As my foot hits the first step, my mouth drops open, and I almost fall back when the bells start their song. Everyone stands at attention to bask in their thundering yet harmonious sounds. I close my eyes and get lost in it. Imagining the freedom of the bells as they sway from side to side, whichever direction they please, as they make their enormous, beautiful cry for all to hear.

I step back and move until I can crane my neck enough to take in this massive piece of art. My god, this is amazing. For people to have incorporated so much detail, they had to have devoted their lives and every drop of their time to create such intricate designs into every inch and crevice. Blood, sweat, and tears—it took all of that and more. I feel so small. So unimportant compared to this.

After the bells fall silent, I look at Plath. Tears fill my eyes at the beauty of what I just experienced.

“Oh my god,” I barely whisper as I look away from him and make my way up the steps. I feel his hand on my back as I run my hands over part of the wall.

“It took several hundred years to complete.”

“It’d have to.” I look at him and smile. “I could spend days here just learning everything there is to know about this place.”

“It would take more than days.” We both laugh.

Plath sits down on the steps of the cathedral as I continue to stare. After I come back to reality, I sit down next to him and pick at my nails.

“Plath?” I say in a whisper.

“If it’s about the Cathedral, I’ll answer. If it’s a continuation of our conversation at dinner, drop it.” He looks away from me.

“Please,” I beg. “Just tell me.”

“Damn, Orion. You’re killing me.” He turns his head to look at me, but it’s forced. “If I tell you, then you will go find them and beg for them to kill you.” He shakes his head. “I’m not telling you.”

“You could do it. Couldn’t you? You’re one of the ones that ‘holds’ the ‘power’. Am I right?”

I watch the muscles in his jaw tense. “The process to build this place was a stop-and-go thing. It was built during the 13th and 19th century because its construction kept getting interrupted.”

His knee starts bouncing, and I know if I don’t go along with him changing the subject he will start yelling. But I don’t care.

“What about Nate? Can he? He sure sounded like it was something he could do when I overheard you-”

“Stop!” He yells and stands up.

People turn and look at us as they walk by.

I stand up and stand toe-to-toe with him. “What? Do you think by yelling and causing a scene it would make me stop? Well, it won’t! Tell me, Plath! Who can do it?”

He walks away from me, but I keep up with his fast pace. I wrap my arms around myself as the chill of the night makes me shiver. He stops near a bridge and looks at the dark, sparkling water that flows beneath it. He keeps his back to me.

“Everyone who is staying at the house can do it. Including me.”

I walk onto the bridge and rest my elbows on the concrete wall. I look down into the water and close my eyes. I think about my mom, Dad, and Felix. Did they know this secret about me? There’s no way. They weren’t protective enough to have known. If it had been my child who held this curse, I would’ve protected them and never let them out of my sight.

I feel Plath’s arm make its way around my waist. I lean into him.

“What’s your plan, Plath? We run forever when the Constable find out you stole me from them?”

His hand moves my hair from my neck, and I feel his lips graze along my jawline and down my neck.

“At first,” he whispers as he brings his lips to my ear.

I move away from him. He’s trying to distract me. “And what would be next?”

He rubs the back of his neck then shrugs. “I don’t have that part figured out yet.”

A tear falls down my cheek. This isn’t a situation where playing cop-out is appropriate. The Dwellers will never be free as long as my heart beats.

“Plath, I can’t run for the rest of my life. I am so tired. It’s not fair for everyone else. It’s hard knowing I could fix this and-”

Plath forcefully grabs me and pulls me so I’m behind him.

“Plath?”

“Someone’s here.” He looks around, keeping me hidden behind him. “We have to get to the car now.”

As we walk hurriedly to the car, I feel him discreetly slide a small pistol into my hand. I immediately stick it into the back of my jeans and pull my shirt over it. We get into the car, and he pulls out of the parking spot so fast I have to hold on to the door handle and console.

“Who is it, Plath?”

“There were two men watching us. I’m not positive that they were a threat, but the way they were staring was enough reason to get the hell out of there.” Plath looks into the rear view mirror then back at the road. “We can’t have conversations like we were having in public places.”

“Sorry,” I say quietly and look out the window. “Do you think they’ll follow us?”

“No one is following us now. I think we’re fine.”

“But will they figure out where we are?”

“If we are who they are looking for, they’ll try. But I’m not sure they were. It could’ve just been two men who saw me yell at you. They may have just been concerned about your safety.”

I nod and look at him. That makes sense.

“I don’t want to go home yet.”

The muscle’s in Plath’s arms and jaw relax once we’ve put enough distance between us and whoever those two men were.

“Okay, where do you want to go?”

“You know this place; I don’t. Where is somewhere you like to go here?”

He smiles then turns down a road to the right.