Tainted

Chapter Eleven

Drops of water echo against stones as the rain pushes its way through crevices and cracks. It makes an eerie sort of sound as the guard and I make our way from the training ring to the prison hall.

I'm shivering by the time we reach the dungeons, my arms crossed tightly over my chest.

There's a gentle din of conversation floating between the cells. Only half the torches seem to be lit in the dungeon, and I wonder why the guards haven't lit the rest for the day. At the far edge of the ring of cells I see that the two Fated prisoners are gone. Their cell looks swept and clean, as if it's being prepared for another warm welcome to the next Fated to walk through the door.

My own cell is also empty and a part of me feels more dead for it. If Binks can go home, why can't I?

The Key Master takes an agonizingly long time to unlock the cell, and by the time I'm inside, I'm numb. There's enough rain water pooling on the floor that it laps against my ankles. It chills me to the bone and I look around, defeated, not wanting to sit.

A speck of blue fur grabs my eye and I stop searching for a dry spot of ground. I look up. It's Binks, coming toward me. I can't help the sick relief I feel and I think Binks notices. She purses her lips and looks away, waiting for the Key Master to shuffle back into the dungeon.

"Should only have to do this once," he mutters under his breath as he unlocks the cell door yet again and lets Binks inside.

Binks seems unfazed by the water. There's an odd sort of set to her shoulders and I frown.

"What happened?" I ask, speaking over the grinding of the cell door's hinges.

Binks walks to the back of the cell and leans her spine against the stone.

I lick my lips. If she hasn't jumped to tell me why she was summoned by the warden, then it must be bad. Or...very good, and she doesn't yet want to share.

"He's sending me home tomorrow," Binks says.

I was preparing myself for the words, but it doesn't lessen the feel of them. It's as if the air's been knocked out of me.

"Oh." I nod. I don't know what else to do. My hands hang limp at my sides and I feel awkward and confused.

"Why?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

Binks hesitates, a flash of self-righteous anger flickering across her face. "Warden says they've lifted the sentence. The Bandelairean police. They've lifted the sentence, so I'm...I'm free to go." She looks down, lifting her foot and watching the ripples form around her toes.

People are talking, their voices echoing against the stones, but in this cell it's deathly quiet. I can hear the drops of water as Binks lifts up her foot and sets it back down.

"Congratulations," I say.

Binks looks up at me. "Mi, I tried to advocate for you. I tried to tell him to let you go, but I—"

"Couldn't lose your chance at going home," I finish bitterly, thinking "you're just like everyone else."

Binks stops short. She watches me, both wary and pleading, and I don't know what to say. I don't know what to make of this.

"You're going to see your brothers," I say, casting about for something to lighten the mood. There's no use in making the situation worse. Binks is going home, and I should be happy for her.

Binks's lips quirk upwards. She settles back onto her heels. "That will be nice," she says quietly.

Voices sound from the skylight. Shouts and whoops of nobles careen down against the rocks as they stumble and stamp their way into the prison. The rain's let up, leaving only a wet drip to fall onto the cell floor every few minutes. The sky is dark with night, and the guards come around to douse all torches but two. They must've drawn the short sticks to be selected as the guards left out of the Moon Day festivities.