Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
FRID
It was midday when I found the hidden entrance, the one Amira used when she brought us to the compound.
My heart was racing when I finally made it all the way through the abandoned store and knocked on the steel door.
I remembered Mahin had told me that they guarded every entrance since the Scars gave them so much trouble.
I did not even realize that I was holding my breath while I waited for someone to respond.
Finally, a faint noise sounded on the other side.
When the door opened, I lowered myself down the stairs, and into the labyrinth of halls.
The sight of the familiar glass jars filled with shimmering light gave me an odd sense of comfort.
The woman who guarded the entrance did not ask me anything and I was glad of it.
I was much too tired to even think properly.
When we made it to the main chamber, the woman turned back to return to her post and I followed the familiar pathway.
Everyone I passed stared at me as if they had just seen a ghost. Then it occurred to me that I had been gone the entire night and the whole morning. I had to let Victor know I was alright.
With that thought, I rushed straight to our room.
But, when I got to our chamber, he was not there.
I exhaled, feeling the sharp sting of disappointment.
He was probably enjoying the food or flirting with the sisters, but I was too exhausted to care.
I could not take off my weapon fast enough before dropping into bed.
The endless, mildly irritating dreams followed one after another.
Victor was there; he was saying something that annoyed me to no end.
Then he tried to take off my boots and I protested, but no matter what I did, he would not leave me alone.
Finally, I opened my eyes, staring at the man himself. Victor was holding my foot in his hand.
“What? What the . . .” I muttered.
“Go back to sleep.” He removed my boot.
I sat up. Victor did not look like his normal self. He looked pale and exhausted. His hair was more disheveled, like he had raked through it over and over. His eyes bore a serious and a gloomy expression, a line creased between his eyebrows.
“What?” I asked.
Before answering, he dropped into the chair. “I don’t want you to do missions for them,” he finally said.
“Why?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“How do you know? You weren’t there.” It was a weak defense, but I was not prepared to be ambushed the first thing after waking up.
Victor clenched his jaw. Everything about the way he looked, the way he spoke, rubbed me the wrong way. I had hoped he would at least be happy to see me. Instead, I was attacked.
“I can see it on your face,” he muttered under his breath.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have a nasty cut on your cheek. Half your eyebrow is missing. One of your braids is charred.
I traced my fingers through what was left of my hair.
I was never a real looker to begin with, but at least, up until last night, my hair was all one length. I dropped down on the pillow.
Fuck it. It is what it is.
“What happened out there?” Victor asked.
“Crawler dragons. Seven of them,” I sighed, closing my eyes.
He said nothing, and at length I could not resist sneaking another glance at him.
“I knew it. I had a feeling. Whatever you do . . . whatever they want. You can’t be alone out there.”
“It’s not that bad, honestly.”
“Are you insane?”
“No, I’m actually serious. You wouldn’t believe what I found—”
“I don’t fucking care! I don’t care. You can’t go.” Victor stood up, pacing the room.
He was wearing the clothes that the men in the compound wore. The light color of his shirt was becoming to his features, softening them. He looked infuriated, and unfairly handsome at the same time.
“What?”
“You can't go.”
“Why’s that?” Fuming, I sat up.
“Because you're going to die out there!” He raised his voice and for a moment I gaped at him lost for words.
I rarely saw him this intense. Everything he ever did had a subtle layer of indifference, like nothing really mattered to him.
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“This is what your problem is. You never take me seriously.” I went straight on the offense.
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true. Every time there's even a small challenge I have to face, you are right there to ‘help’.”
“You’re going to die if you continue,” he said through his teeth.
“I’m not going to die! Besides, I found what they were looking for.”
“You know as well as I do, they’ll want something else next.”
“Even if that’s true. I‘m capable of flying missions on my own.”
“With seven crawler dragons around?” Victor’s gaze pinned me in place.
“Six. I killed one last night.”
Victor swore, approaching the window.
I could safely say that I have never seen him so agitated.
“You’re not going.” His eyes returned to my face.
“And who’s going to stop me?”
I knew very well that I was entering into the land of no return. Victor’s eyes narrowed. His features hardened, every line more defined, more unsettling.
“I am.”
Our eyes locked. He was not going to back down, but I was not willing to lose this battle either.
