Chapter 11
My mind is a mess as I head back into the slums. I should be pleased. Happy that Kay might finally have security. Food. A chance at a future.
I am, but the cost … what of the cost? The death of a rapist.
The very presence of the man made my skin crawl, and I don’t doubt he deserved what was coming to him, but judgement should be left to the Gods.
But then again … maybe they forced Rula’s hand with this one.
After all, if they truly cared, so many things that happened would have been very different. The king would surely have seen through his son’s lies, and we would still be safe in the High Hold.
Trying to push my actions behind me, I have just reached the market square when a figure steps out of the shadows.
I can’t deal with some drunkard’s bullshit, I think as I keep my pace steady, only to realise it’s not just some drunkard. It’s the worst of them.
‘Heard you were out late doing a special job for Rula. Makes sense. You are a special little flower, aren’t you? You and that sister of yours.’
My body turns rigid as Tella reaches me. Immediately, his hand trails upward to my hair, but I twist away.
‘It’s been a long night, Tella,’ I tell him, hoping he’ll get the hint, but he doesn’t. Instead, he goes for my hair again. This time, I bat him away more forcefully.
‘Why did you do that?’ he hisses, grabbing me by the wrist. ‘I only want to be friends with you. We’d be great friends, you and me. Don’t you think, Lady Kultavaris?’
His breath reeks of alcohol, and I grimace against the smell and proximity of his body; it’s enough to make my skin crawl.
I’ve got to get away from him, and I know there are two ways of doing it: the way that descends into violence with at least one of us getting hurt, or the more subtle way, where I manage to get home without escalating the matter.
As I try to decide which to pursue, something glints at his waistband – the hilt of a knife.
That puts paid to my initial plan of a sharp knee straight to his groin. Even if I were to get the blade off him, there’s nothing to say he hasn’t got another.
Something about Tella makes me believe he’s the type of man to carry more than one weapon, and he probably enjoys using them far more than any sane person should, too.
‘I need to get back home.’ I try to keep my voice even. ‘Rula’s coming back to mine. She’d hate to hear how you delayed me.’
‘Is that right?’ He tilts his head to the side and presses his nose against my neck, drawing in a long inhale. Bile rises up the back of my throat. ‘Why don’t I walk back with you? I could keep you warm.’
My pulse hitches higher as I know he won’t take kindly to rejection, but there’s no way this ends with me accepting his offer.
As I try to keep my breathing steady, my eyes fall again on the knife. It wouldn’t matter if he’s got another, not if I was quick enough. One strike, centre of his chest. He won’t be coming after me if I manage that.
‘I’m onto big things, Flower.’ His words are slurred against my ear. ‘Rula doesn’t know it yet, but I’m onto big things. And when it happens, when I do it, there’ll be those who are on my side, and those who are against me. Which do you want to be, Flower? With me or against me?’
His eyes meet mine, but rather than giving me room to even think, he draws his thumb clumsily along my bottom lip. As the bitter taste of dirt and drink swarms my senses, my rational thinking takes a back seat.
‘I want to be as far away from you as possible,’ I spit. In one spin, I reach out and grab the hilt of the knife. After all, if I can’t fight off one slum thug, I’ll stand no chance if a Retterheld is actually called.
My fingers curl around the metal as I slip it out of his waistband, but before I can get it fully free, his elbow slams into me.
The knife clatters to the ground.
‘Why did you have to do that, Flower?’ he yells. ‘Why did you have to ruin it?’
I’m bent over double, struggling to breathe as he reaches down and grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me upwards. ‘You think you’re too good for me, Lady Kultavaris? Is that it? You think you’re too good for me, but you’re fine with fucking that hot water bottle? Fuck you!’
He moves to kick me, but I swing out of the way, using his own momentum to make him topple forward. The lack of balance is all I need to pull myself free from his grasp.
As I do so, I spot the knife on the ground beneath him.
Can I get it?
My pulse pounds against my ribs, slowing my thoughts when I so desperately need them to be sharp.
He’s drunk. Maybe I could beat him without needing to stab him, but maybe not.
And something tells me he wouldn’t hesitate to reach for the blade if he sees it.
With my adrenaline rushing in my ears, I reach down between us, but I’m not fast enough. His fist collides with my rib cage.
A crack resonates through my side, causing a gasp to fly from my lungs.
Tears stream from my eyes as I fall to the ground. There, on all fours, he kicks me again, landing the blow in exactly the same place. The force is enough to lift me off the ground and cause me to drop down again.
He spits at me. ‘You! Rula! Jack! You all think you’re better than me.’
‘No!’ I try to cough out my response, but my lungs are struggling to draw in a breath.
‘You picked the wrong side, Flower! Too bad … but maybe your sister will pick right when I go and pay her a visit next.’
The thought of this vile creature’s hands anywhere near Kay is enough for me to find a fresh surge of strength, and the knife is still there on the ground.
Pain sears across my torso as I stretch out.
It’s no longer a case of not wanting to do it.
