The Offering by Kimberly Derting Page A

headache,” she told me, doing a poor job of concealing her eye roll about my distaste for her tactics. “But he’ll be fine.” I tried to remember the last time someone had dared to roll their eyes at me, and I realized the gesture didn’t offend me as much as it probably should have. It was refreshing, in a way, to be back on even ground with someone again.
    Well, not on even ground , I thought as I stared down at the guard Eden had managed to level, and wondered what else she was capable of doing. I realized that once we left the palace and I abandoned my position as queen, I’d be infinitely more dependent on Eden than she would ever be on me.
    â€œWe can’t just leave him here,” I insisted. “Come on. Help me drag him inside.” I opened the door to my room, making enough space to pull him through.
    Eden didn’t wait for my help. She just hoisted his entire dead weight by herself and tossed him through the doorway like he was nothing more substantial than a sack of feathers. He landed on the floor without even stirring, and I worried about just how much damage she’d done to him.
    I felt sick leaving him behind like that, but we had no alternative. We couldn’t afford to waste any more time. I tried to be more like Eden—tough, and heartless even, and I followed her lead, staying as close to her as I could manage without actually touching her.
    Eden seemed to have mapped out our route in advance and knew exactly where we could navigate within the labyrinth of hallways without being discovered. The cloak did its job, and I gave off almost no light at all from beneath the heavy fabric. We became invisible, blending into the very walls themselves. Like shadows.
    When we reached the final stretch, the corridor that would lead us to the exit we’d use to make our escape, Eden raised her finger to her lips.
    As if she had to warn me to be quiet. I was like a mute already, too afraid to speak. Nearly afraid to breathe for fear the sound of my too-shallow breaths might give us away.
    And then I realized it wasn’t me she was worried about.
    I could tell by the stiffening of her spine and the odd cock of her head that she’d sensed we were no longer alone. She held up her hand in a signal, warning me to stay put. I did as I was told, fear that we'd be discovered making me incapable of being anything but obedient.
    I told you that you’d be discovered, Charlaina. I knew your plans would be short-lived . Sabara’s virulent words tried to infiltrate what little composure I had left, and I had to remind myself that she was impotent now. She couldn’t harm me.
    I watched as Eden faded farther into the shadows until she’d been swallowed up by them completely. Whatever calmSabara hadn’t managed to crack vanished the moment Eden was out of my sight and I was standing all alone in the darkness with only the insipid flickers coming off my own skin. To call it a glow was laughable. It was feeble at best.
    My chest constricted until my breath, which had already been thin and hard to catch, felt like the sheerest of wheezes as it finally found its way to my lips. It grew more labored the longer I stood there, as if the darkness itself were suffocating me.
    Just as I was about to strip out of my cloak, to try to at least create more light for myself, I saw Eden emerging once more.
    â€œOh, thank goodness,” I gasped, lunging toward her inelegantly. But there was something in her expression that stopped me cold in my tracks. “What is it? What’s the matter, Eden?”
    And then I saw what had her face contorted, why she looked like an animal snared in a trap.
    Brooklynn was behind her, matching her stride step for step. There was nothing casual in their pace. From where I stood, I could see the grip Brook had on Eden’s wrist, and the way Eden’s arm was wrenched low behind her back.
    As they came closer, however, everything