16. Lyssa

I rush to Mrs. Graves.Hadria is right beside me as we both kneel down next to her, and Aurora hovers nearby, her eyes wide with concern.

"Let's get her to her room," I say, my voice rough. Hadria's worry is evident in the tightness around her eyes. Together, we carefully lift Mrs. Graves.

Hadria glances at the figure in the backseat of the car and does a double take that would be funny if it wasn't for everything else going on. "But that's?—"

"Yeah," I say shortly. "I was about to explain when you pulled a gun." I look over Mrs. G's head to Scarlett, who's standing still and wary, eyes moving around for threats. "Bring her, Scar."

Hadria looks Scarlett's way, too. "Yes," she says icily. "Bring her. I don't want either of you out of my sight."

With that, Hadria and I carry Mrs. G between us into the house and down the hall to her private quarters, followed by Scarlett, who is pulling a still-woozy Ariadne.

Sarah.

Today is not turning out the way I thought it would.

Aurora hurries ahead to open doors for us. When we get to the bedroom, I direct Scarlett to put Sarah in the armchair by the window while Hadria and I lay Mrs. Graves on the bed. The older woman looks so frail, so vulnerable, that it makes my chest ache. I brush a strand of her hair from her forehead, silently willing her to be okay.

After a tense moment, Mrs. Graves's eyelids flutter and she opens her eyes, disoriented. She looks at me, and then Hadria.

And then her gaze falls on Sarah and she gasps, pushing herself upright. "Sarah?"

I've never heard so much anguish and so much hope compressed into one word.

Tears spill down Mrs. Graves's cheeks as she pushes herself off the bed and reaches for her daughter. But Sarah jerks away in the armchair, fixing Mrs. G with a look of pure…

Hate.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Graves asks in anguish. "Sarah—I thought you were dead! Please, talk to me."

But Sarah just glares, her jaw clenched shut. She's not going to give us anything willingly, that much is clear. The monster inside her, the one crafted by Grandmother's twisted arts, won't be tamed so easily.

Hadria turns to me, her usual composure a little shaken by, I assume, the shock of having a dead woman wander up to the door. "What the hell is going on?"

"This is one of Grandmother's other assassins," I say slowly. "She's known as Ariadne."

"Her name is Sarah!" Mrs. Graves bursts out.

I nod, but I hold out a hand. "Yes. It's Sarah. I only realized tonight when…when Scarlett and I went to infiltrate Grandmother's current hideout. Ariadne attacked us, but when her mask came off…" I look at the woman. Her eyes are empty of everything except loathing as she stares back. "I recognized her from all the photos Mrs. G has."

"Sarah." Mrs. Graves tries again, reaching out a slow hand.

But Sarah turns her face aside and closes her eyes.

I chew the inside of my cheek, thinking hard. Then I remember that horrifically pink bedroom in the high-rise, the shredded remnants of a stolen childhood, and an idea starts to form.

I take Hadria aside and make her look into my face.

"If I leave the room for a few minutes, swear on your honor that you won't lay a finger on Scarlett while I'm gone."

Hadria looks thoroughly unimpressed by this request. But in the end, our bond wins out. "You have my word. For now. But make it quick."

I run through the hallways to my own quarters, ignoring the shouted questions from other Syndicate members I pass along the way. Rumors are already building, judging from some of the questions. But I don't have time to waste. And if my crazy idea works out, it could be the key to unlocking Sarah's buried humanity.

If it still exists.

I grab what I need from my room and bolt back, relieved to find everyone standing and sitting exactly where they were when I left. Scarlett has her back to the wall, eyes watchful. Hadria doesn't miss the reassuring nod I give her, judging by the way her eyes narrow.

I approach Sarah, holding out the ratty, one-eyed Mr. Fluffikins. "Remember him?"

Her eyes crack open and something flickers in them. A glimmer of something.

Of longing.

Her rigid posture loosens just a fraction. Progress. I look at Scarlett and jerk my chin at the zip ties binding Ariadne's wrists. "Cut her loose."

"Are you crazy?" Scarlett snorts, but she's only echoing the scoff from Hadria, too.

"I'm getting there," I snap, my patience fraying. Hadria, when I turn to her, has one questioning eyebrow raised, but says nothing.

I know it's a risk, but my gut tells me this is the right move. I jerk my head at Scarlett, who shakes hers, but pulls out a knife and cuts through the ties.

As soon as her hands are free, Ariadne reaches for Mr. Fluffikins, taking him almost reverently. She stares at the bear, while the rest of us watch her face closely.

Confusion, wonder, recognition. It's like watching a glacier thaw, the first cracks appearing in the ice.

Then her face crumples and she looks at Mrs. Graves with a raw, childlike vulnerability that pierces my heart. "Mom?" she whispers, her voice small and broken.

Mrs. Graves makes a choked sound and pulls Sarah into a crushing hug, years of grief and love pouring out of her. Sarah doesn't resist this time, instead burying her face against Mrs. Graves's shoulder as big, heaving sobs wrack her frame.

Scarlett is watching the reunion with a hand pressed hard to her mouth, and I know she must be thinking about her own fractured family.

After a long moment, Mrs. Graves looks up at me, Hadria, Aurora and Scarlett. There are tears streaming down her face but her voice is firm. "Give us the room please. I need to speak with my daughter alone." Hadria opens her mouth to protest but Mrs. Graves cuts her off with a sharp look. "Please. I'll be alright. Just go."

None of us like it, the idea of leaving Mrs. Graves alone with a killer, even if that killer is her own flesh and blood. But there's no arguing with her, so we file out obediently, closing the door behind us with reluctance.

The instant we're in the hall, Aurora whirls on Scarlett, her lovely face hard with fury. "Yuri was my friend and you killed him!"

Scarlett blinks, looking taken aback by the smaller woman's vehemence. I tense, ready to intervene if things get physical, but Scarlett surprises me by just dropping her head and nodding in understanding.

"I…really wish I hadn't done that," she says, genuine regret threading through her voice.

Hadria steps forward, getting close to Scarlett in a way that makes me take a step forward, too. "You think that changes anything?"

But Scarlett just looks up again, meeting Hadria's gaze without blinking. There's a quiet strength in her that makes something warm unfurl in my chest.

"I know it doesn't," she says evenly. "But I'm sorry all the same."

Aurora turns on me next, when it becomes clear she won't get a rise out of Scarlett. "How could you, Lyssa?" she demands, anger making her face red. "How could you lie like that, betray us so easily?"

"My thoughts exactly," Hadria chimes in. "Anyone else—anyone else—they'd be dead already." And if looks could kill, I would be dead.

"Listen—" I begin, but the door opens again and Mrs. Graves is there, her face ashen and grave.

"You all need to come back in," she says heavily. "I want you to hear what happened to Sarah."