Either I kill him or he kills me, and whatever future I secured for Kay with Rula no longer applies.
I draw in a breath – trying to ignore the blinding agony that such a simple action causes – as I reach again for the knife there on the dank ground. It’s so close, a hair’s breadth away from my fingertips. All I need is to move a tiny bit more.
But the pain of moving my arm is enough to make my body scream, and the coppery tang of blood fills my mouth.
Another kick is all it’s going to take for me to black out entirely, and I can’t let that happen. I can’t. I need to move. Move away from him. Protect myself. Protect Kay.
I can’t let him get to Kay.
I lift my head and see him lifting his foot, ready to strike me again, and I grit my teeth, bracing for more pain.
‘Tella?’ Rula’s voice cuts through the quiet. ‘Tella! What do you think you’re doing?’
Never did I think I’d feel genuine relief at the sound of Rula’s voice, and yet there it is, accompanied by a hammering of footsteps. It takes me a moment to realise Tella is running away.
‘Rose? Fuck.’ The woman’s hands wrap around my middle, causing me to gasp as she guides me up to my feet. ‘I told you to go home! What the fuck happened?’
‘I … I don’t know. He wanted me to join him. Said I was on his side or against him.’
‘Against him?’
My head is swimming. Tella has gone. That’s good, isn’t it? It’s got to be. Only …
‘Kay!’ My voice cracks, causing a sharp pain to radiate all the way down my throat. If he goes for her, she won’t stand a chance. ‘I need to get to Kay.’
‘I’ll get you back to your sister, but I need you to tell me what Tella just said to you,’ Rula insists.
I shake my head, trying to move away from her, but my body’s not working properly. The cracked ribs make even lifting my legs nothing short of agony.
‘Rose?’ Rula presses again. ‘What did he say to you?’
I shake my head. I need to get to Kay, but I can’t do it on my own, and if Rula decides she’s going to finish what Tella started, I won’t stand a chance. Not in this state.
‘He wasn’t making sense. He was drunk. Saying he was going up against you … saying I had to choose sides. I don’t know … I just wanted to get away from him. Get to Kay. I need to … Kay.’
Panic races through me, intensifying the pain that seems intent on consuming every part of my body.
‘Okay. It’s all right.’ For once, Rula’s voice matches the maternal image she tries to project. ‘You wait here. I’ll get Jack to take you home. You’re all right. You did well. You did well, girl.’
Cold seeps into my bones as I lie prone on the ground.
I don’t know how long I’m left waiting there, shivering against the freezing temperatures and the pain that emanates from every part of my body, but at some point, I become vaguely aware of hands lifting me.
Holding me. I’m being led as I half-walk and am half-dragged through the alleys.
Whether it’s the cold, or the pain, or the sheer exhaustion of the day, I don’t know, but my eyes are struggling to stay open.
Only when a familiar voice breaks through into my consciousness do I finally gain some agency.
‘Rosey?’ I’m not sure if his voice is just in my head until he speaks again. ‘Rosey, what the fuck!’
‘Ruben?’ I stumble forward, dropping myself directly into his arms. Into his warmth.
‘What the hell happened?’
‘Don’t ask me.’ Jack’s voice has a tremble of fear. ‘Rula just told me to get her back here.’
‘Kay?’ I look up at Ruben. ‘You need to get to Kay. You need to protect—’
‘Kay’s fine,’ he tells me. ‘She went to bed a couple of hours ago. I’ve been out here since.’
‘You’ve been …’ I don’t even have the energy to finish my sentence, let alone thank him. Still, the way his eyes gleam down at me, he knows what I’m thinking.
‘It’s fine. I don’t feel the cold, remember? Let’s get you inside. Get you cleaned up.’
He moves towards the makeshift scrap of metal that makes up our door. Before he can open it, I reach out and grab him. The action is enough to cause me to release a silent scream of pain.
‘No.’ I bite back the searing pain that pulses through my chest. ‘Kay can’t see me like this. I need her … I need …’
What do I need? I need to be with her, to protect her from Tella, but also to protect her from seeing what life out here is really like, and that means not seeing me like this.
‘Jack, wait here.’ Ruben’s voice doesn’t leave any room for negotiation. ‘Anyone comes within fifty feet of that door, you call for backup. You got it?’
Jack bites down on his lip. Unlike Ruben, he doesn’t have the advantage of staying warm out here, and given the grousing he gave about waiting for me in the freezing cold earlier, I expect him to object, but clearly Ruben’s tone makes him think better.
‘You know the neighbours, right?’ Ruben scoops me up in his arms, already making a beeline for their door.
‘Yeah, but—’
‘No buts on this one, Rosey. Either they see you like this or Kay does. Got it?’
Tears of pain trickle down my cheeks as he raps his knuckles on Corem’s door.
‘Remember,’ he says, turning back to Jack as the door swings open, ‘fifty feet.’
A second later, he’s carrying me inside and laying me down on Evelina and Corem’s makeshift wooden bed as they gasp in concern at the state of me.