Why did I have to insist on being there?
He said he could do it without me. That it would be safer.
But I had to watch.
“Come on,” Amber urges.
“They can drag me kicking and screaming, if you’d like.”
Amber takes a seat beside me on the couch. “The guys are having a hearing of sorts for Hunter. Something they’re calling a Judicium.”
“Will they let him off?”
“I don’t know what the outcome will be, but if there is a chance he’ll get off, it will come from your testimony, because he’s refusing to talk.”
I’m burning to tell them why Hunter did what he did. That he’s no monster. Or at least not the type they think he is.
The dark seeds that took root deep inside him bloomed beautifully, creating something rarely seen in a thousand lifetimes: justice.
These men think they’re leaders of this new world, keeping law and order, but Hunter had that job before them, in the worldwe left behind. While they were sleeping comfortably in their beds, he was seeking vengeance for those who could not.
But I can’t tell them that, because it’s not my story to tell. It’s Hunter’s. And the only thing he’s told him is where his safe house was located so that they could take care of the chickens and other critters he had.
“Fuck your Keepers. They have no intention of letting him off. They just want information and they think they can get it this way.”
“That’s not completely true. Some want leniency.”
“And what would that look like?”
She shrugs. “It’s hard to say, but there’s talk of keeping him in the holding indefinitely.”
“Life in prison?” I give a mocking chuckle. “I’m sure Hunter’s begging to be spared. Which is why he’s answering all your questions.”
Amber frowns. “You’re just as stubborn as he is.”
“Will I get to see him before…” I look down at my hands, trying to maintain my composure. I want to scream and shout and commit terrible acts of violence, but seeing Hunter one last time is my greatest wish, and for that to happen, I can’t act like a train wreck.
“He’s at the Judicium right now.”
I swallow hard. “Do you think he wants to see me?”
“Desperately.”
“I can’t speak for Hunter, so nothing I say will help his situation.”
Amber’s forehead creases as her head tilts to the side. “But what if you could?”
“I’m not betraying him.”
“You don’t have to. You don’t have to tell his story. Just tell yours.”
I’ve told the Keepers very little about my past, only going into detail about Caspian, because I want the bastard to burn.
“Why would anything I have to say about my life matter?”
“Hunter mentioned you before, months ago. When the guys were constructing the timeline, they saw he’d called you in, right before the people on Salem Street were slaughtered. Then—nothing. You weren’t mentioned again.”
“Caspian took me.”
