Chapter Thirty-One

Hours ticked away slowly, the brisk air draping over me like a frozen blanket. I didn’t know if it was day or night. My hand stroked Dorian’s blood-crusted head; his forehead burned with fever, and his teeth chattered.

Please hang in there. Hag, what am I supposed to do?

I listened close, but there was no answer, just the rustling sound of rats scurrying down the corridor.

“Ivy,” Dorian’s raspy voice whispered.

“I’m right here.” I caressed his face.

“You know what they plan on doing to us, don’t you?”

“No.” But I imagined it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Today, we’ll be on display for everyone to see.” His hand caught mine. “Then tomorrow, they plan to set us loose in the field and hunt us like animals.”

My breath stuck in my throat. We’d be nothing more than trophies displayed in Hamden Castle. There had to be a way to stop it.

Soon, voices filled the dungeon, and the locks to our cells were thrown open. Strong hands jerked me to my feet, and I saw Dorian hurled out of his cell as well. Guards dragged me across the floor and up the stairs until I was above ground.

Tiny spots danced before my eyes, blinding me as I tried to adjust my vision to the sunlight. Crowds of people gathered around.

“Kill them,” someone shouted.

“Let me drive a stake through ’em,” another said.

Eyes focused, they widened at the sight of all the men, women, and children who lined the walkway, spitting and taunting and yelling vulgar things. I twisted my head, watching as Dorian was pushed to the ground and kicked by his guards.

“Stop.” I fought to get free. But they tightened their grips.

“Best settle down, unless you want a beating, too,” one said in my ear.

Something Archer once told me resonated in my mind. People fear what they don’t understand. Was that what this was? My uncle had ramped up their fear and hatred.

A small scaffold at the center of the tournament grounds caught my eye. A set of stocks had been erected to put us on display and humiliate us. Bile burned my throat when I noticed the earl standing with my uncle and Frederik. Their faces were masked with pleasure, as if they couldn’t wait to kill us.

“Bring them forward,” the earl said.

We stopped at the bottom of the steps, and my guards shoved me to the ground, forcing me to bow. I curled my hands in the dirt, gripping rocks and whatever else I was able to reach. A guard kicked my leg, telling me to put my face to the ground and show obedience.

With a hiss, I turned and glared, then flung the rocks at his face. Leaping to my feet, I tried to rush the earl. But beefy hands ripped my legs out from under me, and my head slammed into the wooden scaffold.

My vision blurred, and dizziness swept over me. I clung to the fibers of reality, knowing if I fainted now, I’d not be able to defend myself.

The earl gripped me by the front of my dress, thrusting me onto the scaffold next to him.

“Tie her arms above her head,” he ordered. Rope burned my wrists, and I writhed in pain, the wound in my shoulder nearly dropping me.

“You will show obedience like the dog you are,” he said.

My gaze fell on the crowd, and then a crack snapped in the air behind me. The skin on my back burned when the whip came down. Agony took hold with each strike. But I refused to cry out. To give the earl gratification.

I clenched my teeth together as he lashed out again, the stinging of broken flesh wringing tears from my eyes. The humans chanted for the earl to whip me more, and I let my gaze fall to a figure at the back of the crowd.

Pudge.

His face twisted in horror, eyes blazing with a brutality I had never seen in my sixteen years. I watched as he reached to unsheathe his sword, but I mouthed the word no. And his hand stopped midair.

I felt faint, and it took me a moment to realize the earl had stopped hitting me. Then I heard the crack of the weapon once more, and I cringed, turning to see my already weakened brother trying to endure his beating. A garbled scream fell from his dried, bloodied lips.

My heart ached for him—for the pain he suffered. Could no one stop this? I stared about the courtyard. Behind Pudge, I noticed a dark cloaked figure. A pair of familiar black eyes met mine. Victor. He nodded at me an acknowledgment that he saw me, then disappeared in the direction of the dungeons. Had he gotten my message about his brother? If so, would he also help us?

Dorian cried again, drawing my attention back to him. He writhed on the ground, his body convulsing.

“And you call us monsters?” I shouted at the earl. “What have we done to you?”

He didn’t answer but instead gave Dorian six more lashes.

“Put them in the stocks. Let our village see we’ve caught the beasts that lurk in the darkness. Now, we’ll be safe again.”

They untied my wrists and moved me to the wooden torture device. My head was shoved between the two wooden clasps, my wrists clamped on either side. Then they locked it in place, and the fabric of my dress rubbed against my wounds. Vision blurring, I wondered if I’d succumb to the pain. A part of me prayed for it. But I didn’t want to give them the pleasure.

