Page 57 of The Queen's Serpent

I take a step forward, followed by another, leaving Francisco injured and behind me. Tears continue to slide down my face, but adrenaline and strength fill my limbs with determination to get to the village, and send help back for him. I look over my shoulder but no longer see any hint of him, the jungle swallowing him from sight.

Keep going, Issy, we have to get to that village if he has any hope of surviving.

I keep moving for what feels like hours, and the night sky fully darkens and then starts to lighten again, as I force myself forward, deeper into the jungle, and check the compass for direction while keeping my eyes and ears open for predators near me. My body is fighting exhaustion, but still, I keep pushing, remembering that Francisco is counting on me to get help.

I fall down and pick myself up again, forcing one foot in front of the other. I’m drowning in nausea, nothing but acid seems to be in my stomach, and dizziness assails me. I fall once again as my head spins with the already rising heat, and empty my stomach into the bush, but nothing comes out. Pain radiates through my abdomen as cramps have me clutching my arms around my middle. I’m going to die out here in this wretched jungle, and I won’t have saved anyone.

Get up, you fucking weakling, keep moving! We have to keep going, or we die.

I crawl forward, my legs refusing to carry me until my knees are bloody. I grab onto the low branches of a bush, pull myself up, and then use the trunks of the trees, stumbling from one to the other to keep going.I will survive. I will be strong. I’m not dying in this jungle.

The sun starts to set on the day, and I know I won’t make it more than a few steps now. I need to rest for an hour, and drink some water, or I’m going to pass out from dehydration. I take the canteen from my bag and swallow deeply, despite my stomach’s protests. I look around, spy some thick, leafy bushes, and stumble in that direction.

The stomach cramps are getting worse and making me want to double over. I lower myself to the ground, placing my pack next to me so I can lay my head on its surface. I hold the machete tight in my hand as I assemble myself in the fetal position,raising my knees to my chest. I’m asleep within moments, the darkness calling to me instantly and taking me away.

Chapter thirty-two

Diego

“I will be with her again, or I will die. There aren’t any other options.”

Julie Kagawa, The Iron Knight

It’s been hours since the attack started, and we were able to repel Stella’s hired men back into the jungle. I’m not deluding myself into thinking they have retreated very far and won’t attack again. I know they will; they are just biding their time, recouping their losses, and treating their wounded, the same as we are, and then they will strike again. The bounty on my head guarantees it.

The compound is in shambles around me, many of my men are injured, and we still can’t find Issy, and now Alisa is also missing. I worry that they have been taken by one of Stella’s mercenaries. Either that or myPrincesahas finally managed to escape me. The thought alone makes me want to race out into the jungle and search for her, to bring her back with a leash around her fucking throat, and lock her in a room so she can never leave me again.

However, I can’t leave my men to hold off these assholes alone. I have to stand by their sides as they have mine during this stupid, idiotic plan of mine to take the Stratford heiress, and keep her for myself. “Diego, we have managed to get your father on the satellite phone,” Santiago’s weary voice calls out to me, as I stare through one of the open doorways into the jungle, daring one of Stella’s hired fuckers to try to shoot me.

I bring the phone to my ear, but before I can even speak a word, my father is already yelling at me. “How many of our men have died, Diego, for this one woman?Hijo, I need you to see reason, release her, and return to me. This has gone too far, and Stella will see you dead.”

So he doesn’t know yet that we can’t find Issy. I stare at Santiago and see the understanding in his face. He didn’t want to be the one to tell my father that many of his men have died, and I lost Isabella Stratford in the process. My father, Manuel, was already unsure of this plan, and now it looks like I have failed him and, at the same time, failed myself.

How can she fucking be gone? There is no way Issy made it out of this compound without help. Someone got her out. Someone from within helped her escape. That seems more likely than one of Stella’s men breaching our interior without us realizing it, and getting her out. The question is, who has betrayed me? Who took my prize away and now has a death sentence on their head?

“BOY, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!” My father shouts and brings my attention back to the matter at hand. The sound of his angry, disappointed voice causes further aggravation along my already frazzled nerves.

“Yeah, I’m listening. We have lost twelve men in the raid, six more are injured gravely, and three have minor injuries. We managed to push them back for now, but I need reinforcements,papá.”

“Reinforcements? Have you lost yourgoddamnmind? You want me to send more men to die so you can keep that spoiled girl? No, Diego, I can’t send more men to their deaths because you won’t see reason. Thatchicais dangerous!”

“Issy’s fucking gone. She escaped somehow during the raid. The men are to protect those of us trapped in this fucking compound under fire, or do you want to see them capture your only son again?” I let him feel the wrath of my words, and theharsh reminder that this won’t be the first time an enemy has captured me.

No, I spent weeks being tortured, and chained to a wall, only a mere two years ago. I was barely out of my teens when I was taken by one of the other cartels, as a way to keep my father in line. I reach up and trace a finger along the scar on my face, a constant reminder of that time. That period of captivity changed me, making me colder and more ruthless. It also taught me that I can survive anything this world throws at me, anything that is, except losing Issy.She’s gone, and you will never get her back now.

“Thechicais gone?“ A deep, annoyed sigh vibrates through the phone. “Hijo, I know you don’t see it now, but it’s for the best. She is not the one for you. She would only bring your death. You should have picked the other one; she was strong, and would have ruled at your side.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and press my lips firmly together, to prevent myself from telling my father to go ‘fuck himself‘. It’s not his fault he doesn’t understand my feelings for Issy. He can’t see past the weak shell that she shows the world. She can be, and is, as strong as her sister, but she just doesn’t know it yet. I’ve seen glimpses of her internal power and strength over the last few months. Every time she fought back against me, she showed me her resilience.

She wouldn’t have escaped if she wasn’t strong, and left me here to die at the mercy of her grandmother’s men.

My father doesn’t understand that sometimes, your greatest strength comes from knowing your greatest weaknesses. No one can use them against you, if you don’t allow them to. My Issy had to learn that for herself, and while I pushed her in that direction, she did the work herself and has come out fiercer even after everything I put her through.That’s how she found the fortitude to leave me behind.

“It doesn’t matter. I plan to get her back, and no one will take her from me again, not even you,papá.She is mine and will always be mine, and neither you nor Stella will change that. Send the men, or be prepared to dig a hole to bury your only son in.“ I don’t wait to argue with him any further, disconnecting the call and slamming the phone down forcefully on the table next to me.

“Prepare the men who are still able to fight. We’re not going to be sitting fucking ducks here waiting for our death. We will attack these assholes under the deep cover of night, and we have the advantage because we know this jungle.”

A concerned look crosses Santiago’s face, and it almost looks like he intends to argue with me before he nods. “Si, Jefe, right away.”

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