Chapter 16
Merrilee
I jerked to consciousness, surprised to realized that I'd been asleep. I had no timepiece but from the slant of the sun through the lone window I guessed I'd slept for hours.
The sound that had woken me came again—footsteps crunching on rocky dirt outside, approaching. My entire body went rigid, every muscle locking into place as adrenaline flooded my system.
Someone was coming.
My eyes darted around the sparse shack, searching for anything I could use to defend myself. The cot. A rickety table. A rusted bucket in the corner. Nothing that would stop an armed guard or one of Hewes's men.
Then I saw it—mounted on the far wall, half-hidden in shadow. A blade. Short and curved, its edge dulled with age but still wicked-looking. Some kind of harvesting tool, maybe, or a weapon left behind.
I crossed the small space in three silent strides, my bare feet making no sound on the dirt floor. My fingers closed around the worn leather grip, and I lifted the blade from its hooks as quietly as I could manage.
The weight felt good in my hand.
I positioned myself beside the door, blade raised, my breathing shallow and controlled. Every sense sharpened to a razor's edge.
The footsteps stopped just outside.
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I was certain whoever was out there heard it.
Then came the knock.
Three quick raps. A pause that stretched just long enough to make my pulse spike. Then two more.
A signal.
My heart lurched into my throat, hammering so hard I felt it in my temples. I pressed myself flat against the rough wooden wall, the blade clutched tight in one trembling hand, my sweaty palm threatening to drop it.
"Lady?"
Roone's voice.
Relief flooded through me so fast and completely that I felt dizzy, my knees threatening to buckle beneath me. I sucked in a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
The door creaked open, the sound of old hinges grinding against rust cutting through the oppressive silence.
Roone's small silhouette appeared in the narrow gap, his compact frame barely filling a third of the doorway.
His large dark eyes reflected the dim amber light filtering through from outside.
He slipped inside quickly, closing the door behind him with barely a whisper of sound. The latch clicked softly into place.
"Roone—"
"We have to go." His voice was tight. Clipped. Urgent in a way that made my stomach drop. "Now."
The relief evaporated like water on hot stones.
I pushed myself away from the wall, my legs unsteady, my hands still shaking. "What happened? Is Ahrick—"
"He's alive." Roone moved deeper into the shack, his movements quick and jerky, nothing like his usual controlled grace. His ears were pinned flat against his skull. "For now."
For now?
"What does that mean?" My voice came out sharp, cracking on the last word. "Roone, what the hell happened?"
He turned to face me fully, and I saw the fear in his eyes. Raw and undisguised. The kind of fear that came from witnessing something terrible, something that changed the landscape of what you thought was possible.
"Hewes took over," he said, the words tumbling out faster now. "He bribed half of Persico's inner circle with promises of power and credits, and killed the other half in their sleep. Now Persico's locked in a cage in his own throne room while Hewes runs Fange City like his personal kingdom."
The floor seemed to tilt beneath me, the walls of the shack pressing in.
"And Ahrick?" I could barely get the words out past the constriction in my throat. "Where's Ahrick?"
"He went after Hewes." Roone's ears flattened even further against his skull, disappearing into his dark fur.
"Tried to kill him with his bare hands. He almost succeeded too.
Got past three guards, got his hands on him.
Broke his wrist like a dry twig, nearly crushed his throat.
But Hewes's guards, too many of them. They shot him. "
The world narrowed to a single point of white-hot pain.
They shot him.
"Is he—" I couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't make myself say the word that would make it real.
"He's alive," Roone said again, and I latched onto those words like a lifeline. "But Hewes is keeping him that way for a reason. He's going to execute Ahrick publicly. Make an example of him. Show everyone in Fange City what happens when you challenge his authority. At dawn. Day after tomorrow."
My legs gave out.
I hit the floor hard, my knees cracking against the rough wood planks, my hands bracing against the splintered surface.
For a moment my mind shattered. I couldn't think.
Couldn't process what Roone had just told me.
The words echoed in my head, bouncing off the inside of my skull, refusing to make sense.
Public execution.