‘Willow?’ The name feels alien in my mouth. He speaks to the guards, his gaze never leaving my face. ‘You can go now.’
The sergeant leads the squaddies from the craft. They move rhythmically – a line of identical clockwork toys. Willow and I stand alone. My ears still buzz from the bullets and I realize I haven’t slept or eaten properly in days. I try to focus on his beautiful face, but it swims in out of focus, the sharp, metal lines of the hovercraft smudging around him.
‘Rose? Are you OK?’ His voice reaches me above the fuzz, and for a moment, I forget my other name, my canon name. I open my mouth to reply but only a mess of vowel sounds emerges.
‘Here.’ He guides me to a metal stool and passes me a cup of something hot. ‘It’s just tea, it will help with the shock.’
I stare into those copper eyes. I can’t decide whether I want to hug him or smack him. All my emotions kind of muddle together, forming this ugly, amorphous ball in my gut. I’m so glad he isn’t with Alice, and there’s something about his perfectly organized face – the symmetry and order – which makes me feel safe. But I also feel angry. Furious. Not only because he slept with my so-called best friend, but because he knows about the Dupes and yet he does nothing, and he would have let those guards amputate Nate’s hands if Alice the slagbag hadn’t stepped in – how could he be so weak?
‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.
‘I kind of hoped I could be your knight in shining armour. I came to save you.’
Save me . . . why does he want to save me? That flicker of hope is back and I begin to think maybe he still has feelings for me. But I order myself to remain composed – he’s disappointed me before.
‘How did you even know I was here?’ I say.
‘Rose, I know you’re a rebel, and it’s OK, I’m not angry. I was at first, but when Father told me about the Gems’ plans to ambush the rebels tonight, all I cared about was your safety.’
I can’t help but frown. ‘How do you know I’m a rebel?’
‘Alice. The girl from the ball, the one from the market.’
‘Oh . . . her.’
He ignores my tone, but can’t hide the shame in his eyes. ‘Why did you take off like that? We kissed and then I couldn’t find you again.’
Because you shagged my best mate, manwhore. I force a little smile. ‘Really? You don’t know?’
He lowers his head so I see his crown for the first time – each caramel strand spirals outwards from a single centre point. It reminds me of a pinwheel. He sighs. ‘I made a terrible mistake. It was just the once, but I guess that’s all it took.’
‘Yeah, I saw you with her the night I left. It broke my heart.’ This is true. Knowing my best friend could betray me like that, but I let Willow believe he did all the breaking – his guilt could work in my favour.
‘Rose, I’m so sorry.’ He takes my hands and pulls me forward so I can smell the citrus of his soap and the peppermint on his breath. ‘You see, she told me she worked for the government as some sort of agent, rooting out Imp spies. When she said that you were only getting close to me to spy for the rebels, I was so upset and . . . It was stupid. I regretted it immediately.’
Alice told Willow I was spying for the rebels? If Willow had blabbed to the Gem authorities, she could have got me killed. I know that’s unlikely, seeing as Willow forgave Rose for being a rebel, but it was one hell of a risk to take. The shock and anger moves through me in waves, unsettling the contents of my stomach and robbing me of breath. Could she really be so willing to gamble with my life?
And she never told me that she’d tricked Willow, unsettled him, she’d just let me believe she was better than me. Maybe Alice doesn’t possess some weird voodoo power over men, maybe she just schemes and plots and flashes her lady lumps like Katie said. Well, I can compete with that – though maybe not with her double Ds. I begin to feel stronger, empowered. I fill my lungs with air and touch my neck where my necklace used to sit. ‘She was sort of telling the truth. I am an Imp rebel. I was supposed to win your trust and uncover the Gems’ secrets, but as soon as I met you, all that changed.’
‘I know, I know.’
Arrogant manwhore, I think, but I keep on smiling, desperate to get the canon back on track. ‘I knew I could never betray you, even after I saw you with Alice. It’s one of the reasons I left the manor, so I could tell the rebels I’d tried and failed. Then they would leave you alone for good.’ I know I’m being manipulative, but so much depends on winning him back, I just don’t care.
And it looks like he’s buying it. He smiles and gazes into my face. ‘Even after you saw me with another girl? You’re amazing, Rose, and I don’t care that you’re a rebel, I don’t even care that you’re an Imp.’ He grabs the cup from me and scoops me into his arms. ‘It’s why I came – to take you back to the manor. The sergeant’s a family friend and he said he’d help me smuggle you and your brother out of here.’
For a moment, I’m tempted. The stink of the smoke and the burning flesh have yet to penetrate this far. I smell only the Pastures – crisp and pure and laden with pollen. But I know it’s all a lie.
He pushes my hair from my face. ‘Plenty of Gems have Imp lovers. But you would be more than that, of course. I mean, eventually, I would have to marry a Gem girl, but it would be for show.’
A plan starts to form in my head. I squint slightly with the effort of thinking. I wish I had a pen and paper to write it all down so I don’t get snarled up in all the layers. If I get captured by the Gems tonight, Willow could still declare his love for me at the Gallows Dance tomorrow. I just need to get away from him without rousing his suspicion. Then I need to get Nate, Ash and Katie to safety before surrendering to the Gems.
This could actually work. The excitement builds on my earlier panic so that I feel like I’m about to overflow with adrenalin. I could still incite a revolution. Still go home. Still save the Imps. Hope starts as a little flower.
I snake my arms around Willow’s waist, hoping to add weight to my words. ‘There’s nothing I want more than to be with you. But I need to get my friends to safety first. Will you help?’
‘Of course.’
‘Just fly us clear of the guards, and when I know they’re in the clear, safe inside the city walls, I’ll return to the estate.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
I shake my head, remembering that lynch mob with a shudder. ‘The Imps will kill you if they figure out you’re a Gem.’ And then you can’t complete the canon, I think to myself, followed by a spike of guilt.
He sighs, giving up a little too easily perhaps. ‘Please be careful.’ He kisses me on the mouth. Only it doesn’t feel like kissing any more – it just feels like two people bumping lips.
I gently pull away. ‘I will, I promise.’
‘Quickly then.’ He crosses to the hatch.
‘Willow?’
He pauses and turns, his hand drifting above a shiny, green button.
‘How did your father know about the raid on the Meat House?’
He shrugs. ‘He didn’t say. Why?’
This has niggled at me since I heard the roar of the Gem helicopters. How could the Gems have known we were going to raid the Meat House? In canon, Willow made the raid happen. But in the current, I made it happen. Not a single Gem could have known, unless there’s a mole in our midst.
‘I was just curious,’ I say, waving a blasé hand.
He hits the button and the door pops open. He strides across to the entrance. ‘Send in the two boys, please.’
Ash and Nate emerge from the darkness. I hear the hatch swoosh as it seals behind us. After staring into Willow’s clean, perfect face, Nate and Ash look like a couple of dirty, half-dead rats, covered in grime and blood and bruises. I feel an overwhelming urge to hug them both.
‘What’s he doing here?’ Ash asks.
I shake my head, urging him to fall silent.
Willow loops an arm around my shoulder and plants a kiss on my cheek. ‘I’ll fly us away from the soldiers then.’
I’ve never seen Ash scowl quite so deeply.
But I can’t help but grin – I’ve just had an idea. I wink at Nate. ‘We just need to find a manhole cover.’
‘Manhole cover?’ Willow says.
‘Oh my God!’ Nate squeals in delight. ‘We’re going into the sewers.’