Healing was, as ever, an agonizingly slow process. Even more so because the tendons in my hand had been torn by the dagger my father had lodged in it. I could barely move my fingers, and it hurt to do so. The doctor Sura had brought me to had told me it could be months before I could regain all motion... if I ever did. All my other injuries had been accessed, and they'd found an infection that could have turned into sepsis had I waited any longer. While Nadir had done a good job with stitches on my other wounds, I hadn't been diligent about cleaning them. They'd also checked over all my older injuries, assuring me they'd healed well and nothing had been re-torn open or disturbed.

All in all, it would be months before I would recover. My hand would scar, and there would also be a scar on my leg from where the bullet Kaz had shot at me hit. While none of my other injuries unnerved me, that one did. I'd always have to remember how I'd gotten it and who had caused it.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I tensed, unsure who would be on the other side of it. It had been nearly two weeks since I'd last seen Claude or Kaz. Only Sura, Felix, and Nadir came to visit me. I wasn't sure if Claude and Kaz just weren't allowed to see me... or if they just didn't want to see me.

But I didn't know if I wanted to see them, either.

To my relief, it was Felix who walked through the door. My shoulders relaxed, and I stood up from the desk I'd been sitting at. I'd been trying to read a book, but my thoughts hadn't let me, drifting off every time I turned a page. There wasn't much I could do, so I'd taken up reading, feeling a little bit like Belle in The Beauty and the Beast. The idea almost made me smile. Would Claude be the Beast?

The urge to smile disappeared.

"How are you feeling?" Felix asked me as he approached, his mouth set in a frown.

Weird. Felix usually smiled when he saw me. It unnerved me. "Okay..." I said slowly, furrowing my eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Nadir will be here soon. He wants to take you somewhere."

"Where?" I asked, alarmed. Why would Nadir take me anywhere? He was the one forcing everyone to keep me locked up like a prisoner. At least, I hope it was just him.

"Funeral," Felix said flatly.

"What?"

Felix ran a hand through his hair, pacing around the room. "I don't know why he would bring you. It doesn't make sense. In fact, it's probably going to put you in danger."

I pulled on Felix's arm, making him come to a halt. "Whose funeral?"

"The students from the academy who died."

My heart sank. "What?"

"It's some political bullshit. He wants the public to see you at the funeral. Probably to paint the idea that you're being forced to witness what your family has done to those who lost someone."

I didn't know what to say to that. Felix's neck turned red from anger as he clenched his jaw, but for some reason, I didn't share that anger. "If that would help their families feel better—" I began, but Felix cut me off.

"That's putting a target basically on your back, Cleo!"

I flinched as he raised his voice at me. "Felix..."

"Sorry," he said, lowering his voice and sighing. He began to pace again. "But I don't think you're understanding why this is an issue. There will be vampires everywhere. Vampires who hate your family. Vampires who hate you. Vampires whose kids were murdered by your family. It wouldn't be a surprise if they wanted you dead, too."

"I..." I hesitated. "I can understand that."

Felix whipped his head to stare at me. "What?"

"To have someone you love ripped away from you so cruelly...." I clenched at the fabric of my shirt right above my heart. "It hurts. I can understand wanting to take revenge for that pain."

"So, you're willing to die because your father killed people?"

I shook my head. "I didn't say that."

Felix walked back over to me, grabbing my shoulders, and leveling me with his gaze. "I don't think you truly understand."

"I do—"

"You don't. Do you want to kill Kaz?"

I froze. "What?"

"Do you want to kill him for killing your father? Did you feel so much anger that you could have picked up that gun and shot him dead?"

"No!" I said immediately, my heart hammering in my chest. "I never thought— I don't want to kill Kaz."

"Then you don't understand. These people want to kill you, Cleo. They want to avenge their children's deaths with yours." He released me and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know you're empathetic about them losing their children. I feel for them, too, but it doesn't mean you deserve to die. You didn't do anything wrong."

I clasped my hands together, holding them tightly. "It's not like I'm completely innocent, I..."

"Stop. Stop right there. You are not taking the blame for things that aren't your fault."

I kept my mouth shut, peeking up at Felix.

He pursed his lips at me. "You're frustratingly kind, Cleo. So endearingly, exasperatingly kind. It's going to get you killed."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"I should be happy you feel good enough to joke around, but this situation is serious."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him, not unkindly. "I'm a prisoner. I can't say no to Nadir. I have to go if he wants me to."

Felix stared at me a moment more before letting his head fall back and groaning. "I know. That's why this is so infuriating." Suddenly his head snapped back upright, his eyes widening. "Claude."

Hearing Claude's name caused goosebumps to cross my skin. "What about him?"

"We could ask him to let you stay home."

"But Nadir—"

"Claude is the King. He has the final say."

"If that was true, I don't think I would still be locked up here," I said, but wasn't sure how much I believed my own words. I didn't know what Claude wanted. I'd stopped trying to guess.

Felix's shoulders sagged. "You're not going to try and fight this, are you?"

