Page 87 of The Preachers' Promise

I draw a sharp breath and clamp my hand over my mouth.

A moment later, I’m running from the water tower.

“Ophelia, wait.”

The guys catch up with me, and we’re quickly joined by Cain’s men. I’m not frightened anymore, but I am filled with anticipation.

We finally reach the gates, and I draw to a halt. There are metal bars between us, but that doesn’t stop the impact of seeing her again for the first time in so long.

Her dress is the first thing that hits me. Seeing it again, that damned maroon color we all had to wear, is propelling me back in time.

“Daisy?”

She looks older. It’s only been a year, but her face seems to have aged ten. I know such a thing isn’t possible, but it’s true. It’s like she’s gone from being a girl to a woman, though she still looks the couple of years younger than me.

“It’s okay,” I tell the guards. “You can let her in. I vouch for her.”

The gates creep open, and Daisy steps through.

“Ophelia, I’m so happy I found you!”

This girl was like a sister to me for so many years, and seeing her here at Verona Falls is surreal. Before I can even registerwhat’s happening, or my reaction to it, we’re in each other’s arms. My eyes fill with tears, and Daisy gives a little hiccup of laughter.

“I wasn’t sure I’d found the right place,” she says.

I’m still baffled. “But—how?—?”

“I went to your parents’ house because I had the address you’d written in the note you left me back at the commune. I heard you talking about this place, Verona Falls, and I managed to find it.”

“You heard me talking? How is that possible?”

“I was hiding outside of the gates.”

“Why didn’t you show yourself?”

“Fear. I didn’t know the men you were with. They seemed…scary.”

Her gaze flicks over my shoulder. I notice that their presence hasn’t stopped her approaching now.

I can understand her hesitancy, though. Malachi always seems a little frightening, with all his black clothes and tattoos and makeup, and Roman had been all beaten up, and Cain is huge, and naturally looks like he could hurt something.

“You still could have shown yourself. You know I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”

But she shakes her head. “I didn’t know that.”

She has a point. Men have hurt us plenty of times before, and we’ve never been able to stop it.

“How did you escape? You said in your letter that the Prophet was going to make you his seventh wife.”

“He was…as far as I know, he still plans to do that...but that isn’t why I’m here. I had to leave because I needed to find you. I needed to find someone to make him stop.”

“Make him stop what? The wedding?”

“No, it’s far worse than that. If I only had to worry about marrying him I might be able to cope.” A tear trickles down hercheek, and she wipes it away. “He’s planning something worse, Ophelia. Something far, far worse.”

I glance around, aware of the college guards within earshot. With a two-minute walk toward the woods, we’ll find a couple of benches.

“Walk with me,” I tell her. I turn to Cain. “Can you three come with us, but ask your father’s men to keep their distance and watch us from a little way back?”