To Defend A Bride (Entangled with the Enduar #3)

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

RA’SA

T he imprint of Melisa is etched into my heart. I try to speak to her through our minds, but there is no response.

That is fine. Let her rest.

I'm not prone to outbursts of affection, but something akin to hope is nestled deep in my chest. It's a strange thing to feel after all the death and gore of the night before.

The softness of our romance defies the ugliness of this place.

Thoughts of her mouth on mine shouldn't exist alongside the memories I have of backs ripped open, but life is equal parts pain and joy.

I should be with her now, tending to her arm and holding her through the mornings so that she doesn't need to wake up alone.

Instead, I work.

I help the others check for poison. Fear, anger, and grief blanket all of the slave pens. A woman sits on the corner of the way, weeping for a son she says was killed on the rack. My heart continues to expand and bleed.

I trail along with Nicolás and Abet to the yards.

Nicolás clears his throat. "Are you well, Rasa?"

Pursing my lips, I clap my hand on his shoulder.

"Yes,” I mumble. “Are you?"

The young man looks to the sky, his light brown hair falling in dirty tendrils over his shoulders. "When you disappeared last night, a part of me thought you weren't coming back."

His words are a chill seeping into my bones.

“I am not the kind of man who abandons others,” I say quietly.

Nicolás gives me a strange look. "You don't owe us anything."

But my king had asked for me to help. While Melisa learns about the king, I was meant to learn about the humans.

How to express that without giving up my true nature is a challenge.

So I settle with saying, "I want to help you."

"And why exactly is that?" Abet says, interjecting into our conversation. There's mistrust sparkling in his irises.

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to choose my words as best I can. "Call me soft, but I have no desire to see innocent men die."

Abet lets out a dark laugh. "Innocent according to who? The giants? Each other? Humans are just as capable of betrayal."

I think of all the humans I have seen. Most of them are poor creatures, living in a frozen, quiet fear that never quite abates because of their exhaustion. I think of them sitting around the fires, silent under the watch of the giants. I think of Rodrigo and his group of men. Plenty of people seem like they neither care to be saved nor wish for any special kind of treatment.

I watched my people die. My king believes humans need not suffer the same way, and I agree.

"I believe the world is more than black and white," I say at last. "It is hard to judge. We're all products of Zlosa. Who would you be if you'd been born in a different place?”

Abet lets out a bitter laugh. "I'd be just as bad as those who rule over us. I would scrounge for power and get as many men to cook my meals and wipe my ass as necessary."

Nicolás looks thoughtful. "I think I would want others to have what I have: an easy life.”

"Perhaps you would be just as hungry for power as the giants. But perhaps not. I think men could work together in peace, but it will be impossible to know unless they can drink deeply from the cup of liberty," I say.

Abet continues to watch me with cautious eyes. "You sound like someone who has known such a life."

Memories of Enduvida well up and overwhelm me. The city didn’t have the grandeur of our old civilization, and there were problems, but compared to this place...

But these men can't know about any of that yet.

I tilt my chin upward, getting a good look at the open sky I've come to enjoy. I see the creatures that so often fly overhead at this time. Grouse, as Melisa told me.

“Looking up at the birds in the sky reminds me of what it truly means to be free. When I watch their flight, their formations, I am touched by their sense of togetherness. I’ve never seen a bird dragging another around the sky. If one chooses to latch onto another, neither can fly, and they will both fall to their deaths.”

We are silent for a minute.

“I would ask again: How can we know the nature of any of us, save we get a chance to be free? There is room for all in a place as vast as the sky.”

The words sound like something my father would've said. Emotion clogs up my throat.

Abet gives me a crooked smile. "Your words are interesting."

"I'll say," a voice from behind us says.

I turn to see Rodrigo.

He gives me a strange look. "You sound like one of those scholars the giants are always going on about."

My skin heats. “I’ll tell you again: I have no love for the giants."

“Perhaps, but your allegiance isn't to the slaves."

I take a deep breath, retrieve my ax, and head to the yards. The next few hours are spent chopping as many trees as I can manage and then dragging all our logs away.

But it’s the same result as yesterday. There are at least twenty who do not meet the quota.

Abet leans over. “Think of the men who live because of you. Let it be enough."

I nod, watching the executions.

After the misery ends, and my stomach stretches taut from hunger, I leave my team and discreetly go to Melisa's room. The house is dark. I know she is not here when I knock on the door. My fear sparks.

Was she taken with Eneko?

No, that wasn't the plan. Pacing, I leave a message on the ground. But I can’t stay here.