REYNA
Lisa, John, and the other couplesâsome of them half-nakedâall followed suit toward the commotion. A crowd had already gathered outside one of the bedrooms, two doors down from the room John had taken me to.
The gatekeeper and some guardians blocked our way, not allowing anyone besides the Roses entry into the room, not even John. I could hear a female voice, choked with tears. I recognized it as Oliviaâs, even before I got inside the room.
The poor girl was naked and crying hysterically as she explained what happened to Sabrina. There was a man lying dead on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
More blood trailed from his eyes down his face, and there was blood on his mouth and bare chest. You could tell he had bled from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
His body was contorted, as if his bones had broken and tried to fix themselves but failed to align back to the way they were. It was a horrifying thing to see.
My eyes were wide with horror and pity for the agony the man must have suffered before death finally claimed him. The sight was so familiar to the dead body Iâd seen weeks ago when Nana and I went out to donate food.
My stomach knotted and twisted, bile rushing up my throat, but somehow I managed to force it down.
âI swear I didnât do anything to him, Sabrina! We were only kissing and touching, then weâ¦we had sex.â
âHe got out of the bed to get me a drink from the table when he suddenly just fell and started convulsing andâ¦and he became like this. I tried to help him butâ¦but it happened so fast!â
Livie wailed, bringing me back to my senses. Olivia was shocked, terrified, and devastated. I couldnât even imagine how horrible it was to witness such a scene.
âI donât understand what happened, he was okay! Andâ¦and then he suddenly wasnât! Do you think itâs my magic, Sabrina?! Did I unknowingly kill him with my powers?â she asked, blowing her nose. Her eyes were wide with panic, her naked body trembling.
I walked to the bed, pulled the sheet, and wrapped it around her shaking body.
âNo, no, I donât think itâs your magic, Livie,â Sabrina argued, consoling the girl, her hand smoothing back Oliviaâs tangled hair.
âThen what is it? You didnât see him, it was so bad, so horrible. He was dying and Iâ¦I couldnât help him, couldnât save him even with my powers, Sabrina.â
âHush, quiet down now, Livie. You did your best. Heâs gone, but youâre okay. Everything will be okay,â Sabrina said reassuringly, hugging Olivia.
When she looked up, her eyes fell first on Lisa. Some kind of understanding passed between the two women.
Then her eyes met mine. She must have seen the horror written on my face.
âLisa, get Reyna out of here, then come back with Jane and Alisson. I will need your help,â Sabrina ordered.
âOkay, I will be right back,â Lisa replied. She began to push me out of the room.
I let Lisa get me out of the room, my body shaking. Sure, Iâd seen people die countless times, but Iâd never taken a life and had never seen someone die so horribly. Not even Jakoâs death had been this terrible and horrifying.
This manâs death reminded me so much of the blue mist outbreak years ago, when I was just a little girl. Bodies of men, grotesque in death, with blood coming out of all their sense organs.
So of course I was shocked, to say the least, but it seemed Olivia and I were the only ones who were shaken by the manâs death. Because Lisa didnât look shocked when she saw the man; her face had been completely blank of all emotion, and neither had Sabrina.
I had also seen the exchange between Sabrina and Lisa. I suspected both women knew exactly what happened and didnât want me to know.
But I was done being kept in the dark, not knowing what the hell was going on. I was going to find out the truth. I suddenly stopped walking.
âLisa, what just happened? I know you know what is going on. You knew what killed that man, didnât you?â I asked, watching my childhood friend for any tells or indication that confirmed my suspicions that Lisa knew.
âI donât know what you are talking about, Reyna. Iâm as shocked as you,â Lisa replied without giving anything away. She dragged me along.
I slipped my hand from her glove-covered ones. âYouâre lying, Lisa. I know you are. Please tell me what is going on, why are there so many goddamn secrets in this queendom?â I whispered furiously.
âLook, I canât say anything, okay? Itâs not for me to tell. You will have to find out for yourself. Luckily for you, you might never have to.â
âWhat does that mean? What arenât you saying, Lisa?â
âIt means nothing. You need to go, Reyna. I suggest you forget what you saw and use this opportunity to get out of here,â Lisa said. She opened the door and pushed me out of the front door before shutting it closed in my face.
***
For a while, I just stood there gaping at the shut door, not moving. My mind churned with so many thoughts. I contemplated between the two options I had: to either knock on the door until someone opened it for me and get all the answers I needed from both Sabrina and Lisa, or I could go and find the key to free my beast.
My heart and body made the decision for me. My feet raced down the tunnels, through the servantsâ quarters, and up the stairs that would lead me to Cassandraâs room.
I knew there were two copies of the same set of keysâone with my mother, the other with Lydia, the head of security. My mother rarely took her keys out of her room, considering she had no intention of ever freeing Casvan.
Lydia was the one who used her keys whenever they needed to take him out of his jail to Dr. Elizabethâs for his daily dose of tortureâor interrogation, as they liked to call it. I was mindful of the guards.
It was late in the night; as such, the castle was bare of people except for the guards. I took the stairs two, three at a time, hiding whenever I heard any sounds or movement.
When I finally reached Cassandraâs room, I was surprised to see the soldiers guarding her room were not there. I didnât waste any time.
I quickly got into the room and went straight to the inner bedroom, directly to the chaise drawers, searching for what I had come looking for. My body was shaking with fear of being caught, especially by Cassandra herself.
Fortunately, I found several keys and was taking a close look to determine which one would free Casvan. I knew the keys and had touched them a time or two. I knew exactly how they looked.
Unfortunately, to my frustration, it wasnât among the bunch of keys Iâd found. I searched inside all the drawers, my motherâs closet, and under the bed and pillows.
And still, I didnât find them.
Just when I was about to give up, I remembered my mother sometimes hid little things like the silver tokens she rewarded people with in her jewelry box.
âYes!â I yelled with excitement when I found the small silver key among the silver tokens.
I quickly began to fix my mess, putting everything back in its rightful place exactly the way it had been. When I saw that it looked the same as it had earlier when I came in, I got out, shut the door, and raced down all the way to the dungeon.
Despite my excitement, I was careful when I snuck in to free Casvan.