“Yes. But first I need to know which one of you slipped the piece of paper under my door.”
He eyed me uncertainly before telling me. I nodded and we continued up the steps.
“Trayem!” Krial said, getting to his feet and meeting me in the middle of the floor.
He raised a hand to the gash on my head and tutted through his teeth.
“I heard it was a tough fight,” he said. “I hope you gave him a little something in return for this gash.”
“One or two,” I said with a smile.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Krial said.
He waved an arm and ushered me toward a chair that’d been set up. There were several towels arranged underneath it and several trays containing various medical equipment.
My throat turned dry.
I’d seen this setup before and it never ended well for the creature sat in the chair.
Among Krial’s many interests was the anatomy of alien species. He liked to probe inside them, pull them apart… often while they were still alive.
Was failing to lose the fight enough to make him carry the procedure out on me?
“Take a seat,” Krial said. “I’ll see to your injuries.”
We all had fast healing abilities. With just a gash or two, I didn’t need for him to see to me.
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’ll be fine in no time.”
He didn’t say another word and moved to the various trays, looking for the tools he would use on me.
There was no arguing with Krial. He gave you an order and you obeyed it.
I licked my lips and took a seat. The chair was hard and creaked under me. I was thankful there were no traps on the arms or legs.
That had to be a good sign, I thought. But that was before Krial picked up a scalpel with a sinisterly sharp edge.
I glanced at Tus out the corner of my eye but he remained with his hands clasped in front of him.
He was unlikely to help me, I thought. After all, I had been the one to bring this on myself.
Krial lowered the blade to the gash on my head and sliced at the skin delicately.
My senses were fastened on that tiny blade and the nicking sensation it had on my skin. My hands wrapped around the armrests of my chair and squeezed tight.
“I understand you were meant to lose the fight today in the pits,” Krial said.
He sliced a piece of flesh off and my skin grew dimpled with sweat.
“Uh, yes,” I said. “That’s what Tus told me on the way here.”
“Oh?” Krial said. “You didn’t know before the fight began?”
I moved to shake my head before thinking better of it. Especially while he held that blade so close.
“No, I didn’t know,” I said.
Krial tossed a chunk of my flesh with the hair attached to it in a metal container. I was relieved to see it was only a small piece.
But he still held that scalpel in his hand.
“You didn’t receive the note under your door this morning?” Krial said, his head turned half toward me, half toward Annas.
“No,” I said.
“He’s lying!” Annas said. “I slid the note under his door! I swear! I did it myself!”
“There, there,” Krial said. “There’s no need to get upset about these things.”
Annas glared at me. I couldn’t smile back. Not while I was still in this damn chair.
“I checked but the note wasn’t there,” I said.
I consoled myself with the thought there was no chance of them finding the note. I always destroyed it soon after I got it.
Annas took a step forward.
“I wrote the note in this room when you gave the order. Then I took it to his cell and slipped it under his door the way you ordered.”
Krial turned to me and tossed the scalpel in the metal container and wiped his hands on a rag.
I shrugged.
“I can only tell you I didn’t receive it. I’ve been here three months, spying and gathering information. Every time I got the note, I followed through with its instructions. Always. If I’d been told to lose, I would have lost. I had to guess what you wanted the outcome to be and decided to win.”
Annas growled and marched toward me but Krial raised a hand. She immediately shuffled back into place, the look of fury plainly evident on her face.
“Why would I lie?” Annas said.
“Why indeed,” Krial said, his yellow eyes glinting dangerously.
He was our foster father but our relationship was a one-sided affair. In the past, there had been more than four of us in his personal guard. Krial stripped us down one by one if any of us stepped out of line or failed to achieve what was asked of them.
“I’m aware you’ve had your… disagreements in the past,” Krial said to me and Annas. “I let it slide because it never interfered with my plans. Be thankful it doesn’t this time either. It was a single battle, nothing of importance. But in future, it might be a crucial element of a well thought-out plan. And if this were to happen again, I would be… displeased. Is that understood?”
We both nodded. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Annas. It really was my fault and I didn’t want to get her in trouble, but I wanted even less for Krial or the others to know what was going on between me and Harper.
Things had become too complicated, I decided. I needed to let Harper go before anything like this happened again.
Or it might not be only me that gets punished. It could well be Harper.
Harper stood at the foot of the stairs dressed in a far more conservative dress than what she usually wore. There was no sheer material and her goods were not on show to the world.
She looked stunning as if we were about to go on an outing for the day.
And I had
