Page 31 of Broken Fate
“Just keep your mouth shut and do as you’re told until we’re all safe,” Kiel said coldly.
I shook my head. “No. Leave me here.”
Kiel bared his teeth. “I would,” he said, “but you’ve seen too much. So, Jada Saunders, it’s time for you to choose.”
“Choose?”
He nodded slowly, some of the ice thawing as he took on a calmer, more serious persona. How he switched so easily was still a mystery.
“Are you going to join willingly to help us stop things like that?” Kiel pointed at the remains of my family house and the bodies within. “Or are you going to continue being rash and naïve about the world, forcing me to toss you in a cell for the rest of your life to keep my people safe? The choice is yours. You have until we get back to base.”
I exhaled slowly. Everything from that point onward would be determined by my answer. Could I become what they wanted?
Or was I too much of a coward?
Chapter Sixteen
Knowing full well that as soon as Andracis could scrape up some more guards, they would be coming after us, Kiel set a brutal pace back to the manor. He pushed us to the brink, taking a long loop south out of our way to try to throw off any trackers that may have been after us.
It was all I could do to keep up, leaving little time to ponder his question. A question that deserved some serious pondering and not just an off-the-cuff answer based on the proposed outcome. True, I didn’t want to end up in a jail cell for the literal rest of my life. That was horrible. But the alternative was anything but clear-cut.
Just what am I signing up for?
I tried to broach the subject several times with Kiel, but he brushed me off, too focused on getting us back safely. Given that my actions had put everyone in danger, I didn’t want to distract him any further.
“Take her to her room,” Kiel ordered as we finally sighted the empty-looking manor.
I was too tired to argue, so I let them escort me to the same room I was given before. Two men closed the door behind me, but only one set of footsteps made their way down the hall.
They left a guard.
No more leaving without anyone knowing, I supposed. Not that it mattered that Kiel didn’t trust me. Where would I go?
Naked, covered in soot, and still reeking of smoke—there was no time to stop to bathe—I headed for the bathroom. I tried to stave off the overwhelming grief I could feel gathering in the corner of my brain, coiling like a snake, ready to strike the moment I let myself get too close.
My parents were dead.
My house was a pile of ash.
My only remaining relationship was … I didn’t even know what.
Mylifewas gone.
The guard at the door was pointless. There was nothing more for me to go backto.
I slid to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest, the darkness of despair casting its arm over my shoulders, tugging me deeper into the depths of its embrace. I stared at the wide wooden planks of the floor blankly, barely seeing them. I was hollow. Empty. Devoid of even tears.
The numbness spread. How long I stayed there, I didn’t know, but it must have been long enough for someone to worry about the lack of sounds from the room because the sudden pounding at my door wrenched me from wherever I’d been, dragging me back to the present.
I didn’t get up. The last thing I wanted was company. I didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to interact. Why bother? They were probably going to die, too.
The door opened to admit Andi, who didn’t bother knocking a second time or waiting for me to answer. She just barged in like a tornado, her auburn hair bouncing behind her with each step. Her long legs carried her to me, even as the door thudded closed.
“What do you want?” I said, unable to keep myself from getting snippy. Couldn’t she see that all I wanted was some privacy to grieve?
“Get up,” Andi snapped back, her harsh tone rocking my head backward in shock as if I’d been slapped.
“Excuse me?”
