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But I also don’t want things to continue the way they are now.
If this place will ever change … it will have to be without them.
And the only way I can make that happen is if I become the only man left standing.
But I’d have to do it under the radar, without the others noticing. Follow their way of life and sneak up underneath them when they least expect it. But I can’t do it by myself.
I suck in a breath. “I will take her out. But she can’t stay there forever.”
“What?” She seems perplexed. “Why not?”
“I need her to come back … one day,” I say, biting my lip.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Then she stays here, and she’ll be hurt and humiliated, just like you. What if he hits her too? Is that what you want?”
She frowns. “You’re just as awful as your father.”
That hurt. More than I’d like to admit.
“I’m giving you an option.” I hold out my hand. “Take it or leave it.”
She eyes it for a second before reluctantly grasping it. “Fine.”
A wicked smile spreads across my lips. In the end, I’ll always get my way. “Deal.”
Chapter Three
Noah
Two weeks later, it’s time for a new round of recruitment, and my father’s bringing me along again to learn how it works so I can do it on my own when I get older. He always asks me to pack well, but today, I’m bringing an extra big trunk. No one will notice, no one ever cares about me or my luggage. I just tail along for the ride to learn, but I’m expected to lay low and not bother him too much, which is a perfect opportunity to bring something else along.
Before the sunrise, while it’s still dark, I go outside with my snow boots on, as the ground is covered in it. It’s so cold I can see my own breath while I walk toward the hut where I met her mother before.
When I arrive, I knock three times. She opens the door. A little girl dressed in all white steps forward. Her mother wraps a scarf around her neck and kisses her one last time. A tear travels down her cheeks as she hugs her little girl and pushes her toward me.
“What’s going on?” she mutters.
She’s far too young to understand, and explaining it would do more harm than good.
So I lean over, and whisper, “We’re going to take a trip.”
“Us?” she asks.
I nod. “Together.” I hold out my hand. “C’mon.”
She takes my hand but not before glancing over her shoulder at the woman who can’t stop crying while I whisk her away into the darkness.
No one can see. No one can know what I’m about to do.
I pull her with me through the forest, as far away as I possibly can from human interaction, and I stop at a tree I marked with a bit of moss.
“Stay here,” I say as I go to my knees and dig as fast as I can until I’ve uncovered the trunk. It’s huge but just large enough to fit a girl of her size.
I wipe off the dust and open it. Gazing at her, I say, “Get in.”
“In there?” she asks, confused.
“Yes,” I reply. “You have to.”
She looks upset. “Why?”
“What did your mother say to you?” I ask.
She frowns. “That I should do what you say.”
“Exactly.” I point at the trunk. “Now get in.”
She reluctantly agrees and steps inside, curling herself up.
“Don’t be scared … and don’t make a sound.” I place a finger against my lips to shush her before I close the lid.
I haul the suitcase all the way back through the forest and onto the pavement. There aren’t a lot of people out before dawn, so hopefully, no one will notice me lugging this around. I never realized how heavy a human being could be.
There are guards in front of the door to the temple, but they don’t ask any questions when they let me in. I quickly go inside and carry the suitcase all the way to the top of the stairs and into my room, where I place it on the floor next to all the other bags where I cover it with a blanket.
“Where are we going?” she whispers through a tiny hole I created so she can breathe.
“Shhh!” I whisper back. “Be quiet.”
A few minutes later, an elder steps in. “Noah? Are you finished with preparing?”
“Yes, I’ve packed all my bags,” I reply as I casually sit down on the bed. “When will we be leaving?”
“In an hour, so get ready,” he replies, and he closes the door behind me.
I quickly go down on my knees in front of the suitcase and whisper, “You can’t talk or make a noise. We’ll be going soon … and when you get out, you’ll be somewhere else. Somewhere … safe.”
