Page 75 of Kingdom of Today
I held tightly to my bond with the librarian, fury rising and drowning out the fear. The mantra quieted, and out came the gloom, shooting from me as if I’d shoved it.
I ground my teeth. Tricky Astan. His essence had brought those awful feelings.
Roman worked to free Winslet, and no one dared stop him. As he eased the wounded woman to the floor, I followed her down, keeping the pressure on the wound. Her fallen dagger. It wasright there, beside her arm.
Hiding my actions, I collected the weapon, preventing anyone else from using it.
“There’s a Soalian in this room, and it’s not Winslet,” Roman announced with confidence as he straightened. He took aim with Dollop’s gun. “It’s Miller.”
Miller jostled and stumbled backward, shaking his head. “Why would you say that?”
Nearly everyone else aimed at him too. I floundered for something, anything that removed suspicion from the soldier.
“You attempted to recruit me.” Roman lifted his nose in the air. “Always asking me questions and dissecting my responses to find cracks in my allegiance to CURED. I turned you in, and Archduke Heta instructed me to keep tabs on you, which I did. I followed you in Bala City and caught you looking at the Rock.” He motioned to two soldiers. “Put him on the rack. Let’s find out who’s working with him.”
The pair converged on Miller, who fought to maintain his freedom, throwing punches while avoiding theirs.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I couldn’t let them interrogate Miller. Not because he might implicate me, though he might. He could be the one Domino had prompted me to find.
“Do you hear yourself?” I shouted at Roman, doing my best not to jostle Winslet. The room went still. Roman had aided me only moments ago. Now, I returned the favor with honesty. “Nothing you’ve said makes him a traitor. Roman, listen to me. Please. You’re making the same mistake as before, only worse.”
“Restrain. Him.” He glared at the soldiers, and they resumed their fight against Miller.
“I’m cured,” the potential Soalian snarled after the pair trapped his arms behind his back. “That’s the truth, straight up.”
I didn’t know why I comprehended the difference between his use of cured and CURED, but I did.
Maybe the other soldiers did as well. They showed him no mercy as they bound him to the wooden rack.
“Let’s start with the easiest part. Deny your loyalty to Soal.” Roman moved in front of him and crossed his arms. “Say ‘I despise the Rock.’”
Even hearing those words, I cringed inside. The thought of uttering them hurt me in ways I hadn’t expected.
“Will you believe anything I say?” Miller snarled, struggling without success for freedom.
“No.” Roman motioned to a trainee, who turned the crank on the rack, pulling on Miller’s limbs. “But I still want to hear you say it.”
Miller spit on him.
Roman wiped away the spittle, casually stating, “Who’s helping you?”
Miller was too busy panting and groaning to speak.
“Are you so far gone with bloodlust, you can’t grasp the incongruity of your words?” I straightened, my hand on the hilt of my netter. “You won’t believe anything Miller says, but you’ll still torture anyone he names?”
“Unless you want us to believe you’re a conspirator, shut up.” Roman pointed at the trainees. “I can’t be the only one he’s tried to recruit. Maybe he succeeded with one of you. Just tell me who accepted, Mills, and the pain stops.”
Okay, I had a decision to make. Take him down, possibly dying in the process, or let the madness continue.
As if there was anything to consider. Still. I tried one more time to reach him. “Miller is our friend, Roman.”
He offered me a fleeting smile. “That’s your problem, Ardie. You see the best in people who will turn on you at the first opportunity. You failed to realize I’m not anyone’s friend. I can’t be. I see you all for what you are. Ticking bombs.”
More nods of agreement from our spectators, and I had no words to refute him.
He pointed to our bound teammate. “You have ten seconds, Miller. Then the real hurt begins.”
Very well. I had a new goal—take Roman down. With eight nets, I could hobble him and his staunchest supporters. Maybe the rest of my challengers would back off. If not, I also had Winslet’s knife.
