Chapter XVIII Fish
XVIII Fish
He knocks on a part of the wall that’s indistinguishable from the rest of the room. The sound is hollow. A moment later, a panel slides away, revealing a narrow passage. A short human man waits on the other side, his hair red, face uneven with pustules.
“Quickly,” he wheezes, sounding nasal like he has a bad cold. “They’ve gone to look for her in the building. No guards on the back road!”
The man scuttles ahead, his movements fast and nervous. I grit my teeth, my chances now quite dismal. I can’t defeat one grown man, let alone two! But the redhead dashes farther, the distance between us growing. I pretend to shake from nerves, fumbling my steps on purpose.
“Faster,” the Unmentionable hisses, tugging me sharply. “Do you want to get caught? They’ll kill you for running, those beasts.”
“N-no,” I breathe, letting myself stumble on a protruding cobble.
It’s for nothing. The man heaves me up before I can fall and pulls me faster, his hand on my arm like a vise.
The sun has set, but it’s still light out.
We’re in a narrow alley, the back of the town hall looming on one side with windowless buildings lining the other.
The man drags me toward a wooden fence where the redhead waits, a few planks pulled away to make a passage.
I glance back. The other end of the street is lighter, cleaner. That’s where the people are, where I have to go.
“You’re hurting me!” I cry, playing for time.
But the man only scoffs. “It’s nothing compared to what they’ll do to you if you don’t hurry. Come on, girl. Move those useless legs.”
He pulls me harder, and I have enough. We’re maybe a dozen steps away from the redhead. It’s my only chance.
I swing the knife as fast as I can, almost without aiming. It ends up stuck in the man’s thigh. His hold on me loosens, and he makes a curious sound of confusion.
I break free and run. My steps echo against the buildings, the cobbles uneven and slippery under my feet, and I fight for balance and speed with every step.
“Magnar!” I yell. “Help!”
“Get the fucking cunt!” the Unmentionable spits, his voice too close for comfort. The wheezing breath of the redhead follows, and I scream again, terror giving me strength.
“Khay! Raduna! I’m here, please, I’m here!”
That’s the last of it. A filthy, sweaty hand covers my mouth while a male arm forces itself around my waist, pressing in so tightly, I lose my breath.
I fight like a cat, trying to scratch and bite, but my strength is flagging.
They drag me back, and I watch the bright end of the alley grow smaller, my hope slipping away with their every step.
It’s like it always was. I’m trapped, and no one’s coming to save me.
“Get the stupid bitch through here,” the Unmentionable spits, the planks of the fence clattering. “Come on! I hold it, you pull her. It’s straightforward.”
I fight, grabbing onto the fence, but all I get for my troubles is a kick to the stomach that makes me fold up in pain. As the planks swing back to cover our passage, it’s like a curtain falling on my life.
It’s over. There’s no more hope.
I see why they picked this way. We are among tall grasses in some kind of neglected, unused lot. Night is falling, and soon it will be so dark, no one will see us.
“We’ll tie her up in the carriage,” the Unmentionable says through clenched teeth as we shuffle forward, the redhead’s filthy paw still on my mouth.
He’s the one doing most of the legwork, since the other man is limping. My puny toothpick of a knife did some damage. At least I can be proud of that.
“There,” the Unmentionable says with triumph as horses whinny somewhere nearby. “Just through there.”
But the redhead stops moving. I realize I hear something, a sort of a soft, cutting whistle. His hold goes limp, and I pull away with a cry, stumbling into a run. Behind me, the horses neigh in alarm.
I don’t take more than twelve steps when my body collides with someone, strong, warm hands reaching out to hold me. Even before I see him, I know it’s Khay. He smells like him, like safety and love, and I swallow a sob of disbelief.
But it’s not just a panic-induced dream. Khay is here, and now Raduna charges past us with an earsplitting roar. I hear Magnar’s voice.
“No! I need to question… Fuck.”
There is a sick sound behind me and a splat. Arvi runs past, throwing knives as he goes, and I finally understand I’m safe. They found me.
I was limp in Khay’s hold, but now I wrap my arms around him, pressing in as close as I can while I sob into his chest. He picks me up easily, urging me to straddle his torso, and carries me like this.
“It’s okay, little diamond. We found you. I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?”
I’m achy and terrified, and I think I’ve aged by a decade, but none of that matters now. “No. They didn’t hurt me. Much.”
“Much?” His voice gains a dark edge. “Good thing they’re dead, then. No one gets to lay a hand on you, my lady.”
I pull my face away from the crook of his neck where it was buried, and look around, blinking away tears.
