Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 121153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
I nodded silently and let her, Lilah and Maddie escort me through the front door and into a kitchen. It was unlike the basic kitchens I was familiar with in the commune. It was a mixture of silver metal and wood, the silver devices so shiny I could see my reflection in their buffed surfaces. The countertops were black, speckled with silver glass. Beyond the kitchen area, soft carpets in rich, warm colors lay on polished wooden floors. Large windows were elegantly dressed with beautiful floral curtains. The house smelled of freshly baked bread and a hint of a spiced, musky scent.
Mae moved to the stove to boil some water. Maddie helped Lilah to a chair at a large table. I stayed in the doorway, watching as they moved around the opulent room with ease and familiarity.
I had never felt more alone.
My sisters had survived, they had found new lives . . . and they had found a place in the world without me. This strange new world where I did not recognize the smells and sounds. A world that I feared; a world where I knew I did not belong.
“Rider,” I whispered and felt each of my sisters freeze. I did not see them though; my eyes had focused on a knot of wood on the floor and my sight had blurred. “He is a good man,” I stated. “He is a kind man. I know he is.”
“Bella,” Mae said cautiously, after many seconds. “Come here.” I blinked away the blur from my eyes and saw her gesture to a spare chair around her table.
My stomach lurched.
I did not know what to do here in this place. I did not know how to act around my sisters after so long apart. The feeling almost destroyed me as much as any schooling from Brother Gabriel had ever done. Because these women were my lifeline, they were my safety. They were all I ever used to think about when I feared I could not cope. I had lived for them.
But now I was confused. My head was a thick fog. And I . . . I . . .
I wanted Rider. I needed Rider.
My hand burned as if I could feel his comforting fingers threading through my own. If I concentrated hard enough I could almost hear his gruff voice whisper “Harmony” through the thick stone wall. His voice echoed in my head, and my heart started to beat in the regular rhythm it had lost when he was taken away. When I was with him, my lungs allowed me to breathe. I felt whole. I did not feel lost.
I felt . . . complete.
I closed my eyes, and it did not surprise me that my mind transported me back to the small cellblock in New Zion. I found it ironic really. I had spent my entire life yearning to be free. Yet I knew that the only time I had ever felt anything remotely close to freedom was in the captivity of those four stone walls, with that strong, safe hand wrapped in mine.
Mae cleared her throat, and I opened my eyes. I sat down on the chair she held out for me and almost broke as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to my head. She sat down, the four Cursed Sisters reunited in this wooden almost-paradise.
“This housing . . . ” I did not know how to explain the strangeness I felt that my sister lived in such a place.
Mae blushed, but I knew it was not in pride. She was embarrassed by this. I used to know my sister. I used to know each of these girls by heart—every expression, every soft-spoken word. Now, I stood on the outside, looking in on their newly found, and much-deserved, happiness.
“It is too much,” Mae said as I cast my eyes around her home. I knew by Maddie’s and Lilah’s faces that they must live in homes just as grand.
“Never be embarrassed for being free,” I said facing them again. I meant every word. “Freedom never comes without sacrifice. Be joyous in the reward. I am sure you deserve all of this.”
“Bella,” Lilah said. “What happened?” Her expression was pained. I immediately covered her hand with my own, the maternal role I had always adopted with Lilah pushing to the surface. “I came to you . . . when Mae had left. I came to sit with you at the punishment cell, even though you had passed.” She sucked in a breath. “But you were gone.” Her face contorted in pain. Maddie took Lilah’s other hand, and I knew then that Maddie had been there too. She had come to say goodbye too. “I thought they had disposed of your body already. But . . . but I was clearly wrong . . . you were alive and I never came to your aid.”