“Olivia!” Adelaide jumped down off her seat, barreling at me. I bent down, embracing her in a hug. “I missed you so much,” she emphasized. “I’m glad you’re home and that you’re okay.”
“I’m glad I’m home, too.” I kissed her cheek and patted her back, helping her to the table. I pushed in her chair before finding a seat between Henry and Joshua at the table.
“We’re all glad you’re okay,” Rane said. “There was some concern through Spade after you sacrificed yourself to Isaura. What happened?”
“Honestly,” I laughed, putting my napkin on my lap. Henry passed me the bread basket after he finished with it. I placed a piece of bread on my plate, handing the bowl to Joshua. “I don’t know. I remember some but I’m fuzzy on alot of it.”
Joshua stared at me. “Isaura had her under a heavy sedation in Torv. She was trying to get information and knew Olivia wouldn’t reveal anything if she was aware of her surroundings.”
It was the truth, but I still hated the fact I’d be duped. I lathered butter onto the bread and took a bite. I couldn’t quite remember the last decent meal I’d eaten. It didn’t matter, I was doing okay.
“So what are we going to do?” Elsa asked. “Isaura is still out there, somewhere.”
Henry sighed. “She is and she’s stronger than ever. She has the new government of Cabal in her hand and she’s using them to do her dirty work.” He eyed me. “It doesn’t explain her intention of drugging all those women though. What would she have planned on doing with them? Even if she could figure a way for them to reproduce, would they have been a secret breeding colony?”
“I don’t know.” I put my half-eaten bread down and took a sip of water. “Isaura is a mystery to me. I’ve tried to figure out her plans. I can’t fathom her end game. I mean great power is one thing, but she has it. She knows she has it.”
“It’s like chess,” Henry surmised. “She’s getting her pieces into position.”
I added some food to my plate, pushing it around. I was hungry, but the talk of Isaura made me lose my appetite. “If that’s the case, she had me. She was already at checkmate. Why not kill me?”
“That isn’t her plan. She may not want you dead,” Henry said.
Joshua frowned, looking me over.
“What is it?” I asked, not liking the look on his face. “What? Say it!” I demanded, growing uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Something was wrong.
“Isaura had you sedated just like the other women. We used the antidote to rid them of the component she mixed with Mindonsiphan. We never even considered testing to see if she’d injected you with it.”
I glanced around the room, feeling everyone’s gaze on me. “I don’t feel any different.” It was the truth. “What was it supposed to do?”
Gavin and Hunter exchanged a quick glance. Hunter spoke up, “We’re not sure. The intent was to help women to prepare for pregnancy, but you’re already capable, so it seems counterintuitive to have given you the drug.”
“Are you sure?” Joshua’s eyes widened. “Does anyone have the antidote left over? Any additional doses?”
Elsa sighed. “We only created enough for the women we rescued. There wasn’t any extra.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m fine. I mean you had to wake everyone else up with the antidote. I woke myself up,” I reminded them. “Besides who knows the consequences of administering an antidote when one isn’t necessary.” I felt fine, albeit a little anxious about their suggestions. The room got quiet and as I ate I could hear chatter begin up again. I let out a nervous breath glancing at Joshua. Can we talk later, just you and me?
Joshua smiled at me as he ate. Anytime you want.
We finished lunch and agreed to meet with Henry again in the evening after dinner. Joshua and I headed together to our room, wanting some privacy and I had a few questions I wanted answered. Once inside, Joshua closed the door behind us. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against him. His lips found my neck and my legs weakened. “No,” I gently pushed him back. “It’s not that I don’t want this.” I offered him an apologetic smile. “I wanted to talk. Just you and me.” I approached the bed, having a seat and reaching for Joshua’s hand, pulling him down beside me on the mattress. “Maybe after we talk.” I smiled, resting a hand on his thigh. “We’ll have time to do something else. Something a little more… interesting,” I offered, seeing his eyes shine.
“Whatever you want, Olive.”
I moved to lie back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. I needed to sort out what I’d learned while under Isaura’s control and make sense of it. “While you were in Torv, did you see Hazel at all?”
Joshua frowned, sitting on the bed to watch me. “No. She died in Shadow along with everyone else. Didn’t she?”
I sighed. “That’s what I thought,” I said, trying to remember the exact words I’d heard from Joshua’s lips. It hadn’t been Joshua speaking them though. “Hazel was pregnant – at least you told me that – in my dream,” I explained. “Maybe it’s nothing. I mean if she were pregnant and part of the initiative, she’d have been in the building, right?”
Joshua shifted, lying down against the mattress, his head coming to rest beside mine. “I haven’t seen Hazel in, wow, a long time,” he admitted. “I haven’t seen anyone pregnant in Torv though. Sure there were discussions about it, volunteers and some people recruited against their will as part of the initiative but I never saw Hazel.”
“Okay.” So at least one bit of information had been planted by Isaura but I couldn’t fathom why. Had it been a trap to get me to try and save her? “How about Isaura and the government working with her?”
“That’s true.” Joshua reached for my hand. “I wish it weren’t but we do have evidence she’s behind the facility we freed this morning. There’s also talk that she’s the head of the Ministry of Defense. Originally one of the acting members was in charge until he died under mysterious circumstances.”
“How did you find all this out?” I asked, turning towards Joshua.
Joshua laughed sitting up on the bed. “It happened while we were in Torv. We didn’t see the body but the doctors came straight away and there was a funeral shortly after. Word travels quickly when people are afraid.” He paused leaning down to drop a soft kiss to my forehead. “I’m pretty sure Isaura is behind it. I never saw the body but I didn’t have to. I saw her in the Ministries robes. It could only mean one thing.”
“She’s in charge.” I sighed, closing my eyes. “This isn’t good. How could we have let this happen?”
“We?” Joshua shook his head. “We aren’t responsible for Isaura’s actions.” He was stern in his words and he spoke the truth. It still felt a little to be my fault. Though it explained why Isaura had drugged me and locked me up. If she had intended to kill me, she may not have had the time since she was busy gaining control of the government.
“I know. You’re right. How far deep is she in? I mean the Ministry of Defense runs the military but does she have control over the acting council and the states.”
Joshua sighed. “As far as I can see she’s got her hand in everything. Even if we take her out, that’s a big if, I don’t know what’ll happen. They could retaliate and destroy Spade.”
I shifted, placing my free hand on Joshua’s stomach, smoothing my fingers over his shirt. “I was thinking about that and what we could do to best defend Spade. I think we should declare Spade a country. Gain independence from Cabal.”