Page 72 of Broken Fate
“Enough of this,” he said heatedly, hands grabbing at my shirt to tear it off.
“Jada!”
Kiel’s eyes met mine, and both our gazes widened. He tried to roll off me, but it was too late.
Andi burst through the hung cloth that served as a door, skidding to a halt as she saw what awaited her.
“Oh,” she said with aplomb. “About fucking time.”
We gaped at her.
“But now’s not the time,” she said as Kiel scrambled off me. “We’ve got bigger problems.”
“Like what?” he demanded, fiddling with his pants for propriety’s sake. Not that there was any way to hide how he was, ahem, feeling.
Andi shook her head. “You’d better see for yourself. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Andi shot me a glance as she stepped back through the cloth. I got up, tugging my shirt back into place and spending a moment trying to tame my hair. There was no time to put it back into a braid, so I would have to rely on Andi’s discretion when it came to anyone else noticing if it looked … frazzled.
“Not a word,” Kiel said, lifting a hand as we exited my room and faced Andi.
Her jaw clapped shut.
But that didn’t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching upward every time she glanced at us. That definitely wouldn’t be the last time I heard about what she walked in on.
“So, what’s so important?” Kiel asked as we stepped into his makeshift office, where Praksis awaited us, along with Ariena, the elderly matron of a shifter who oversaw the daily operations of the cave complex. She was sitting at the table already, hands clasped in front of her, like prayer.
My heart dropped. Whatever it was, it had everyone on edge.
“This,” Praksis said, shoving a piece of paper at Kiel hard enough to crinkle it.
Kiel’s jaw slowly closed as he read the missive. His nostrils flared, and one of his lips started to peel back soundlessly. The only sound to be heard over his breathing was the paper as his fingers clumped it into a ball, knuckles white.
“Thebastards.”
His snarl echoed off the stone walls of his office with enough force to sway me back on my heels.
“What does it say?” I asked, looking at everyone in the room.
Kiel waved a hand at Andi as he stared at the paper crumpled in his grip.
“They’ve put out a bounty on you,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, shrugging. “What am I missing? That’s not that bad. I’m already outlawed. We knew that, just like the rest of you. How does this change anything?”
“The bounty doesn’t,” Praksis agreed, his slender features as hard as steel. “Not really. They’ve mostly been unable to do so in the past simply because they don’tknowwho we are by name or where we’ve come from. Most of us were recruited well after our Fate Nights. The Alphas only come among us during them, and unless you live and work in one of the great citiesandperform a function that brings you into contact with the guards on a regular basis, nobody knows you. It’s easy to disappear and not come back. Nobody knows you’ve joined a rebellion since the Alphas will do anything to suppressmentionof it, let alone any members.”
“Okay … I don’t follow. So, yeah, they can put a bounty on me. So, what?”
“With you, they know your name. They’ve put it out there, and they’re threatening people into giving you up.”
“Threatening?” My stomach congealed around a knot. “How?”
“Arcadus, and the other Alphas, too, I’m sure, have given the people a week to give you up.”
“Or what?” I asked in a whisper.
“Or else they start the reprisals,” Kiel said heavily, taking over from Praksis.
