Chapter 34 Reyes #2
“Yes,” he responds, with a voice much softer than what should come from such a large being. “My name is Matuk, and I was a guard at Ljómur.” Ronan’s hand tightens around his sword’s hilt, and Matuk stops in his tracks with a dip of his chin, acknowledging he shouldn’t come closer.
“Why are you with them?” Ronan demands, gesturing at the humans.
“He helped us escape,” the human man responds before giving an awkward wave.
“I’m Samuel, by the way. It feels like I should probably, uh, introduce myself?
” He licks his lips nervously as Ronan stares him down, waiting for him to continue.
“Right. So, back at Ljómur, when everything… went down… literally…”
“We don’t have all day,” Ronan snaps, and Samuel takes a half step backward as Audra rolls her eyes and proceeds to tell the story.
“It was chaos. The cells were open, guns were firing, guards were dead all over the place, and then some Bhotan female came running in screeching about getting the keys and taking the vans. She was smiling really fucking wide, too, like she was enjoying herself.”
“Lillith,” Ronan, Xeni, and I say as one, and she raises a brow but continues.
“Some prisoners refused to move because they were too scared of retaliation, but a lot of us were ready to get the fuck out of that place. Matuk came in and grabbed some of the ones who were in shock. Big guy just kinda… threw them over his shoulder in a pile and carried them outside.”
“The building was about to explode,” he says in his quiet way. “I couldn’t leave them to die.”
Audra nods and continues. “So many of them ran into the desert to get away from that fucking place… not that I can blame them. Still, it didn’t seem like the smartest move.
A few of us who were more cautious formed a group and took a van.
Until we can figure out where we’re going, we’re using an abandoned camp not far from here. ”
“Why bring him?” Ronan challenges, gesturing at Matuk. “Why bring a guard?”
“Did you miss the part where I said he saved a bunch of people from dying?” Audra snaps.
Ronan snarls, and Matuk tosses her a glare that’s both annoyed and affectionate before he says, “We aren’t all evil. We were following orders and doing the best we could with our situation. Two scientists came with us as well.”
“Scientists?” I ask, and he nods. “What do they know about the research that was being done there?” He shrugs a shoulder, still cautiously watching Ronan’s hand on his weapon.
“Don’t know much about that. Did August and Elas make it out?”
Ronan tenses again at the mention of his best friend, undoubtedly remembering the condition Elas was in when they returned. “You knew them?”
Matuk nods, and he stares at the ground.
“August was the first person who had shown me kindness in a very long time. We have… had friends there, but that place doesn’t exactly attract the friendliest crew.
You just kind of get used to being yelled at, but August was different.
Then when he was a prisoner, he… he asked me to help Elas, and sneak him food.
I was a coward… too scared to do anything.
” His eyes move back to Ronan’s. “Did they make it home?”
“Yes,” he says after a moment’s pause.
“In one piece?” Matuk asks quietly.
“Barely.” A somber silence falls over the group as Ronan continues assessing them.
“Who are the scientists?” Xeni asks, and I glance over, remembering he was friends with a few.
“Aryn and Sprocket.”
“Sprocket?” Ronan’s expression is confused, but Xeni chuckles fondly.
“A Lindae engineer who’s amazing at designing stuff, but I have no idea what her real name is. She’s gone by Sprocket since I met her.”
“Lindae? Any relation to Chief Aeliphis?” Ronan asks, but Xeni shakes his head.
“Not as far as I know.”
“And the other?”
“Aryn is a Dreven scientist, and if I remember correctly, he was working on prototypes for the extraction equipment. They were close friends, so it doesn’t surprise me they’re together.”
“Would they have any new information about the rifts?” I ask.
Ronan looks thoughtful as Xeni nods. “More than us, that’s for sure. I trust them.”
“Yeah, but what about him?” Ronan demands, motioning at Matuk. “What about the rest of them? How many are there in your group, anyway?”
The three of them exchange glances before Audra takes a deep breath and then blows it out, puffing her cheeks. The tiny woman seems to be the leader of their impromptu pack, and the thought makes me fight a grin. “Six. Us, Aryn and Sprocket, and Samuel’s mate Daiwyn.”
