She paused, probably to see if her words harmed her sister, but Rae kept her face blank. Truthfully, she hadn’t seen anything quite like the towers. It was beautiful, but the servants didn’t exactly treat her with the utmost respect. If anything, she was handled worse than a wild dog.
Still, she had to admit the grounds were exceptional. There weren’t any cars for tens of miles, at the very least, and if she asked for food or water, she was given fine wine, turkey legs, and so much more. Those acts of charity instilled an air of good faith inside her, despite the harsh truth of her daily abuse. And, someday, she would escape with the children and find her men.
Someday… until then, she would have to smile and behave.
“Forgive me if I don’t know how to feel about all of this,” Rae said. “It’s all so—”
Ruby smiled before interrupting her sister. “New? Yes, I know. And I don’t expect you to celebrate the Republic either, but you must know that the changes are in the peoples’ favor. Take in the sights. The air is clean. The grass, freshly cut… Have you heard a single explosion since you came here?”
“No,” Rae admitted. “I suppose I haven’t. Although, we are far away from the city of Dagon. Perhaps there are bombs there.”
“In time, we will visit the city together. When we do, we’ll see all of the sights. We can go shopping, and then we’ll take subway cars into the theme park. They move much faster now,” she said.
Theme park…
Rae nearly smiled, but her happiness was stifled by the sadness of the reality. The clothing she wore belonged to Ruby. Even the braids in her hair were of Ruby’s doing. It was too close to the feeling of enjoying a bag of candy much too fast. If she accepted things, she’d tumble down into a spiral of depression.
She would lose her life.
Outside the grounds, a car waited, spilling fresh diesel onto the cobblestone pavement. Ruby opened the door and waited for her to climb in.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
But she couldn’t enjoy anything for too long. As soon as Rae walked toward the door, she saw the plastic child seats in the back row. At first, she couldn’t even comprehend the sight. It was as if nothing sat in them. But the seats were not empty. No—in the center lay three pieces of her heart.
“Don’t you want to come with me?” Ruby asked with a twisted smile.
Rae’s eyes gaped open. Unable to blink, she tried to speak, but instantly failed. “I—I—” Rae shut her mouth and betrayed a light whimper.
Without care, Ruby walked over to the other side of the car and stepped inside. Carefully leaning over the carrier, she brought her voice into a sweet and motherly tone, causing Rae to shiver with disgust. “Oh, my children. You are behaving quite well today, aren’t you?”
She stopped. Her babies, Rae’s babies, stared at her with bored expressions. It was as if she didn’t even exist. “Children…” Rae whispered.
There were so many sleepless nights when she’d thought about this moment. It was going to be so special—she hoped and even prayed to a god she couldn’t fathom, but apparently those words went unanswered like the bodies on the sands of a decimated beach.
The tide pushes up the shore, and it takes what is weak enough to be taken.
Though it had only been two years, the three children were so grown up. They took them before she could name them, but Ruby saw fit to do it for her. There was Sawyer with his dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. On the other end, Rae’s daughter Joanna yawned and giggled to herself a deep secret. In the middle, Jackson sat sulking and flexing his teeny-tiny grip. Each one bore a heavy resemblance to their fathers. So much so that she couldn’t bear to be near them for more than a few seconds before wanting to weep.
“I thought they might be a good edition to our foray,” Ruby said.
Rae batted her eyes and tried not to cry,
though the pain within her throat was almost too unbearable to take in stride. At a certain point, she found herself stepping into the car, but only because a sliver of hope remained. She thought it might be possible to hold them, kiss them, to whisper words of love against their precious ears. She thought a lot of things, but it didn’t mean it would come true.
Worst was the thought that all of her fears had yet to be realized.
What if Cassian’s horrid, past experiments—the rapes, the torture sessions, and all the endless war—what if that was just the beginning?
The car left the grounds and sped into the distance. Far ahead, Rae saw the faint green outlines of some shrubs and dense trees, but her mind remained fixed on her fussing children. Ruby had dropped the right strap of her commander’s dress, revealing her small breast. The tragedy of the sight impaled Rae’s heart. How could her sister do this to her? She couldn’t even produce milk, and they needed to be weaned…
As the sun poured through the window she appeared as a stoic goddess, and Ruby eyed her like a brutal hawk. Ruby forced Jackson into her arms, causing him to squeal loudly. Rae jumped forward but was met with a harsh slap.
Ruby, clenching her jaw with anger, tucked her child into her breast and forced his mouth over the malnourished nipple. There was no milk, and the boy immediately showed his distaste by ripping Rae’s eardrums with his cries.
Ruby roared. “What did you do?”
Rae turned away, but Ruby’s intentions were right out in the open. Finally, heavy tears of her burden fell from Rae’s eyes. She knew she appeared weak and unsophisticated, but she lacked the capacity for the insanity her sister clearly showed. It broke her heart into a million pieces, caused her to freeze up sideways, and eventually broke her spirit once again.