Magnar holds the Unmentionable’s head high by the hair as he tells off Raduna, whose head hangs low in shame, red braids swaying down his chest.
“Maybe you try!” Magnar sarks in anger, turning the head to face Raduna. “Ask him who he worked with, go on! Who spies for him? Maybe he will tell you!”
Raduna shakes his head in remorse. “I apologize, my king. When I saw him hurting our girl, I just stopped thinking. I promise to do better.”
“And you!” Magnar whips to Arvi, who stares at the headless body at his feet with a toothy grin. “Why don’t you ask the one who’s got your knives for eyes, huh? See if he tells you something!”
Arvi huffs, completely unbothered unlike Raduna. “Oh, yeah, I’ll go and see. ‘Cause he can’t. Good one, my king. I’m actually interested in the knife in this one’s thigh. That’s not mine. He was smart to leave it in, you know. It nicked the artery.”
I clear my throat, and all their eyes fall on me. “It’s sort of mine. I tried to get away, but it was too little.”
Arvi nods, his eyes glinting. “Nice job. Pull it out next time, eh? They bleed out faster that way.”
Magnar drops the head, which rolls away in the grass, and comes to me. Not caring that his hands are filthy with blood, he frames my face with his palms. Khay still holds me high, so Magnar doesn’t have to hunch. We are face to face.
His eyes are bright and insane, his face lined with tension. I realize he’s not angry—he’s terrified. But as we watch each other, his expression grows tender. He swipes a bloody thumb over my cheek.
“You tried to run from them, pet?” he asks, his voice soft and incredulous.
I frown, because of course I did—and then I realize Magnar thinks I went willingly. My heart stutters with outraged hurt. Then I remember I did consider going away with the Unmentionable, but in the end, that wasn’t what I chose.
“Of course I tried to run,” I say, my voice breaking. “I called for you. I thought you wouldn’t come!”
As tears of helpless fear stream down my face, Magnar kisses my lips, swallowing my sobs, licking away the salt.
I kiss him back with the fervor of my relief, my thighs squeezing Khay’s torso as his hands slide down to my butt.
I’m trapped between the two men, snug and cozy, safe and taken care of, and I never want to leave.
Magnar pulls away too soon, leaving me gasping for air and blinking in confusion as I try to climb Khay even higher, my limbs buzzing with a feverish need for something I can’t name.
“He thinks you hate him for forcing you into this marriage, you know,” Khay murmurs as Magnar turns away, pressing his bloody hand to his forehead as he composes himself.
“He was convinced you ran away. One of the soldiers heard your cries in the alley, and he got us. I knew you didn’t want to leave us, little diamond. ”
I hide my face in Khay’s neck, breathing in his warm scent as waves of relief crash down my spine, more and more powerful. I can stay. They saved me.
“I don’t hate him. I… I don’t know,” I admit, my heart and mind a tangle of thoughts and emotions.
There is, as always, guilt.
“Khay, I’m so sorry I punished you for so long,” I whisper. “I didn’t mind what you did. I just… You are too good to me. I don’t deserve it.”
“What a silly thing to say,” Khay whispers in my ear, hoisting me higher. “Don’t you know already? You’re my queen, and I love you. You deserve everything good I have to give.”
I gasp in shock, but Khay gives me no time to process his outrageous confession. I rock gently as he walks over to Raduna, who sighs with remorse, apparently still feeling bad about beheading the Unmentionable.
“Magnar was angry because he thought Caliane ran away,” Khay says, patting his shoulder. “He’ll come around. Don’t sweat it.”
Raduna’s wide, mournful eyes turn to me. “I disappointed you, my queen. Magnar is right. We can’t question them now. I should have stopped to think.”
My heart breaks for my gentle giant, who only wants me to be safe. The sight of the head Raduna chopped off doesn’t upset me this time. I turn to him as much as Khay’s hold allows.
“Don’t be sad. He told me he was sent by the Table of Kings, and I know who led me to him—a blue-haired Agnidari woman with a hump.
The carriage was supposed to take me to a nearby spot, where they wanted me to marry Prince Piter, the only survivor from Serilla’s royal family.
A woman by the name of Mahara was to help me prepare for the wedding.
I think these are the most important parts. ”
A moment of stunned silence follows my report, and then Khay laughs cheerfully. “Good job, clever little diamond. Here.”
He lifts me off him like I weigh nothing and dumps me in Raduna’s arms. I squeak from shock, though the warrior has no trouble catching me.
He glares at Khay. “The queen is not a bag.”