“Well, they’re being led by the Slayer of Witches, so if they aren’t evil killing machines, they’re groomed to be,” she said quietly.
I clenched my jaw and glanced over to Silas, who was still sitting at his campsite, drinking and talking with some of his men. All of them were eating and sipping on mugs as well. His eyes caught mine and lingered briefly before averting to the ground.
“Perhaps he’s not one either…” I whispered, holding on to the small hope that Quill was still who he was. That the man I loved was still here.
Elowen furrowed her brows, and then a voice behind me began to speak.
“Is that why you protected him?” Viola snarled. She marched over and stood next to Elowen with her arms crossed. Elowen shot her wide eyes before gaping at me.
“What does she mean, you “protected” him?”
I felt a frisson of dread as my mind tried to conjure an excuse.
“Exactly what I said,” Viola continued. “I would’ve had the Prince’s head ripped from his body had Lena not jumped in front of him and used her forcefield toprotecthim.” She inched closer to me. “Why? Why did you do it?”
“Because…” I took a deep breath. “Because there was no chance of any of us making it out alive if you had done that, Viola.”
She curled her lip. “We could have stopped them all.”
“The sound for surrender went off seconds after that happened,” I stated sternly. “And even if we had killed all of them in this battle, King Ulric would have unleashed his wrath on us in retaliation, and we don’t have the numbers to have survived that. We would’ve been slaughtered.”
I was amazed I came up with all that, though it wasn’t entirely untruthful. Killing Silas wouldn’t have saved us.
“That…makes sense,” Elowen whispered while looking at her feet.
“As opposed to what?” Viola glared at me with contempt. “At least we would have had a fighting chance. With no magic, wewillbe slaughtered.”
Just as I began to respond to her, a voice interrupted. “Excuse me, Supreme?”
I turned to see a couple with a little girl standing beside me. Xaro, Iliera, and Sari were their names. The nice thing about Ames being so small is everyone knew each other, but I actually knew them from Otacia. They were the couple that had been banished that morning I was with Silas. I was so happy when I discovered they made it to Ames, too, and that they finally were able to have the child they dreamed of.
I focused on Sari and began to feel my anger all over again. Her lip quivered as she clung to her mother’s dress, her teeny hands cuffed like everyone else. She was just a little girl…now permanently traumatized. Just like the handful of other children here. It was unacceptable.
“Sari is hungry, and I know plenty of others are, too,” Xaro, her father, said awkwardly. “We were wondering if you could see when we were getting food. I assume they don’t wish to starve us, right?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Silas said we wouldn’t be able to make a statement if we froze to death. Surely dying of starvation would cause the same problem?
I glanced back over to the Otacian campsite. They all appeared to have plenty of food, considering the decent amounts they were indulging on. But enough to feed nearly a hundred Mages? Doubtful.
But I had to ask.
“I will see what I can do,” I smiled softly, and Xaro nodded before leading his family closer to the fire.
I sighed internally, and as I went to make my way yet again, Hendry and Edmund walked up with another pile of wood, throwing them into the fires and making them larger. I only made it a few steps before Elowen approached Edmund.
“Excuse me,” she asked. He met her eyes as he dusted his hands on his pants. “Are we going to be given any food?”
Elowen’s voice was so soft and sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone mean to her except for Merrick. Though I suppose that’s what siblings do.
Speaking of Merrick, he strode over to us just as Edmund responded. “Prisoners don’t get food until the third day,” he replied gently, empathy washing over his features. He looked down at the little girl and clenched his jaw before looking back at Elowen. “I’m sorry.”
Elowen's shoulders sagged in disappointment, and Merrick let out a chuckle, though it was clear he found nothing funny. “You’resorry?”
Edmund tensed, then frowned. “Yes. I wish we had enough for everyone.”
“What is the point of feeding pigs that are being sent to slaughter?” Merrick spat bitterly. “Unless you plan to eat us, too?”
Edmund didn’t respond. He just glared at Merrick with a deepening frown.
