“Yeah, and then she’s going to sprout wings and a halo and be declared a saint,” said Lila. “I’m not that stupid.”
“Do you have a better idea?” he said, and then he glanced at me. “Or you?”
“Yeah,” I said. “How about we do something that doesn’t involve Augusta having me killed the first chance she gets? I’m only alive because everyone thinks Lila’s dead.”
“And I’d like to keep it that way,” she said. “Come up with another plan, because I’m not playing along with this one, either.”
“We do have another option,” said Knox, and we both looked at him expectantly. “We could let this play out.
Celia will kill Greyson if she hasn’t already, and then Kitty can become prime minister after Augusta bites the dust in another twenty years.” He drummed his fingertips against the wall. “I like it.”
I bit my lip. He was being sarcastic, but that was exactly what would happen if Lila didn’t help us. Greyson would die, and this time it really would be my fault. If I’d told Augusta ahead of time, or if I’d done more to convince Greyson to stay safe, this would never have happened.
I could take the coward’s way out and keep myself safe, or I could do this and risk Augusta’s wrath.
And as much as I hated to admit it, Knox had a point.
I might not have been cooperative all the time, but I was more willing to listen than Lila was. If Augusta had me killed, things would go back to the way they’d been before this whole mess had started, and she couldn’t afford that right now, not with Daxton’s life hanging in the balance.
“Maybe we should do it,” I said quietly. “Greyson did nothing to deserve this.”
Lila rolled her eyes. “You can try to guilt me all you want, but I’m not going to die for my mother’s dream.”
“No,” I said. “You’d rather have Greyson die for yours.”
Lila glared at me, and I returned the look. Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed heavily. “You’re both going to make me do this, aren’t you?”
“No, we’re not,” said Knox. “But I’m hoping that you will for Greyson. Once it’s over, I’ll do everything I can to help you get away from them. If we did it once, we can do it again.”
She closed her eyes, and suddenly I felt like an intruder on a private conversation. I glanced at the door, wishing Knox wasn’t leaning up against it so I could slip out, but he probably wouldn’t let me anyhow.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll do it—for Greyson, not for either of you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I said, and she gave me a strange look.
“Why do you care?”
“Because he’s my friend,” I said. “And I really don’t want to be prime minister.”
“No one does except Daxton.” She looked at Knox.
“He doesn’t know you know, does he?”
Knox shook his head, and I frowned. “He doesn’t know you know what?” I said.
To my surprise, Lila grinned viciously. “You want to know the real reason why Daxton wanted me dead?”
“Because he tried to sleep with you and you didn’t want to?” I said, and that wiped the smile right off her face.
“How do you know about that?”
“He tried the same thing on me. Said you refused him, too.”
Her mouth twisted into a dangerous smirk. “Yeah, well, turns out that Daxton isn’t really Daxton after all.”
She watched me, as if she expected me to faint at what she clearly thought was an earth-shattering revelation, but I shrugged. “Yeah, he’s a V. I know that already.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Knox! You told her?”
“Of course not,” he said, uncrossing his arms and straightening. “How the hell did you find out?”
“I felt it on the back of his neck,” I said. “You know, too?”
“I felt it when he went after me,” said Lila. “I mean, my uncle was rotten, but he’d never do that, you know?
The next day, Knox told me Daxton’s replacement was going to have me killed. If you know, too, then how are you still alive?”
I shrugged. “Because I stuck a syringe in his neck and tried to kill him.”
“Ah, so you’re the reason he’s in a coma instead of a coffin.”
I bristled. “Does anyone else know who he really is?
Celia? Greyson?”
“Just Augusta, as far as we can tell,” said Knox.
“Why not let them know?” I said.
“Because Greyson’s lost enough family already, and Celia’s too much of a loose cannon right now. There’s no telling what she would do if she knew.” Knox set his hand on the door. “Come on, both of you. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it quickly.”
Lila slipped on a pair of shoes and snatched a leather jacket hanging from a hook. “It’s Kitty, right? He’s going to kill you when he wakes up.”
“Then I guess I should make sure he never does,” I said.
Lila smirked. “I like her,” she said, and as she skipped out the door, Knox and I followed.
Lila led the way back to Somerset. She knew every twist and turn through the alleyways, and once we were deep inside the dirt tunnel, I asked how she knew the route as well as Knox did.
“Who do you think showed him?” she said cheekily, nudging Knox in the side. He grimaced and shrank back.
I didn’t blame him.
Once we returned to Knox’s room, he disappeared out the door, leaving me and Lila alone. I was too nervous to sit down. Instead, as Lila stretched across the sofa like she owned it, I stood in the corner, insignificant and afraid.
I tried to reassure myself that Augusta still needed me, but I didn’t know for sure. Now that they had the real Lila, they could do whatever they wanted with her, and chances were good that I would be dead within hours if I stayed. I couldn’t run away and let Celia kill Greyson, though, despite what it could cost me.
No, I thought as Benjy entered the room. He was the one price I wasn’t willing to pay. No matter what Augusta did to me, I trusted Knox to watch his back. Benjy was a VI in his own right. With me dead, there would be no reason for Augusta to threaten him anymore.
“You’re back,” he said, not yet spotting Lila lying down on the couch.
“Yeah, it didn’t take long.” I walked over to Benjy and tucked myself underneath his arm. He turned to give me a kiss, but before his lips met mine, he stopped.