“Yes?”
“It’s horrible to be controlled by Sampson.” Her voice caught as she spoke. “Stan is a captive. You’ll be setting him free.”
Alina had been running for twenty-four hours when she glimpsed smoke twirling in the distance. Could Gerard be making camp already and preparing to attack? Was the smoke coming from the town?
A panicked cry escaped her throat, and she accelerated toward the smoke. Her body continued to surprise her, especially when confronted with danger. She felt sorry for Mae, who grunted with pain each time her body slammed against Alina’s back. But she did not slow down.
As she drew nearer, Alina dropped into the grass. She spied the Sad Cases in the woods near Millflower’s front gate, where Gerard took her from Baylor. She crept toward them until she reached a tree, then set Mae on the ground. “Stay here while I go listen to their plans. I’ll be right back.” Alina whispered.
Mae grabbed her shoulder. “No. Let me go. I can hear more because I don’t have to stay hidden. I’ll sneak in and act as if I’ve been there the whole time. We can’t let him catch you again.”
Alina shook her head. “You’re too weak, Mae. What if he hurts you? He can’t do anything to me. If he catches me, I can escape.”
“Please,” Mae insisted, clutching Alina’s arm with renewed strength. “I can do this. It’s crucial Gerard doesn’t find out you escaped. He might change his plans and make things harder for us. I’ll go. I’ll find out what they plan to do and come back as soon as I can.”
Alina chewed her lip as she studied Mae, then nodded. “All right. But I’m going to follow you from a distance to make sure you’re okay. You can’t stop me.”
Mae smiled weakly. “Fair enough.”
Mae approached the Sad Cases on her hands and knees, and Alina inched behind her in the tall grass. When their backs were turned, Mae stood up and strolled casually toward them.
A scraggy woman with long, tangled hair caught sight of her. “Hey! Where’ve ya been?” she yelled.
Mae drew back her shoulders. “I took a bathroom break in the weeds.”
“Nah, ya didn’t,” the woman charged. “I hadn’t seen you for a few days now.”
“I’ve been here,” Mae insisted, planting her feet apart.
The woman sneered. “Gerard’s been looking for ya. He noticed you’d gone missin’ and told us to bring ya to him if ya ever came back.”
Alina clapped a hand over her mouth, but Mae didn’t falter. “Bring me to him, then,” she said calmly.
The deranged woman grabbed Mae’s arm and started pulling her, but Mae yanked herself free. “I can walk myself, thank you.”
Alina scrambled through the grass on her hands and knees, following them into the grove. No, no, no, no, no!
Alina reached the grove and stood up behind a trunk, then darted between trees as she tried to keep Mae in sight. When she spied Gerard and his men, she dropped onto her stomach and scooted over the rocks and limbs until she came within hearing distance, then stood up behind another tree.
“Where the hell have you been?” Gerard yelled.
Alina peeked around the trunk. Gerard stood in the middle of about fifteen men, scowling at Mae, who knelt before them with her head bowed.
Alina caught only fragments of Mae’s quiet answer. “Sorry, master Gerard,” she pleaded. “I…separated…lost. I came…you’d be.”
Gerard glared for a moment, cracking his knuckles, then hurled his pointed boot into Mae’s belly. She cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground. Alina gasped and shoved her knuckle into her mouth.
“Get some food,” Gerard ordered. “You have extra work to do now. I won’t let you out of my sight again.”
Mae scrambled to a pot next to the fire, grabbed a bowl, and scooped up the sludge with shaky hands. She began consuming the food without utensils.
One of the men turned to Gerard and dropped his voice. Alina stretched forward to hear him. “Do…suspect she…?” he murmured.
Gerard laughed darkly, then spoke as if he wanted Mae to hear. “Do you think that nutcase has the brain capacity for anything clever like that?” He nodded toward Mae as she licked the bowl like an animal, porridge dripping off her chin. The men broke into laughter.
Gerard dropped his voice. “But I’ll still teach her a lesson. Jed, tie her to a tree when she’s done eating. You can have your way with her tonight.”
Jed wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I might pass. We’ll be in Pria soon enough.”
“Speaking of that,” Gerard said smugly, “Sampson’s offered a generous bonus if we capture Jade and Rex before we destroy the town.”
“What’s the bonus?” several men asked at once.
“Mansions in Pria. Top social status. He’ll introduce us as brave heroes from Carthem, and we’ll have plenty of beautiful women whenever we want them. Even Stan will get his little pet back.”
The men howled with laughter. Stan crossed his arms and glowered at them.
“What does Sampson want with Rex and Jade?” Jed asked.
Gerard smirked. “Sampson wants the names of every resistance member in Pria. The more names we get, the better the reward. We’re free to use any method that works. Rex is a pampered cupcake. He’ll be spewing names the second I press my boot on his coin purse. Jade is worthless, but Sampson wants her to suffer anyway. Sounds like he has plans for J’koby, too.”
Alina’s teeth were leaving marks on her knuckles. I must get Mae out of there and into Millflower. I need to warn them!
“It won’t be easy luring Rex and Jade out,” another man said.
“Yes, it will,” Gerard crowed. “I’ve got good leverage here.” He walked to a bag on the ground near the fire and rummaged inside, then pulled out a round orb, the size of a small melon. A wicked grin spread across his face as he lifted it for his men to see. Alina narrowed her eyes, trying to identify what the round thing was.
“What
