the trailer rolled to a stop. I rose as the door opened once more. I smelled Quentin’s unpleasant scent, but after that, came the smell of saltwater, moss, and stone. We were parked in an alley of some kind. Streetlamps shone between branches weighted down with Spanish moss.
Quentin ascended the stairs and sauntered around the cage without acknowledging my presence. Then he knelt beside the pile of woodchips and retrieved the beef jerky. He held it between two fingers, as though it were contaminated.
‘Just like he said you would,’ Quentin remarked.
I snarled as another scent reached my nose.
‘Not very wise, Mr Grey.’ Augustine entered the trailer. ‘I know for a fact it’s been at least six hours since your last meal. Very likely even longer than that, since I can only speak in regards to my arrival at the Circe. I assumed you understood your shadowen needs by now.’
I clutched my stomach as a wave of nauseous hunger slammed into me. My legs wobbled, and I found myself on my knees, gritting my teeth, fighting against the thickness in my head. I had to keep my rational thoughts, no matter what.
‘Yeah, I’m hungry. But if you think I’m going to trust anything you give me, you’re delusional.’
‘I’m just trying to help you,’ Augustine replied.
‘I’m fine,’ I growled.
‘Well, then. Suit yourself. We’ve just arrived in Savannah,’ he continued. ‘But before we begin this next part of our journey together, let’s go over a few … expectations I have for you.’
I wrapped my fingers around a cage bar and hoisted myself to my feet. My upper lip twitched uncontrollably. I felt the jagged edges of my teeth; the hideous things could make short work of a rib-eye steak but remained stupidly ridiculous to talk around.
‘Like what?’
Augustine pulled a wooden stool from the corner of the trailer and set it down with a loud bang. The sound stung my ears. ‘Well, I can’t exactly bring you any further in this cage. It’s a bit conspicuous. So I am going to need your cooperation. When they come to escort you to the Court of Shadows, I expect you to go calmly, quietly, and without a fuss.’
I stared back at him.
‘The Court of Shadows