23. CHAPTER 23
Miya
The Territories
Archai, Caspador
Miya rested against the brick wall of the building where she planned to meet her handler, Aiden, watching the crowds mingle with the vendors.
Ahead of her, ruby red apples, uniform in size and free from worm holes and bruises, glistened in wooden crates, displayed with care, completely different from the markets in her corner of Caspador.
Women, adorned in beautiful dresses, with obedient children in tow, ordered politely.
Miya smiled at the conflicting image of her market, where shouting matches and fist fights broke out, and apples were arranged to hide the defects, not to appeal to the eye.
It had taken two days to establish a meetup with Aiden. Her local contact pulled through for her, fixed her up with clothes and shelter, and put her in touch with the boss. When the Krowes called to ask about her whereabouts, the lady lied and said she didn’t know.
With nothing better to do, she figured she’d keep herself in plain sight for when the captain came looking, that way he couldn’t accuse her of running.
She had a little over an hour before Aiden should arrive.
She’d caught a break with Lance letting her leave, but beyond that, things couldn’t have gone worse.
Not that the strange situation with Lance made her feel better.
Another twenty minutes passed while she took a stroll through the alleyways. On the back of a shop, someone had painted a picture of her father. King Moress bowed down before a statue of the Phaedra. Coward was scrawled beneath it in colorful letters.
She couldn’t agree more. After her father had taken her mother’s hand for the treaty, he’d ignored her requests to improve life for her people.
Her mother was born to the True Followers.
In Caspador and Antor, this sect of the Followers branched off into their own new religion.
Many saw them as a cult. They functioned like their own government within the two kingdoms. Though her mother wasn't a believer, they would never let go of a valuable resource like a beautiful woman.
At the time, her father desired peace with the villages, so they didn't threaten his sovereignty.
Mom made for a lovely treaty.
But then a sickness swept through the villages, and her mom went home to care for her people.
She paid the ultimate price. Instead of accepting his blame for abandoning his subjects in poverty, her father set his sights on the leader of the villages, Bale.
Apparently, he’d even found a way to pin Miya's disappearance on him.
Miya had her own reasons to hate Bale. He was culpable like her father. Neither of them took any responsibility for how they used their ruling power. The worst kind of cowards.
She hated them both.
“There you are.” The captain's voice drifted from behind her.
“You kept me waiting long enough,” Miya said.
“I was starting to think you didn’t miss me.
” Her muscles felt twitchy, as though her body was trying to force her to do the sensible thing and run.
There was nowhere to go, though. He would find her.
Miya didn't want to run yet, not until she uncovered the danger this kingdom faced.
“We should wait for your handler inside.” That the captain’s voice had started to sound familiar made her cringe.
“I tried, you know,” Miya said. “I gave it my best shot.”
He gripped the back of her neck, hard enough to be uncomfortable. “Go.”
Holding her breath, she led him through the door of a small apartment the contact allowed them to use. The captain closed the shades, leaving the room dim. With his back to her, Miya sought out potential weapons. The cast-iron pan on the stove looked promising.
“You were smart not to try escaping.” He rested against the door, physically barring any hope of exit. “I thought you'd try.”
Her skin felt clammy despite the cool temperature in the apartment. When she’d changed clothes, she’d thrown away her dress from Krowe’s and exchanged her flats for boots. But she hadn’t thought of changing her bra. Foolish. “You’re tracking me, aren’t you?”
“Are you usually as hasty as you were at Krowe’s house?”
“No.”
“You saw us in the woods that night and panicked.”
He knew? “I didn’t tell anyone what I saw.”
“We were setting up surveillance equipment. Nothing that should frighten you. But you let that make you hasty with Lance. Then you panicked again and fled Krowe’s when there’s no need to panic over Lance.”
Miya wiped her palms over her black pants. “I can’t see any reason I shouldn’t panic about him knowing I’m a spy.”
“He’s a bond worker. His family came from Antor during the trade wars with a hefty debt. He’s harmless.”
Miya’s heart slowed. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m not repeating myself.”
Her every interaction with Lance flashed through her mind in a different light. How he hung back at the welcoming party and the things he’d said to her by the shed. Everything that had happened in his room…
“Let’s talk!”
It made perfect sense… and yet it made no sense at all. Was it a trick? “Who would send an untrained civilian to Krowe?”
“Someone who has no one else to send. The King of Caspador can't help Krowe without signing a death warrant. Any illicit help, like Rafferty, is more interested in picking the pockets of a dying man. Governor Krowe has no one.”
Dread filled Miya. “So, who sent Lance? Why did you tell me to work him?”
“Bale.”
The word punched her in the gut. That damn monster Bale signed her mother away with the treaty. Now he broke it to betray the king?
“The situation is most dire for Bale and his people,” the captain said.
“The king blames the death of his first wife on him.
