As they walked through the snaking corridors, the ceiling seemed to creep down to meet them. It was dark and oppressive, as if the tunnels were trying to squeeze out every ounce of defiance Lily possessed before she even reached her destination. With each step, her brain grew increasingly foggy and her energy seemed to drain out of her, dissipating into the damp and shimmering dark-orange walls. By the time the small party reached an aged wooden door at the end of the corridor, Lily was slumped onto Grace, whose arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her just about upright.

Lily didn’t even have the energy to wonder about why she was feeling so weak; all she could focus on was staying conscious, even though every fibre of her was desperate to fade away, to succumb to the force that drained her.

‘Stay with us,’ Lily heard Grace whisper into her ear. ‘Keep Alice as your focus and you’ll survive this. Lose your purpose and you’ll lose yourself. Remember Alice.’

Lily nodded, her eyes fluttering. the guard lifted a heavy metal bar that kept the wooden door sealed and pushed it open, gesturing for Lily and Grace to enter.

Remember Alice.

Remember Alice.

Remember.

Remember … what?

She blacked out.

Chapter Forty-Two

Rolling over, Alice reached out to find Grace’s hand in the mountain of blankets that covered the bed. The pressure of Grace’s hand in hers helped her to ground herself, to remember who she was, what she was, and why she was there. It helped her to push away the nightmares that plagued her head and the dreams that rose from the guilt that sat deep in the chambers of her heart.

Alice’s hand fell on emptiness. Jolting awake, she scrambled around in the dark room, searching for the familiar pressure of Grace’s weight by her side, but she was alone.

After their night together, Grace had left early.

Alice stretched and lit the candle by her head, before clambering out of bed to throw a black silk dressing gown around her shoulders. She shook her head to rid the tiredness from her eyes and lit the lamps around the room, bathing the space in a rusty glow. Now she was fully awake, she was aware of the chattering and whispering from outside her door. There were several people walking up and down the corridor outside and Alice focused hard to listen in and discover the source of the commotion.

‘—New arrival apparently. No idea where she’s come from of course.’

‘Well, she must have some idea?’

‘No, none at all, if I heard right. Sounds like someone on the inside has tipped off an outsider about our position and what we do here.’

‘Who would do that though?’

‘The new girl, I reckon. Never trusted her.’

Alice’s heart sank. She hadn’t contacted anyone outside the Sect, and she had no idea who it was they were talking about. She needed to get up and ready fast. She needed to find Grace so they could work out what the hell was going on.