Be strong, Ivy. You trained for this Mission. Hold fast…

Hatred for the humans soured my stomach like bad meat. They were what nightmares were made of. They killed and injured without question or remorse. And I no longer wanted to be one of them. I didn’t want the human blood that flowed through me.

“Stop this!” my aunt screamed, pushing through the crowd. “She’s my niece. You cannot do this to her. She’s one of us.”

“She is nothing like us,” Uncle John spat. “Our sister was a fool to fall for such an abomination.”

“You best quiet yourself, Margaret Weathers, or the village might see you punished alongside them,” the earl said.

Margaret looked helpless. Nothing she said deterred the onslaught of violence. The crowds closed in to have a closer look. My head pounded with agony, blood trickling from my hairline as kids threw stones at me. Rotten fruit ran into my eyes as others tossed food at us. Adults came close enough to spit and curse. With each person that came by, the humiliation and hatred grew.

And as the sun dropped in the sky, the earl had us moved to a cage outside so everyone could continue to torment us through the night. The only thing that kept me going was the sweet thought of revenge.

“Dorian?” I whispered, sitting on the hay floor next to him.

“I—I’m okay.” He opened a swollen eye to glance at me. “Tomorrow, no matter what happens during the hunt, I want you to make a break for the woods and don’t look back. I’ll find a way to keep them off your trail.”

I stiffened. “No. I’m not going home without you.”

“Ivy, this isn’t negotiable. You’re my sister, and I will protect you.”

With the back of my hand, I moved to wipe my eyes. It couldn’t end this way. It couldn’t.

“You’re not trying to go to sleep, are you?” A guard poked Dorian in the side with a large stick.

I cringed with pain but managed to stand. “Sure, you arse, does it look like he can sleep with you jabbing that damn thing at him every few minutes? Back off.”

He growled. “And what are you going to do about it?”

My lips twisted into a wicked smile. “Are you sure you want to know? Because goblins have ways of getting inside a human’s head. A way of chomping up their bones and making them beg for mercy.”

The guard backed up, his eyes wide as if he wasn’t sure if he should believe me or not. At last, he moved away from the cage and stood watch closer to the castle wall.

“That probably wasn’t a good idea,” Dorian said.

I laughed. “What are they going to do, kill me?”

“That’s not funny.” He touched my ankle.

A swish of skirts sounded, and I glanced up to see Margaret hurrying across the yard, followed closely by Pudge and Grr.

“What are you doing here?” I dropped to my knees, holding tight to the bars.

“The earl said I can bring you a last meal later tonight. I told him goblin or not, you’re still my relative and you deserve at least that much.” Margaret’s eyes welled with tears. “So tell me what you need me to do, child.”

“Have you heard from the others?” I asked Pudge.

“No—I’ve sent three messages.”

“Shit. Maybe something happened. Listen, Pudge, you and my aunt need to get as far away from here as possible, and don’t turn back.” I touched my aunt’s frail arm.

“You’re all that’s left of my sister,” she said. “I won’t desert you.”

“Neither will I.” Pudge stared at me. “You’re my best friend, Ivy.”

Our eyes met, and for a moment, I imagined what my life with Pudge could’ve been like. Sitting in front of a fire, eating stew, Grr curled up at our feet. I thought about the pranks we could still play back home and about hunting together in the woods. About our kiss, the one that made me feel things that I didn’t think were possible. How could I say goodbye to that? To him?

“I need for you to be safe.” I grasped the sleeve of his tunic. “You mean the world to me.”

A strange look crossed his features, and he smiled. “You’re stubborn as a dragon. I snuck out after curfew for you. I helped you break into the Archives. I’ve jumped into fights for you. Do you really think I’m going to leave you behind?”

“If you were smart, you would.”

“You know I’m not.” He entwined his fingers through mine.

That’s where he was wrong. He was smart. Strong. Perfect. The one person I couldn’t live without. If nothing else, the Mission opened my eyes. And it proved that I loved him. I loved Pudge. He’d been my rock. My friend. My everything. We’d been inseparable since infancy. I hadn’t recognized the signs until now. How could it end like this? After tomorrow, we’d be parted forever. Tears streamed down my cheeks, the ache in my chest unbearable. Now, I think I understood more of what my father went through when he lost my mother.

“We’ll be back tonight with your meal,” Margaret said. She caught Pudge’s arm and led him away.

I hoped she knew what she was getting herself into. If there was one thing I owed her before I left, it was my uncle’s head on a stake. And I planned on delivering it.