“Melanie,” Shawn says. “You were not involved in this morning’s acts of violence, and for all we know, you are innocent of all Jackson’s schemes. If you come clean, we may let you live.”
She sneers at him and spits in the dirt. I look at her without compassion, this woman who has tortured me my entire life.
“Just call me guilty,” she says. “I was part of it, and I’m not hanging around to be banished. You can all go fuck yourselves. Kill me, if you’ve got the guts.”
The men look at each other, and I know they’d prefer not to kill. So far, a couple of people have been banished, others put on good behavior, and they haven’t had to use the death penalty.
“You could save your own life if you would just cooperate,” Scarlett says.
Melanie laughs. “I’ll tell you this!” she shouts. “Jackson found out the truth of the wave of fire and the great quake. It comes from the serpent and the stone, and it is buried in the heart of Eccles. They own it, they control it, and it thirsts for innocent blood. Our ancestors knew it, and they kept us safe up here. All Jackson wanted was to keep us within our boundary,hidden from the world, safe from the fire. Now it’s here—you’ve invited it in! Each and every one of you will be sacrificed—”
Rex appears behind Melanie suddenly. He grabs her head and, with a sharp twist, breaks her neck. She falls into a pile at his feet.
“She was raving,” he says. “Out of her mind. We gave her a chance.”
I look around at the others, but instead of shock or surprise on their faces, all I see is grim acceptance.
What the fuck is all of this about? Father knew something about the stone…did he tell Melanie? What was that about sacrifices?
We finish the trial, with Melanie being the only one to suffer the death penalty. Luke and Dan went out to search Father’s place while we decided the fate of the criminals, and they found a huge shed where he kept a massive store of supplies. Luxuries are handed out to the entire pack, and even after such a difficult day, I can feel people’s spirits lifting.
Shawn takes my hand, and we walk back to the house, the heat making the late afternoon light shimmer.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m dying of thirst,” Shawn says. “Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get us some drinks?”
“Sounds like heaven,” I say, heading for the living room. The house is shadowed and cool, and as soon as I lay down on the couch, I feel exhaustion flood through me.
“That was a long day,” I say when Shawn comes in with the drinks.
“Yeah. I just didn’t feel comfortable leaving anyone who was loyal to Jackson running loose,” he says, sitting on the floor next to me.
“Melanie was weird,” I remark, sitting up to take a drink.
“Yeah,” he replies. “We don’t need to worry about that now, though. It’s over.”
I tilt the glass back, hearing the ice clink against the glass as the tart brandy and lemon pour across my tongue. Sighing with pleasure, I lean back, closing my eyes and enjoying the cool rush.
“Sara,” Shawn says softly.
“Hmm?” I mutter, not opening my eyes.
“I want you to know, you’re free to go.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, opening my eyes.
“This morning, when I saw that you were gone, I thought you might have left me. You know, like you said you wanted?”
“Running away to the big city,” I say.
He nods. “Yeah. I was frantic with worry, because I was pretty sure your father had something to do with you disappearing, but there was this thought in my mind that maybe you had left.”
“Shawn,” I say, leaning forward to touch his face.
He shakes his head, taking my hand. “No, let me finish. It’s important. I realized that I don’t care what happens—the only thing I want for you is happiness. I think it’s the first time in my life that I haven’t been selfish, because I want you to do whatever you need to do to live your life, exactly as you want. You’ve been a prisoner here, and I won’t let you be caged, ever again.”
“Oh, Shawn.” I lean forward and kiss him, softly at first, then deeper.
“I love you,” I say, stroking his cheek as I look into his eyes. “And the only place I’ve ever felt safe is right here, in your arms.”