“And what sort of monster is Daiwyn?” Ronan asks, clearly calculating risks in his head.
Audra smirks as her eyes move up his frame. “She’s an Anunian like you.”
“So you have three warriors, two wildcard humans, and a strategist. Sounds like trouble to me.”
Audra shakes her head. “Matuk is the only actual warrior among us. Daiwyn is still… affected by what was done to her at Ljómur. Aryn and Sprocket usually have their noses shoved into their research.”
Ronan scoffs, gesturing towards the field where Andon’s body lies.
Flies buzz through the air above him, swarming their next meal.
“You expect me to believe you are not capable when you had a Nu’vak in custody?
He mentioned another guard who also escaped with him, who’s apparently dead now.
How did you catch them both if you aren’t warriors? ”
Ronan throws his shoulders back and lifts his chin like he’s won the argument, but Audra only chuckles and jabs a thumb towards Matuk. “Have you seen this guy?”
My eyes roam up his giant frame. That’s… probably fair.
Matuk shuffles between his feet, wringing his hands in a way that makes him seem much smaller than he is. “They tried to steal supplies from us, and we have very little as it is. I didn’t have a choice. We’re starving, and I have to look out for them.”
Ronan’s face softens, and Nyx makes a quiet sound from behind me. He hasn’t said a word through the entire exchange, only listened as he holds on to my shirt, smoothing the fabric between his thumb and pointer finger. “To starve…” he starts, then shakes his head. “To be that hungry. It hurts.”
Matuk stares at him as if he’s just noticing him, and his throat works in a swallow. “Do you know any of these people?” I ask Nyx, and he nods as his eyes move over them.
“Not names, but faces, yes. Matuk was…” He trails off, then turns towards Xeni. “Like you. Sad eyes.”
“Did he ever hurt you?” Nyx considers my question, and I’m relieved that he’s taking the time to think about it instead of blurting out what he thinks we want to hear. After a stretch, he shakes his head.
“I did not hurt them,” Matuk says, eyes back on the ground, “but I did not help. I did nothing.”
“Sometimes nothing is all we have,” Nyx says, before tilting his eyes to mine. “We can help them.”
“Help them how?” Ronan snarls, the budding sympathy wiped from his face.
“We have food. Room.”
“We cannot trust them,” Ronan counters.
“You cannot trust them,” Nyx responds, and Ronan’s brows shoot up to his hairline at the snap back. “You are not the boss.”
“For fuck’s sake, Nyx. You sound like August right now.”
“Good,” Nyx says as he wrinkles his nose. “August is nicer than you.” Ronan’s hands fly out and squeeze like he’s imagining choking someone, and I tuck Nyx a little closer into my side.
Just in case.
“It could be beneficial to both sides,” Xeni says, mirroring my thoughts as Ronan’s wrath turns to him. “They have information, and we have resources. We’ll be safer in greater numbers, Ronan. You know that.”
“Not if we can’t trust them,” Ronan stresses again. “We cannot invite them into our home. I will not risk Cameron’s safety for your bleeding hearts.”
“What could we do to prove ourselves?” Matuk asks, and his eyes are desperate. “The others… they aren’t well. Sickly and hungry. We are in danger in this tiny camp, but we have nowhere else to go.”
Ronan chews on his lip for a long time before glancing around at the three of us. “We do nothing right now. I refuse to be impulsive, and everyone else gets a vote in this. We are not the only ones affected by this decision.”
“That’s fair,” I say, and Xeni nods his agreement.
Ronan turns to Matuk, who watches him warily.
“We have a village a day’s drive from here.
It’s safe, and we have food supplies and fresh water.
” A spark of hope ignites in Matuk’s eyes, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“We will go home and discuss this with the rest of our people. If they agree—and make a fucking note here that this is a big if—we will return here in a week’s time. ”
“And if you don’t come back?” Audra asks, crossing her arms and picking at her shirt in the first sign of nerves she’s shown since she arrived.
“Then I wish you all the best of luck.”