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Credence flipped aimlessly through the book on his lap, not absorbing a word on the pages. The job had gone off without a hitch. They’d successfully taken the creature from its mother and to the castle. So what was bothering him so much?
The click of heels in the doorway distracted him. He glanced up to see Queenie Goldstein, lurking in the doorway. “So,” Credence said, snapping the book shut and standing up, “you are spying on me for him.”
Wow, that sounded mean. Queenie took a step back. “No,” she said firmly. “But he asks. What you’re thinking and feeling.” She stepped onto the room and shut the door behind her.
“And the others?” Credence prompted. “Does he ask about them?”
“Yes,” Queenie said, after a long pause. “But it’s mostly you.”
Not surprising. “And do you tell him?”
Queenie didn’t respond, only stared at the floor. Credence took that as a yes. “You do.”
“No!” Queenie said quickly. She took a deep breath. “I don’t tell him everything. And I don’t always look when he tells me to.”
Lying to his face? Risky. Credence paused, seeing the look on Queenie’s face. “Hey, are you okay?”
Queenie shook her head. “...want to talk about it?” was the only response Credence could come up with. She’d been fishing thoughts and emotions from everyone’s minds for ages. Who asked about hers?
That just made her cry and throw her arms around him. Shit. How do you get people to stop crying? One of Credence’s hands moved mechanically to rub her back. “... it's gonna be okay?”
Queenie sobbed and buried her face deeper into his shirt. “Nothing is okay right now,” she murmured. “And I don't think it's going to get better for a long time.”
“What are you talking about?”
Queenie took a deep breath and stepped back. “That creature you just kidnapped? The one that’s ‘more than special?’ Grindelwald’s killed it.”
Credence recoiled. “What? Why?”
“Because it bows to those who are truly good,” Queenie said. “And he’s obviously not.”
Credence nodded slowly. So, Grindelwald wanted the creature to think he was a good guy. But what for? How did it tie into the plan he’d announced a few months ago to run for “Supreme Mugwhatever?” And why did he want Credence so closely monitored?