Chapter 27
Ipace up and down the empty corridor behind the secret painting until Jasper slips in, the thumping music growing piercingly loud as he opens the painting, then muting to a dull thudding as soon as it latches shut.
Jasper grins, rubbing his hands together, and blowing into them to warm up. “I sent the message to my brother,” he says.
I stiffen. “Now what?”
“We wait for a response and take care of our end in the meantime. How are you doing with the princess? Did you discover any information that we can use against her once we’ve captured her?”
“If we capture her. This is a backup plan,” I remind him. “Yes, of course. Did you find anyone she cares for?”
She cares for the bondslave. I imagined her sister or mother, maybe even a secret lover, but she has no one like that little bondslave.
I swore after Emya I would protect the Awoms. I dedicated my entire four years of rule to liberate them.
To use the bondslave to threaten Nizzara . . . I won’t do it. I’ll find someone else she cares for, but not a bondslave and certainly not a bondslave child.
“I haven’t, but I will.”
An ounce of guilt worms into my chest, but I remind myself this is only a backup plan. Remind myself, no human things.
Helina’s red curls peek out of one of the hallway doors and she joins us. “Another supply train is ready to be delivered to the rebel camps.”
“Red has meetings scheduled with our rum supplier tonight which I’ll need to fill in for or we won’t have a business here. Not to mention the bouncers are getting restless in his absence, and he’s also supposed to be meeting with a noblewoman who funds these supply trains.” Jasper points a look in my direction. Right, he told me about Red’s little girlfriends he keeps for monetary convenience. “Care to make an appearance?”
Helina scoffs. “Not without a bath and a haircut.”
I roll my eyes. “I apologize. The grooming standards in Baratrum are subpar.” I turn to Jasper. “I’ll take care of the bouncers and girlfriends later. The supplies are more important. They need to get to the camp.”
He pinches his nose. “I told you I can’t take the shipment tonight if I’m filling in for—”
“I’ll take it,” I say.
“But you don’t know where to go.”
Helina sighs. “I can go with.”
Jasper’s brows furrow. “It’s dangerous, Helina.”
She folds her arms. “I know. I’ve gone before.”
“That was before the rogue attacks skyrocketed.”
I turn to Jasper. “The what?”
“Rogues,” he says as if that is answer enough.
“I can handle myself,” she says.
He puffs air through his nose and fidgets as if he wants to bridge the gap between them, to grab Helina. “They are more beast than man, Helina. They will eat you alive while you scream.”
“What are you talking about? What are rogues?” I demand.
Jasper points his grim expression to me. “It’s as the Zo prophecies said. Men of kingdoms who turn to beasts of nightmares.”
“From The King of Kings? That passage is just a metaphor.” I wave my hand. “It could mean anything.” I always thought it was referring to greed. The Zo’s always dramatize their prophecies.
Jasper flattens his brows. “Well regardless of what it means, there are people out there in the Barrens who’ve completely lost it. They feast on human flesh.”
“So what, cannibals?”
“More than cannibals. Their bodies are contorted, claws grow from their fingers, fangs from their gums, and the look in their eyes . . .” He shivers. “I made the mistake of touching one once. They are no longer men.”
“Where do they come from?”
He flings an arm toward the painting, separating us from the dance floor. “From our own streets.”
Helina shifts her stance. “We are running out of time. If we want to get the shipment out tonight, we need to go now.” A memory of her daughter playing inside a cave-like structure flashes through her mind, nothing but anxiety in the vision.
Jasper takes a breath, then points a finger at me. “Don’t you dare let anything happen to her.”
“I’ll protect her,” I say.
Helina folds her arms, her face hard, but doesn’t offer a word against it.
After a stretch of silence, he finally nods and steps aside, but when I go for the door, he grabs my shoulder. “Rogues are sneaky. They will ask you to help them, make you believe they are not fully gone, but I assure you. They are.” His grip tightens, eyes narrowing.
“I will protect her,” I promise again.
He seems to believe me this time, and he lets go.