He'll continue to attack the villages every chance he gets until they're gone. Bale offered Krowe another pair of eyes for stakes in the mines. Krowe is equally desperate, pacified by Lance’s size and hunting skills even though the boy has no training or experience.”
“Someone shot at him. There’s more here. There has to be.”
“Nothing more than Bale's greed. Lance poked around places he didn’t belong, looking for documents on the mines to ensure Krowe planned to keep his promise.” The captain hummed, watching her for several seconds.
“Here you are, in the middle of this mess because you panicked and couldn’t wait to get information the right way. ”
Laughter bubbled up in her, wild howling laughter that she had to clench to keep from releasing.
Don’t panic? Miya couldn't involve herself with Bale.
This was why she should've never set foot in Krowe’s estate.
Everything was too close to her father. It was all connected.
She should've run and forgotten about Caspador and her family.
“But… But Lance came right after you got here.” She crossed her arms over herself, taking a step away. “Why have me look into him when you know everything?”
“You should listen more closely to what I say.”
Shock severed the link between her mind and mouth. He’d told her to get close to Lance, to show him what she could do. “A job interview.” Miya eased from him toward the wall. Not a good idea to corner herself but her body fled from him without her permission. “Failed it pretty badly, didn't I?”
“Interview is too generous a word. More like a chance to save your life.”
“Right. In that case… I guess panic is appropriate.” Could Miya get to the frying pan?
“Fortunately for you, while it looks like you failed miserably, you made quite the impression on Lance. He's already loyal to you, as I wanted. He didn't tell anyone about you.”
“How do you know?”
“We know everything that happens in that house. Let it be a lesson to never allow soldiers into your home.”
“On-the-job training,” Miya said, digging her nails into her palms. “Lucky me.”
“The bond worker will devote himself to you and do whatever you need. You’ll make sure of it, because if you can’t handle him, you deserve whatever happens to you.”
“Whoa,” Miya said, her breathing fast, too fast. “I can’t go back. I—”
The captain nudged her against the wall, plastering his hands on either side of her head, leveling his face with hers. He was a python coiling around her body.
“You think you should fear your boss and handler because you’ve seen them kill a few people?” He cocked his head to the side. “You think that’s something to be frightened by?”
Miya held his stare, too scared to feel it. So scared her thoughts were insanely rational. This was it—the danger she’d wanted to avoid. It was real.
“I don’t simply kill.” The captain traced her chin. “I slaughter everyone my enemies ever loved.” His hand slipped down to her throat. “Do you want to be my enemy, Miya?”
An image of her father filled her mind, but others swept in. Brothers and sisters she hadn’t seen in over ten years. Shadows of children she’d never met. Spouses and entire families who would lay claim to an empty throne.
Tears flooded her eyes. How could she have been such a fool?
They'd kill the king and leave no one left alive to take his place. The Phaedra couldn’t get away with killing them without facing consequences from the rest of the world or the oceanic colonies.
So, he'd use the king’s own people. An uprising led by Bale and waged by people like hers at Rafferty.
The captain had created a back-channel to Bale through two people no one would care enough to notice: a bond worker and a prostitute.
Miya and Lance were worthless in the eyes of the kingdom in every way.
This couldn't be real. There had to be an escape for her, her family, her kingdom. For Lance. The last decade and this moment, all of it, couldn't have really happened. If she wished hard enough, she could make it disappear.
Ha. Right.
Those thoughts never went away.
“Smart,” she whispered. A single tear broke free and burned a hot path down her cheek. “Leave no one left to seek revenge.” She'd never let him kill the entire family. Miya would stop him.
“You’re good at that.” He tapped her temple. “Getting into people’s heads… Can I tell you a secret?”
Her hand shook as she clutched the one over her throat. “I’d rather you didn’t.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to do this. I like you.”
His hand clamped down and closed her airway before she gasped in her final breath.
“Never question me,” he said.
She was terrified. She knew it but couldn’t feel it. Couldn’t feel a thing except stabbing pain in her throat and burning in her lungs. With her body and mind succumbing to the pressure, a primal drive in Miya stayed alive, and the rest went dormant.
She slammed her forearm against the inside of his elbow, but he only squeezed harder.
She counted time to keep her focus. Three seconds.
Reaching for his pinky with both hands, her fingertips just brushed him when the captain wrenched her right arm, ripped her forward, and threw her against the wall. Her knees gave in. Black spots popped over her vision.
Six seconds.
Her world spun. He dragged her closer, forcing her onto her toes. Miya kicked at his legs. The pressure on her throat intensified.
Stop. She had to stop. Fighting back could kill her.
Ten seconds.
She saw herself reflected in his pupils. Warped and small.
Eleven.
Calm eased her rigid muscles and soothed her rapid thoughts.
Twelve…
His image faded.
...
There was an awareness. That calm was bad, and something wasn’t right. An instinct so deeply embedded that even when her thoughts fizzled out, the awareness remained, until it too faded.