Everyone over the age of consent was required to contribute to the regular blood donations, but until then, they were supposed to be safe. And even though it was technically forbidden to feed on children, I knew it still happened. Augustine had been daring us to stop him, and we’d done nothing.
I noted the renewal center, at least the most obvious one, though I was sure there were others. It rested in the center of the walls, above the main gate. The bright lantern of its steeple cast a warm glow, like a lighthouse beacon.
I paused at a tall archway carved into the wall, with motifs of sea life in bright mosaics. Steps led down deeper, underneath the city. Trevor followed me without comment as I lifted the skirts of my dress and descended down the stairs.
My eyes lit up in surprise when we reached the bottom. It was some kind of underground corridor, connecting one corner of the compound to the other, facing the sea, but one wall was completely made of transparent glass.
On the other side, through the dark blue ocean waters, I could see the subtle glow of pink jellyfish, undulating in the tide.
“It’s so beautiful,” I breathed, stopping to peer closer at the glass.
“We shouldn’t stay,” Trevor said, though he came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. I turned my head to brush my cheek against his fingers.
We stood still for several minutes, silhouetted by the glow of the marine life.
“Don’t you think it’s weird, her father barely asking questions?”
“Maybe he was afraid,” Trevor said.
“Of what, his daughter?”
“She’s elite now,” Trevor said. “And you should be scared of her, too. You saw her at dinner. She’s barely in control of herself.”
I frowned. I would have done the same, or worse, if it were Loralie.
“And what about Augustine?” I asked. It was, as far as I knew, the most time Trevor had ever spent with an elite.
“He’s lying,” Trevor said after a moment. “We should leave, as soon as possible. Tonight. We aren’t safe here.”
“Jazmine’s not ready to travel,” I said. “And Lord Hudson said it was three days until the next renewal.”
“Even so she’d only get one drop of elixir. It may not be enough to heal her wounds. Maybe we should leave her here. We can pick her up on the way back.”
I shoved away from him, spinning in the near darkness.
“We aren’t leaving anyone,” I said.
“Fine, but think about the risk. We have one elite, three chosen and a slagpaw – except precious little elixir. If I do turn again, I won’t have enough to shift back. Jazmine can barely walk, and without elixir, you and Camina aren’t much good either. If it comes down to a fight, you’re relying on Penelope to protect us from Augustine. And he has decades of experience on her.”
I read the truth in his eyes; he didn’t like depending on an elite for anything. And he wasn’t exactly wrong. We needed to even the odds.
We kept walking, and at the end of the corridor I noticed a small tunnel carved through the rock, leading up. We emerged facing a sandy cove, filled with small, brightly painted fishing boats. Nets were hung to dry against the rocks.
I took my shoes off, feeling the wet sand beneath my feet. Trevor glanced around us nervously, but we were alone – the walls of Crollust extended all the way into the water, lined with wooden piers that formed a small harbor, protected from predators and the elements.
We found a flat boat filled with nets and Trevor offered me a hand, helping me up over the stern before lying back against the coils of rope.
He pulled a small flask out of his pocket and grinned before taking a deep sip and handing it to me.
“Compliments of Lord Hudson,” he said.
“Of course you raided his liquor cabinet.”
“He said to make ourselves at home.”
The liquid burned the back of my throat, but soon filled with me a pleasant warmth. I took another sip and felt the tightness I’d been carrying in my shoulders melt away.
The ash was thin here, no doubt we were just on the edge of the ranged purification engines, and the dark sky was filled with bright embers. If I squinted, I could imagine they were far away stars. Far above them I could see a bright patch of light clouds, casting a blueish gleam on the sand and ocean.