“Her magic! Someone came in when I didn’t answer, and a healer said she felt Jane’s healing magic, which was used tosubdueme.”
Blackwell closes the space between him and Jesper, like a storm swallowing a weak sunrise; I hate Blackwell, but I can’t deny he embodies authority forged in blood and hardship—his scarred, weathered skin displaying what he’s earned through sacrifice, his outfit brimming with weapons that aren’t for show but for survival. Jesper just looks like a spoiled twat next to him, his clothes polished and his unearned bravado feeble, covered in hisdinner.
Fuck Blackwell for making me respect him, even if only because I nearly want to laugh at how paltry Jesper is in comparison, and that’s a good feeling for me.
“I warned you,” Blackwell begins, his voice dipping low. “I told you not to trust this cunt. She’s the daughter of theScorpion. Do you think he bred someonetame?” He pushes Jesper on the shoulder. “You are immeasurably lucky that I have to wait for our god before doinganythingto you. Those sirens…” his thin lips roll inward, vexation staining his gain. “You’re suck a spoiled cunt of an idiot.She’sacting as I told you she would, andyou’rethe one that let her out of her cage! The sirens being freed is onyou!.”His eyes seethe as he places a hand on his dagger’s hilt, Jesper looking down with zero pushback. Blackwell holds a hand out like he might choke the pompous idiot, but refrains before turning to face me, the monkey hopping near Blackwell’s feet to stare right at me, unblinking. “AndJane… you made amistake.”
“She didn’t do it!” someone shouts from the crowd of onlookers. The monkey doesn’t turn around and continues to stare me down. I remain lying on the ground, as I truly don’t want to fight them now.I did what I came here to do, which means I need to focus on escaping. On surviving.
The guards bring Anya forward, who still wears the face of Amy. “Sir, she says she knows what happened.”
Everyone stares at her, a few mumbling under their breaths as if they can’t believe their eyes. Then, shoulder-length brown hair recedes and returns black, her round face lengthening to reveal Anya, the black robes slightly baggy on her now, her bruises all coming through as she breathes a sigh of relief, like it took too much effort to maintain that. “Ifreed the sirens.”
“No,” I mutter, the sound desperate, as I press up onto my knees.
“Don’t listen to her,” Anya coldly says. “She is under the impression that her father’s life is dependent on you believing she freed the sirens.”
“Anya!” I shout.
“Jane,” she scolds, finally connecting her gaze with mine.
Jesper’s voice breaks. “Someone get thefuckinggod by the name of Morvock. And not hishowlermonkey!” He advances on Anya, but she doesn’t flinch, her calm demeanor unshaken even as the crowd parts to give him a clear path, the guards still holding onto her.
“Say that again,” Jesper demands, towering over her while Blackwell watches on, his fingers twitching like he can’t tell what he wants to do yet.
“I’m a skin shifter, and I’m loyal to Soren.” She steps forward confidently. “Youaregoing to die; you do know that? The more scars she has on her, the more torment is added to your miserable life. If she so much aspointsto you once Soren gets here, you will regret every breath after that, and he will ensure there will beplentyto endure. My only regret is I won’t witness it.”
I can’t see Jesper’s face from here, only that his shoulders stiffen. “Say it again about the sirens.” Even though his voice is low, it carries in this stony enclave. “Whofreed the sirens?”
“Idid,” Anya doubles down, her stance declaring no space for fear, shaking her shoulders as if to make the guards let go.
“No, it was me,” I say, feeling like this is Maryanne all over again. What’s the point? We’re both caught now.
Anya’s intense glare is thrown with such force at me that I actually close my mouth. What is she doing?Taking the heat off of you, so you won’t be punished.I hate that I know the answer, because it’s one I despise. Jesper throws his gaze between Anya and me, the stupid monkey still staring me down.
“I want thetruth!” Jesper yells, pointing to the floor like he can command us.
Anya raises a brow, boredom clear in her eyes. “I’ll wait for Misery.”
“I’ll get the god,” Blackwell says, like he’s fetching a pet. “Jesper, if you touch either one, I’ll give you a taste of a Skull’sRow punishment. To which I ameagerto give, so don’t—” he raises a hand, as if to stop himself as he storms off.
The Zenith stalks away, the monkey following him, jumping up onto his shoulder. I try to make eye contact with Anya as we wait, but she stares ahead, resolute. She’s the shrewd one, isn’t she? That’s what Soren says. Is there more to this than meets the eye?
Remaining on my knees, the chilly floor starts to get to me, but I don’t want to move. Silence weaves through us all until most of the heads bow down in respect.Through the hallway approaches the cloaked god, his candle eyes surveying the room, the staff clacking on the floor in a rhythm. The monkey returns on Misery’s shoulder, continuing to stare at me, and I swear I’m contemplating how to stab it.Misery stops walking when at the center of this chaos, his unnatural fingers grip the staff tighter. “What is this?”
“She is waiting for you, my lord,” Jesper says, failing to completely control the frayed seams of his mind. “The… thesirens…they’ve been freed.Sheclaims to be the one who did it.”
“It wasme,” I implore, Misery finally turning his head to stare directly at me. I lower mine just to avoid every aspect of his intensity.
“This isn’t time for bravery, Ritter,” Anya yells out. “I appreciate giving me the chance to go out on my own. I was never making it out alive, which is why, Jesper,Ifreed the sirens. Because I didn’t give a rat’s ass if I lived or died, but then your idiotic self took Jane, thinkingshedid it.”
Misery removes his gaze from me, and I finally lift mine to look ahead, to assess.
Anya stares Misery down, completely unafraid. “That’s right. It’s not Jane. It’s Cypress, actually. She holds Jane’s father ransom, and she is the one that allowed Jane into the jungle. I followed and overheard their conversation, which is how I knewthe sirens were important to you—” Misery’s grip tightens on his staff “—she told Jane that she had to free the sirens or else Jane’s father would be murdered by the witch herself. I made the choice to come on my own, knowing it’s what Soren would want.Ifreed the sirens, so Jane wouldn’t get hurt by any of you for doing so. I came as her shield.” She spins those half-truths so perfectly like a weaver, thatI’dbelieve it, even though I was the one Cypress spoke to, and I know Dad was never a part of these conversations. “She did freeme, I confess. But it’s because I begged her for it. That’s the only crime she has committed tonight.”
Jesper watches as if he’s ready to stab the next person to breathe funny, but bores his gaze into Misery, waiting for judgment. The broken god contemplates for so long it’s as if he’s unaware of his surroundings. “Why not flee, if you can take on the skin of another?” he asks, my brows furrowing at such a nonsensical question.
“Because I came to do the dirty work so Jane would live,” she explains, and looks at me. Some part of my mind hears that she really is taking the fall for me, that maybe sheismy shield, that maybe shedidoverhear Cypress giving me instructions, even if she partially lies about what was said. Which means Cypresswantedher to hear, knowing she’d likely take this exact path, protecting me after I freed the sirens like the witch asked… and yet, I cannot stand I’m in this scenario—again.
