He is innocent. I know it in my heart, I can feel it in my bones. Galenor has a beating heart and a soul, he is kind and compassionate, he is brave and strong and more loyal than any of the colleagues in my unit.
I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stand lying there in bed next to him, feeling him breathe into me when every nerve in my body shouted for justice.
After he fell asleep, I laid there watching him for long minutes, analysing his features, his long lashes, the way he pressed his lips together when he started dreaming. How his arms instinctively searched for me, for the closeness of my warmth and how, once he found me again, he wrapped himself around me and leaned his head on my pillow, breathing into my neck.
I became determined to get to the bottom of this, to find whatever it was that brought him to me, whatever reason they had to keep this innocent male still trapped, beaten and tortured in a confined space. It was as if they wanted to play with him, to punish him in ways I didn’t yet understand. Pairing him with a woman born in his homeland, setting a constant reminder of what he had left behind.
And worst of all, he suspected his family did this to him. Set up a trap to get him away, both father and brother settling an alliance to rid themselves of an unwanted son. But why was the Realm playing along? Why the secrecy, the extra funding, why bring him here?
The more I thought about it, the more I understood how little information I had. And the thoughts continued torturing me throughout the night.
I would not be responsible for the suffering of an innocent, not again. I would not put a faerie in pain because of my actions. Because I couldn’t stand up for them. Because I was weak.
The sound of the unsealing kitchen door made me jump in bed, causing Galenor to wake up with a fright. We both gazed at one another for a mere moment, our eyes locked, shooting terror through our veins.
They were here again.
They had come to get him.
“The fuck you are,” I planted myself in the living room to wait for the incoming guards, keeping the bedroom door shut to protect Galenor. They wouldn’t dare step into my private space, it would be a violation of our agreement.
“Good morning, Captain Harrow,” the first guard greeted me, adding a slow smile to what looked to be, for him, a cheery morning.
Others appeared through the door behind him, stepping into the room with methodical placement, exuding military training. I took a beat to study their faces, trying to remember if any of them had already been here, but their features told me nothing. They didn’t know me, and I didn’t know them.
Just like last time Galenor was taken, these men were brought here from the outside. Their uniforms, weapons and stance instantly gave it away. We were a small unit in a remote town, but these six men had the allure of importance surrounding them. They had been in high-risk situations and were not afraid to use violence at the simplest opportunity.
Six of them.
Someone up there learnt their lesson. Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t ready to give up without a fight.
“How may I assist…” I tilted my head and raised a brow, indicating that none of them took the decency to introduce themselves after barging in my home.
Fuck, just hearing myself think it caused me nausea.My home.What the fuck was I doing? Was I really putting myself in front of six massively muscled, fully armed high-level guards for a fae male? Did I really think I could play house with the guy without any consequences?
No, don’t back down, not now, I urged myself, tensing my calves and planting the soles of my feet to get a better, more threatening grip on the floor. He was innocent. And he was mine.
For another twelve days at least…
“Lieutenant-colonel Geoffrey,” the first man introduced himself and I almost fell on my ass. Fuck it, he was more senior than me. Which turned everything into high priority, far above my clearance level.
“How can I help, lieutenant-colonel Geoffrey?” I pressed his name with a threatening tone, pronouncing every syllable in his name with a tick, ready to burst out of my skin at the earliest disruption.
“We have orders to escort Gale to the interrogation quarters,” he dipped his chin, as if to warn me not to get in their way. “My men and I are ready, please alert him of our arrival,” he added.
“What, like I’m a housemaid?” I frowned, shifting my weight from one hip to another. None of the men flinched, their sharp regards pinned on me, ready for whatever was coming their way.
“I am here to fulfil orders and I take time very seriously, Captain. It is not in my job description to care for your womanly feelings,” the man pressed, a small step coming towards me. With just a slide of his boots, his men inched closer, forming a semicircle around me and closing in the exit.
“PDD can confirm that I am not in agreement with this,” I pressed, fisting my palms, readying myself for an attack. I felt my nerves shaking, adrenaline pumping through me, urging me to jump on him. I could do it. This time, I could do it.
“I will not discuss orders with an inferior officer in rank, please do as you’re told.” His patience was running thin, and I was stepping on his last nerve by disobeying a direct order in front of his delegation. Little did he know, it was about to get uglier still.
“Like I said, I am disinclined to open that door. I did not receive any orders and I don’t —”
A punch swirled across my cheek, shifting my face to the side and my neck tilted with a crack before I had a chance to add another word. My lips immediately started bleeding, filling my mouth with a metallic taste.
I had always hated the taste of blood; I hated its scent and its colour. But none of that would stop me.
