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Before I can say anything else, a woman’s voice cries out in the distance, muffled by the sound of a passing breeze.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“Oh, you won’t believe this Captain,” Dransa says. “Some of the men captured a woman who claimed to have escaped Yadat. I went to see her and recognized her as one of the prisoners we had in the palace.”
That has to be her!
“Take me to the prisoner at once.”
The woman’s voice keeps yelling out as she is brought closer. From a tent, two guards emerge, holding her by the arms. She is blindfolded, but I immediately know it’s who I’m looking for.
“She’s a strong fighter, this one.”
As soon as Maya is placed in front of me, a soldier removes her blindfold. He is met with an instant headbutt.
“Bitch!” he groans, raising his fist.
“Leave her be!” I order.
Maya’s gaze looks up to meet me. Her face of fury widens with surprise at the sight of me. Her mouth drops open.
“What’s the matter?” I ask. “Surprised that you’ve been caught? That’s what happens when you go telling strangers you’re an escapee.”
“Yeah, you tell her, Captain!”
I feel like an asshole speaking to her in such a manner, but at the same time, it’s her fault that she’s gotten herself caught. Yet I’m ridden with guilt at the sadness in her eyes and the tears streaming down her face.
“The men have been clashing over what they want to do with her,” Dransa says. “Some wish to kill her right here, right now.”
Another soldier pipes up. “I think we should have a bit of fun with her first. This is the first taste of action we’ve all gotten in months, and it’d be a shame to let her go to waste with a quick kill.”
“I think we should send her back to King Kriseri,” Dransa replies. “After all, she is still his property, whether she likes it or not.”
Each choice makes me sick to my stomach. I did not come all the way out here and spend the entire day searching for Maya only to decide how she dies.
There has to be something I can do. As Captain of the Royal Guard, I have authority. These men must obey my every command.
Letting her die right here is the easiest way out, a voice in my head says. What exactly are you going to do with her? Let her go free? The men will just find her again!
She does not deserve to die, another voice says. Fight for her, otherwise, who else will?
“I will handle her myself!”
With my hand on my sword, I make up my mind and seal Maya’s ultimate fate.
22
MAYA
“Where are you taking me?”
“Shut the fuck up and walk faster,” he says, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking me along.
“Selliss, how did you even find me?”
“I’m not an idiot. I had a feeling you came here. You’re just lucky I found you when I did. Do you have any idea what those men were going to do to you back there? You could have ended up in a much worse situation than the one you were in back in my room.”
This is a worse situation. I know he’s right about the soldiers, but I have a feeling what he’s going to do to me now will be even worse. The grip he has on my hair is my first clue. The way his voice is shaking with anger as he talks is my second.
