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“Do you think she’d freak out if we curled up and slept with her when she knows that she went to bed alone?” Gray asks softly. There’s a sorrow surrounding him like a shroud. He pushed too hard today, and he knows it.

“Maybe ” I sigh, keeping the door half open as I step out. “We need a family meeting. I hate not including her, but—”

“We need to talk first,” he grunts, walking toward the living room. “Family meeting!”

Sitting, we all watch him as he stays standing, his arms crossed as he thinks.

“I don’t want her to relive things if she doesn’t need to,” he begins, watching us. “The shame needs to be lanced, and the only way to do that is to talk about it, though she may not want to discuss it with us guys, Andrya.”

To his credit, Gray winces, knowing how that sounds.

“No, you’re right. I’ll broach the conversation when it’s right. It’ll be good for both of us. I… I’m not too far from where she is now. I don’t think about killing myself as much anymore, and each positive step we make that leads us to freedom helps, but she doesn’t have any hope,” Andrya says, her fingers digging into her thighs as she leans forward.

“We need to give it to her,” I grunt. “She can’t return to the castle. I’d suggest we make a run for it, but Silla won’t risk it. How do we keep her safe?”

“She mentioned the Underground,” Ayden mutters. “Why are they interested in her? The entire reason we got Cinder to agree to Silla’s involvement was because we thought they didn’t know who she was.”

“Cinder is grooming Silla for something,” Isaac intervenes, his face souring. “The clothes, keeping her close to her for meetings, think of how much information on royal matters Silla has stored in her brain. Cinder was also very worried about the liability her step-sister would be if she was taken hostage.”

“Could Silla be placed on the throne instead?” Andrya whispers. “They look so alike outside of height and hair color…”

“Silla sounds different though,” her brother counters, tugging his hair in concentration. “How much of a fuss would the kingdom make if we offed the queen?”

“I don’t know how the king would feel about it,” Grayson rumbles. “He’s a figurehead, it seems, while Cinder does everything. And then there’s the matter of how corrupt her court is. Charming probably enjoys his current lifestyle too much to give it up easily. They’ve enjoyed the perks that their queen has given them.”

“Like violating our girl?” I growl. I can’t believe this is a perk offered by Cinder. She’s a human being!

“Yes,” Grayson grunts, looking a little green with revulsion. “Silla didn’t look too thrilled with the knuckleheads who brought her here. How much should we trust the Underground? Should we set up a meeting with their leader and see what their intentions are?”

“I want to discuss it with Silla, but I think that’s the best course of action,” Isaac says. “They brought her here, so they’re not trying to hurt her, yet they were insistent in their own bumbling ways. We need to make sure they’re not just idiots with a bone to pick if we’re going to work with them. If Silla is going to become Queen—”

“No one else is worried about our very treasonous conversation?” I ask, amused by the way this is going. I’m not surprised, because it’ll be the best way to get the Queen’s heel off of Silla’s neck. If she’s dead, she won’t be able to hurt her. We just need to make sure to block those that feel they can step into the royal seat as if they’re destined to it. A gap in power means people will fight for the privilege of leading. We don’t need a riot or power play for the crown. We need real leadership for a dying kingdom.

I’m just asking for a nice, smooth transition with a sweet, well balanced ruler like Silla. Is that too much to ask?

“Nope, I’m not at all. We’ve already been branded as traitors,” Ayden jokes, sticking out his tongue. So charming.

My lips twitching, I shake my head. “Be that as it may, we can’t have Cinder catching wind of this. Whenever Silla wakes up, let’s take her clothes shopping, and broach the idea of contacting the Underground leader. I don’t want to gang up on her,” I warn them. “She’s been bombarded with so much, I want this to be her choice, understood?”

They all nod, soon lost in their own thoughts about what Silla has been through.

“My own choice for what?” Silla asks sleepily. It’s like convincing a toddler to stay in bed, but realistically, she’s twenty-six and has a place in this conversation.

“Come sit, Silla,” I murmur, waving her in. “We wanted you to nap, but I don’t want you to think that we’re talking about you or making decisions on your behalf. We’re not. It’s more that we’re trying to process what’s happened over the last few hours.”

Walking in slowly, she shrugs in agreement. “Every day for me is a lot,” Silla snorts without humor.

“Wanna cuddle?” I ask, a slow smile taking over my face.

Her lips twitch without realizing it, and she nods. “Yeah. Just don’t let me go back to sleep quite yet.”

“When’s the last time you had a decent sleep?” Grayson asks as she clambers into my lap.

“I don’t know what that is, Gray,” she answers, laying her head on my shoulder. “I tend to sleep in spurts, even though my bed is… was, my safe space. It was so comfortable, until it was all ruined. I was too twitchy to sleep right now. I kept feeling as if something was about to happen.”

“Truth bombs,” Isaac fake sneezes. “Little Hacker, you’re killing me here, because I don’t want to press or ask. But, I’m dying here.”

“I’m sorry.” She sighs, glancing over at him. “My entire life is pretty shitty, so if I censor everything, I’ll become mute.”