“And if we don’t?” I said tightly.
“Then he would have died no matter where he was.
At least now he knows the stakes. He knows you sur- vived. And you will both have each other for however long circumstances allow.”
I remained still as a silent war raged within me. I would never be with Benjy like I’d planned, not anymore. But he was here now. He knew I wasn’t dead, and I would get to see him as often as I liked. And despite my anger, I knew Knox had a point. No one could hide from the government, not forever. Benjy deserved the chance to live the life he’d earned with his VI, and no matter what happened, I would do everything I could to make sure Daxton never got to him like he’d gotten to Tabs and Nina.
“Thanks,” I said, forcing the words out through my clenched jaw. “For letting me see him. You’re sure he’ll be safe here?”
“Safer here than someplace where no one’s watching his back,” said Knox. “And you’re welcome.”
At last I left. Before heading to Celia’s suite, I returned to mine and changed out of my nightclothes. My mind raced with the possibilities of how Daxton and Augusta might use Benjy against me, and by the time I knocked on Celia’s door, I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. I would tell him about the secret passageway the first chance I got. At least then we’d both have a way out.
“There you are,” said Celia. “Come on in.”
Just like my suite, hers was luxuriously decorated. Everything from the couches to the carpet was a rich purple, and framed pictures of her, Lila, and a man I didn’t recognize were everywhere. I sat down on the sofa and tried not to look nervous.
“I don’t need to tell you the danger Benjy is in,” she said, sitting across from me and pouring herself a cup of tea. She offered me one, and I shook my head. “When Knox approached my brother about taking him on as his assistant, Daxton was thrilled with the idea.”
My blood ran cold. “Knox said he was safe here.”
“Knox is an idealist. I’m a realist.” She took a sip of her tea. “You won’t be useful to them forever, you know, and when the time comes, no amount of protest is going to save Benjy, either.”
“I won’t let them hurt him,” I said.
“Is that so? How do you plan on stopping them?”
I looked at my hands. Once I told Benjy about the passageway, he might have a chance to escape when the time came. With Lila’s face, I would never be able to hide in a crowd, but Benjy—he could do it.
“Why are you telling me this?” I said.
“Because I have a solution for you.” Setting her teacup down, she fished a cloth bag from her pocket. It was the same bag Knox had handed her earlier. Reaching inside, she pulled out two small syringes. One was filled with purple liquid, and the other clear. “Have you ever used one of these before?”
I leaned back into the sofa, as far away from her as possible. I remembered all too well the night Daxton had knocked me out with a needle. “I’m not taking that.”
“I’m not asking you to.” She held up the purple one.
“This is a nonfatal dose. This—” She held up the clear syringe. “This combination will stop the heart almost instantly once it’s administered in full.”
My hands shook, and I shoved them underneath my legs to keep Celia from noticing. “Is that your solution?
You’re going to kill Daxton?”
“No,” she said calmly. “You are.”
Chapter 12
According to Celia, the plan was foolproof.
She would take the purple dose near Daxton’s suite and toss the syringe into the small fountain nearby. The evidence would dissolve, she claimed, and no one would be any wiser.
After that, she would stumble around the corner and distract Daxton’s guards. Thirty seconds—that’s all she would have before she passed out, and that was where I came in. While the guards were busy attending to her, I would sneak into Daxton’s room and find a way to give him the fatal dose. Someone had disabled the security cameras, she assured me, and no one would be able to pinpoint it on me. Once I was done, I would sneak back out, get rid of the syringe, and return to my suite to wait for the news of Daxton’s death.
It would look like someone had attempted to poison them both, Celia said. It would take the blame off her, and Knox would vouch for me if it came to it. Augusta would blame some unknown assassin, likely associated with the Blackcoats, and there would be chaos for days.
But Daxton would be dead, and Augusta didn’t have Greyson on a tight leash like she did her son.
“What if I don’t want to?” I said, and Celia gave me a look that could have melted diamonds.
“Whose life do you value more? Daxton’s or Benjy’s?”
And that was the end of the argument.
I still wasn’t convinced it was the best thing to do, though. There had to be another way, one that didn’t involve taking so many chances, but Celia was adamant.
Daxton was due to travel across the country the next day now that lockdown was over, and if I wanted to do this, it had to be now.
“The first time you do something wrong, he’ll murder Benjy,” said Celia. “You know that.”
I did, but that didn’t mean I was ready to kill someone with my bare hands.
I hid behind a corner a few yards from the entrance to Daxton’s suite, which took up two levels of an entire wing on the opposite side of the mansion. As I waited, I clutched the syringe and tried to remember that this was for Tabs and Nina and everyone else who had died because of Daxton. This was nothing more than justice, and if anyone deserved to die for his crimes, it was him. No matter how passionately he claimed he was making the world a better place, when the most I could have hoped for as a III was an early death, I couldn’t see how it was benefiting anyone but those who were lucky enough to be born into a position of power. Or like Benjy, smart enough to earn it. And while I knew better than to think Celia was doing this to help me protect him, I also knew that Daxton had killed her daughter. So far she’d shown remarkable restraint, but it must have been easier to face him knowing this was her plan all along.
Celia’s strangled cry echoed down the corridor, and they were soon joined by shouts from the guards. When I peeked around the corner, I saw two uniformed men hunched over Celia, who lay on the floor shaking violently. Horrified, I stared, forgetting for a moment that my time was limited. What if she wasn’t okay?