What choice did I have?
The sisters were helping us to get back to Darragh. It was a small price to pay for their hospitality.
I was a warrior, after all. I could handle this.
Someone rapped lightly on the frame of the privacy partition, but both of us remained where we were, unwilling to break eye contact. Then the screen moved.
“Greetings, sister. Mahin wants to see you.” A voice sounded from the doorway.
“I’ll be right out,” I said, not taking my eyes off Victor.
The servant girl hesitated for a brief moment, then pulled the screen closed behind her.
I got to my feet and marched to the bathing chamber, flinging the curtain out of my way.
Still fuming, I peeled off my flying suit and lowered myself into the pool.
Mahin was enjoying her afternoon meal in her secluded chamber. Her thick, almost black hair was swept up and pinned high, exposing her long, beautiful neck. Amira was standing by the wall, her hands clasped in front of her. Both of them turned their heads as I walked in.
“Well?” Mahin was the first to break the silence.
“I found them,” I said.
Mahin took a deep breath, she clenched the silverware in her hand. That was the first time I witnessed a real, unguarded reaction from the high priestess. Even Amira’s usually cold face betrayed some resemblance of a feeling. But, there was something about their reactions that troubled me.
Why couldn’t they find the storage house on their own? How is it possible that they never encountered any of the people from the other settlement? Why would the girl wearing the compound’s clothes go straight to the Scars if she had been, as they said, abducted?
“Are you sure?” Mahin asked.
Her face resumed its usual, serene expression so quickly, that it almost seemed like her first reaction happened only in my head.
“I can’t be absolutely sure, unless I see inside the place,” I said, and a long pause followed.
Mahin played with her fork, and at times, it looked like she completely forgot about my presence. I glanced at Amira, whose face hardened as if it was carved in stone.
What was she thinking? What were they hiding from me?
“You did well. I thank you for your hard work and sacrifice. That being said . . . I need you to do something else.” Mahin added.
“What else do you want?”
Almost immediately Victor’s face appeared in front of my eyes. He was right, they definitely wanted more.
“I need to be sure it is the right place.” Mahin drawled.
“In other words, you want me to get inside?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t ask it from you. I simply need to know how many men and what defenses they have.”
“Are you planning to attack the settlement?”
“It is too early to draw any conclusions.” Mahin calmly met my gaze.
I chewed on my lip.
“You have to trust us the same way we trust you,” the priestess continued.
“And you . . . you trust me? Is that so? Do you keep me separated from Victor because of trust?”
Amira took a step forward, her hand disappeared in the folds of her tunic. I clenched my teeth but made a conscious effort not to reach for my dagger.
“It’s alright.” Mahin raised her hand, stopping the enforcer right in her tracks.
“If you are referring to me not allowing you to go on missions together, you are right. I admit it. I don’t want you two to leave us before you help us locate the abducted women and children.” Her eyes bore into mine, full of calm power and conviction.
“If that’s the case, why all the secrecy? Why keep me in the dark? Is there something else you’re not telling me?”
Mahin looked at the table, and for the first time, I saw some resemblance of hesitation on her face. I waited. Finally, she raised her eyes to me.
“We know where they are,” she said slowly.
“Of course you do.” I shook my head, looking away.
Fatigue hit me unexpectedly. Everything I did, risking my life out in the wastelands, all for nothing. I thought that at least I was doing something good. But as it turned out, Victor had been right all along, I was being used.
“We know where they are. We don’t know how to get the prisoners out.” Mahin added.
So many more questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I held all of them back. There was no way I could trust any of the sisters ever again. Even less, the high priestess. It was simply impossible.
“If I manage to find out more about the compound . . . If I give you that kind of information, would you consider our debt paid?”
“I give you my word.”
Victor would hate it. I will never hear the end of it.
But, what if what she was saying was true? What if there were women and children that were being abused at this very moment? Would I be able to just leave, go back to Darragh, knowing that I could have helped, but chose not to?
“In that case, I’ll go back out tonight,” I sighed.
“Take a day or two to rest.” Mahin intertwined her fingers, scrutinizing me.
Her gaze made me uncomfortable. It felt like I was doing exactly what she wanted. And I did not like the feeling of being manipulated.
Instead of responding, I moved to the exit.
Amira followed after me.