"I don't have any right to."

"Yes, you do. You didn't do anything wrong," Felix said through gritted teeth.

"But my family did. If I can help make it right in some way, then I should."

A long second went by and Felix just stared at me. "I'm remembering why I found you so frustrating before. It's so hard to care for someone who doesn't care about themselves."

His words bit into me, ripping into my heart and lungs, making the world seem to stop for a moment. I couldn't react. I didn't react as he stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind himself.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I wiped them away furiously. I promised I wouldn't cry anymore. Felix words hurt, though. I knew where he was coming from, I really did, but what could I change? What could I do? What did he want from me? Would it make him feel better to know how terrified I actually was? Would he love to hear that I had nightmares every night of Kaz and faceless vampires trying to kill me? Would he be happy to know the anxiety I felt weighed me down to the point it was hard to even get out of bed?

He worried about me enough. I couldn't worry him more. I wouldn't.

Even if he got mad at me or frustrated, it was better than him being so worried about me that he endangered himself. If vampires wanted to kill me just because I was a Levant, even though I hadn't killed anyone myself, what would they think of a vampire associating with me? What would they do to Felix?

I needed to appease the vampires in any way I could if I wanted to survive. I knew there were vampires out there who would want revenge and would happily take it out on me. I wasn't stupid. But I also knew my hands were tied. Claude had made me a prisoner of not only the royal family but of the entire country when he arrested me. He'd publicly called me out as a threat to him and the public would react to that and consider me as horrible as my father.

Deep inside, I hoped Claude hadn't known the ramifications of his actions. I hoped he'd only been following Nadir's orders, thinking this would be good enough to satisfy everyone who had lost someone to my family and that we could go back to normal after. But that would never happen now. There would be no normal again.

I'd thought I'd have to choose between losing Claude or losing my family, and in the end, I'd lost both.

The door swung open, and I figured it was Felix again, but instead, Nadir walked in. I straightened out, hoping my eyes weren't too red. "We're going out today," he said, coming to a stop in front of me, forcing me to look up to meet his gaze.

I always felt small in front of Nadir. He was massive. At least a foot and a half taller than me and maybe even twice as broad. Pure muscle. "To the funerals?"

"You don't have a choice."

"I know," I said, holding his gaze, unwavering.

To my surprise, his brown eyes softened as he looked at me. "I'll make sure you're safe."

I blinked, absolutely taken aback at the kindness of his words. I'd never seen another side of him other than his normal intimidating self.

"I know it might be upsetting to be there, but it's a necessary action," Nadir continued, his expression returning to its natural impassive state.

"What should I wear?" I asked. "Do you have prisoner clothes or something? Or like a jump-suit?"

I didn't think Nadir could shock me more, but he did when he abruptly laughed a little. He laughed. Bewildered, I stepped away from him. What was going on with him?

"You are a prisoner, Cleo, but not like that." He cleared his throat. "However, Claude did prepare an outfit for you."

"Claude did?"

"Yes. You'll need help putting it on, I assume."

My cheeks began to burn. While I knew Nadir had probably seen a decent amount of me from tending to my wounds with my dress being all ripped up, this was different. I'd have to ask him to go get Felix for me.

Nadir must have noticed my expression because his eyes widened. "Oh, no. I'm not the one helping you."

"Oh," I said, blushing even more now that he caught me.

He cleared his throat again, coughing. "I'll leave her to help you."

If I hadn't been embarrassed before, now I felt even more mortified as Nadir left the room. My first thought had been Felix when Sura was around, too. Of course, Sura could help me. And maybe it was better, too, since Felix was upset with me now.

One more knock came on my door, but at least I was expecting this one. Turning, I grinned a bit. "Sura, you won't believe what Nadir—" My voice died in my throat. It wasn't Sura standing there.

It was Adora.

She stood stock-still in the threshold of the door, her long black hair braided to one side and her brown eyes missing the red contacts I'd grown so used to seeing on her. Like a deer in headlights, she didn't try to enter the room, lips trembling. "Hi..."

I hadn't known how I'd react when I saw Adora for the first time since the night of the ball. She was involved with everything that happened. She knew of everyone's plans the entire time and participated in lying to me so they could reach their goal in the end. I thought I would be hurt and angry and not want to see her face. But seeing her now... I didn't know. I just didn't know.

"Adora," I whispered, my throat going dry.

"Cleo..."

I didn't move as she rushed into the room, throwing the garment bag in her hands to the floor as she crashed into me, hugging me tightly. Her chest was wracked with sobs as she clung to me. My arms felt like lead at my sides. My mind couldn't come to a decision of how to react. Any thoughts I had about how I would didn't match up to what I was feeling right now. The longing for her comfort and the heavy feelings of knowing she betrayed me, too.

"I'm sorry," she managed to get out, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me, Cleo!"

A lump formed in my throat at the emotion in her voice.

"We hurt you so bad. I know we did! I know you hate us. I hate us, too. You have to hate me."

"I don't," I said quietly, surprising myself. "I would never hate you, Adora."

