Page 32 of The Dark Mirror

Just as I was about to take a sip, I became aware that Harald was observing me. For no reason that I could explain, it raised the hairs on my nape. I pretended to drink, swallowing twice.

You only had eyes for the king and queen, Arcturus had warned me once, while we played chess.Remember not to overlook the other pieces.It might have done me good to listen every now and then.

The cabin was hidden some way off the trail. We pressed on with as much caution as we could muster in our state, boots slewing on loose chips of stone. Not stopping to rest would be dangerous soon. When Harald wasn’t looking, I emptied the can into the snow.

Maria knelt to tie her bootlaces. I waited beside her.

‘Do you trust Harald?’

She glanced at me. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘No particular reason.’

‘I don’t know him very well, but Radomír will have vetted him. Don’t worry.’

Radomír did strike me as the sort of man who did his research. I brushed off the misgiving and followed the others.

It was dusk by the time we got to the cabin. From a distance, it must look like part of the mountain, weathered grey and tucked beneath an overhang. You would only find it if you knew where to look.

Nearby, a suspension bridge stretched across the valley, so thick with rust it looked as if it was made of copper. It was high enough above the lake that a fall would certainly be fatal.

‘That looks stable,’ Maria said drily.

‘It was closed several years ago,’ Harald said, ‘but it will hold if we cross one by one. I’ve tested it.’ He unlocked the cabin. ‘Domino built this place years ago, for anyone who needed to lie low. We can’t risk lighting a fire, but there should be blankets and heat packs.’

I stamped the snow from my boots. ‘So Domino even has safe houses outside Scion?’

‘There is nowhere on Earth the anchor can’t reach.’

He said it nonchalantly, but the reminder was chilling. I took off my jacket and boots without comment.

The cabin was rudimentary, made up of three cramped rooms. Inside were pots and pans, firewood, other necessities for cooking without electricity. I sank to the floor, muscles fluttering in my legs.

Harald walked past me. I heard him talking amicably to Verca and Maria while they searched for food. Perhaps my instinct had been wrong. I was no longer confident in my own judgement.

‘Paige.’

I looked up. Harald held out a fleece blanket, which I took.

‘You should sleep with the others, for warmth.’ He had dark circles under his eyes. ‘I’ll keep watch.’

‘I can go first, if you like.’

‘I insist. You look tired.’

Pressing the issue would look strange, and I was in desperate need of sleep. I went into the next room, where Verca was cocooned in a blanket, opening a pack of salted crackers.

‘Maria says you’re concerned about Harald,’ she said, too soft for him to hear. ‘I checked his record before I left. He trained at the Libuše Institute, went into Sweden, then started work as a courier for Command. A total of thirteen years with Domino.’

‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘I just don’t know him.’

‘I understand.’ She passed me a cracker. ‘I spoke to my friend about your aster poisoning.’

‘Is that what I have?’

‘Yes. You are still on the brink of a whiteout. I suspect your captor was using some kind of stimulant to keep you awake, and when you escaped, the accumulation of white aster suddenly overwhelmed you. If your captor had given you any more, the whiteout could have been impossible to break, leading to complete memory loss.’

I snapped the cracker. ‘Will the amnesia wear off?’

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