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“You’re absolutely right,” I reply. “That’s what makes it so exciting.”
There’s another lull as the ugly clanging sounds of the factory take over. Chug chug clatter. Chug chug clatter.
“What are you going to do about the things you already have?” she asks suddenly. “You know, you could get a few ducats selling them. Maybe more.”
I glare at her. “I’m not selling them. They’re mine.”
“Why not?” Riya returns. “As you said, he didn’t love you as much as you thought he did.”
“You don’t understand love,” I snap.
The overseer starts to walk back, and already I feel bad for saying something so mean.
But there is something very special happening between me and the man in the forest. In some ways, I think I’m beginning to understand him. He’s a man of contradictions. He buys expensive gifts but doesn’t demand anything for them. He wants to own and control me, but that has to do with the free part of me, the part that wanders out into the forest to spend time with the animals. He’s bold but cautious, a man who’s used to shadows and quiet places.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper back to her once we can finally talk again. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Riya replies. “But I understand why you did.”
After that, we lapse into silence. I go back to thinking about my strange man in the woods and the warmth of the gaze that I’m sure I’ve felt on my back while I’ve been in the clearings, surrounded by hiding spots.
As for Riya, she’s probably thinking about him and me, too. I hope that at the end of all this, I’ll be proven right. That it will make sense for me to trust in a man who’s so fear-inspiring and strange. Right now, everything we know seems, logically, like it favors Riya.
But I believe that there’s more than that to him. I believe that he has a heart and that in it, all the darkness and contradictions Riya is so afraid of will all be brought together and made sense of. I believe in that whole heart, somewhere out there, and I believe that it beats for me just the way mine beats for him.
Meanwhile, the conveyor belt keeps turning. The lightning continues to crackle. And I keep picking digging machines off the belt, turning them upside down, and setting them on the next belt.
But I’m not just any worker in a factory. I’m the woman that the man in the forest loves. I’m Brielle.
8
THALI
Icreep down the hall of the manor, careful not to wake anyone in their rooms. I don’t need any unnecessary drama making this job last any longer than it needs to. Not only that, but most of my clients prefer at least a little bit of discretion, and I want to get paid.
When I reach the room I know he’ll be in, I use a quick spell to open the door that I already know is locked. They always lock themselves in, as if that would stop anyone dangerous enough to kill them. Foolish.
The moment I walk in, he turns from the window, eyes widening with horror. Yeah, he knows exactly who I am and exactly why I’m here. I raise my sword, ready to get this over with. But of course, he has to open his mouth. They always do.
“Please, I’m begging you! Please don’t do this!”
“Begging me isn’t going to do you any good.”
“Please! I have a family! You don’t have to do this! I have money, I can pay you!”
“Everyone has a family. Everyone has some reason to beg me not to kill them, but never once has that stopped me. You might as well save your breath.”
He dodges me as I move to plunge my sword into his chest, and I chuckle. They always try to run, like they have a chance of escaping me.
“It would save us both some time if you would stay still,” I tell him.
“You’re evil,” he spits. “You’re a disgrace!” He raises his voice. He’s hoping someone will hear him and come to his rescue. Little does he know, I used a silencing spell, so no one can hear him but me.
“I know.” I wink at him.
He spits again, slowly making his way in the direction of the door I just came through. I roll my eyes, annoyed at this point. I don’t have time for this.
“Why?” he trembles.