She shook her head, and I got a mouthful of her black hair, that momentarily shocked me out of the seriousness of the moment. I tried to spit it out of my mouth as she clung to me harder. "We lied to you and betrayed you. I'm so sorry, Cleo. I'm sorry!"

"Adora—"

"If you want to punch me, you can! Or stab me— oh, you don't like hurting people. But then what can I offer you to do to me?"

"Adora," I said, pushing her away from me and holding her face in my hands. Her cheeks were soaked with tears, and I tried to wipe them away with my thumb, but it didn't have much range of motion. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"But it's only fair—"

"No, it's not. I'm willing to hear you out, okay? So, stop crying. Let's just talk."

More tears pooled in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I have questions I want answers to, anyway."

She nodded, sniffling, and pulled her face free of my hands and wiped the back of her sleeve over your face. "I'm sorry for not coming to see you. Nadir wanted me to stay away for a little while, and I had to go home and figure things out since the academy shut down."

"It was probably better that way," I admitted. "I needed some time to calm down before seeing anyone."

Adora bit her lip. "Did Claude explain everything?"

"I... haven't really talked to him."

"What?"

"I've basically been locked up here," I said. "Oh, well, Sura and Felix visit me," I continued as I saw the indignation on her face. And then I paused. Again, I was defending what Claude did to me. Why? Why did I consider being allowed to see two people as a good thing when he'd arrested me in the first place?

She wiped at her cheeks again. "I didn't know you were imprisoned until my mother told me. I'm not making excuses for myself, but I really didn't know anyone had planned on arresting you. This wasn't the plan."

"What was your plan?" I asked hesitantly. "That whole time I was at the academy... did everyone plan to kill my father that entire time?"

Adora began to shake her head and then stopped. "To say no to that would be a lie. It was the plan in the beginning— to get close to you so we could get to your father and kill him."

A weight settled in my gut. My theory was right. They'd approached me on purpose for their own benefit. I should have known. Why had they been so nice to me the day they first met me? Me? The daughter of the Levant family? I was such an idiot. "Then, was everything you said a lie? About visiting my family's estate?"

Her eyes widened. "What? No. I didn't lie about that. I really knew who you were for a long time."

"Did you give any information you had about me to Claude and the others?"

She lowered her gaze. "I did."

Anxiety crept into my chest, and I tried to even out my breaths. "Then was everything a lie? Our friendship? I don't want to believe that, but how am I supposed to know—"

"It was real," she said quickly, grabbing my hands. "It is real."

"But—"

"We changed our plans, Cleo. We came to care about you. We didn't want to hurt you, but we still needed to remove your father from his position and make him pay for his crimes," she explained. "So, we agreed that we would work on just getting him imprisoned. And you agreed to it, so I thought it would all work out."

I pulled my hands free from hers. "Was no one going to tell me the original plan? That you'd approached me for a different reason than just friendship?"

"I don't think so," Adora admitted softly. "Why would we tell you? Wouldn't it just make you distrust us?"

"And you guys thought doing this wouldn't make me distrust you?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," Adora said. "Kaz wasn't supposed to..." she trailed off, turning her head to the side. "We didn't consider Claude failing. We didn't consider everything going wrong and not being able to arrest your father— and that was the most important thing we'd needed to accomplish. We needed to show we had the upper hand over the Levant family. That we could beat them."

"And Kaz killing my father wasn't enough for that?" I demanded, the bitter pang of my father's death spreading through my chest again. "You guys got exactly what you wanted from the beginning. He's dead. He's never coming back. So why would you do this to me—?"

"I'm sorry," Adora said, tears in her eyes again. "I wasn't there. I don't really know anything past what we had planned. I'm sorry. Those questions are for Claude. He was confident that we wouldn't need a backup plan. I think Nadir and Kaz created one instead, and then Nadir forced Claude's hand to act, but I can't be sure."

"He didn't force his hand," I said evenly.

"What?"

"Nadir couldn't have forced Claude's hand," I repeated, my hands clenching at my sides. "I remember. I'll never forget. He said you are under arrest for attempting to assassinate the reigning member of the royal family, King Claude. He had a choice."

Adora didn't respond, her chin lowered to her chest. "Then the choice he made was to stay loyal to the royal family and all those they protect. Not the daughter of one of their enemy."

A wave of anger rushed over me, and I opened my mouth to argue back, but that fury dissipated almost as fast as it appeared. I closed my mouth again, swallowing hard. What argument would I have against that? Adora was right. And as much as I wanted to fight it, I understood Claude's choice there. Me, or hundreds of thousands of vampires who would look up to and depend on him.

I understood it. I did. But it just still hurt so much.

I blinked back tears I could feel forming in my eyes again. I prayed my voice would be even when I spoke again. "So, you weren't aware someone planned to kill my father, and you weren't aware of their plan to arrest me, either?"

"No," Adora said immediately, expression solemn. "I didn't know. And had I known, I would have tried to stop it. I promise."

"Then why are you so sorry?"