Kira moved fast. She got in William's face, not even blinking at his height advantage. "Maybe you forgot, but the reason we exist is to keep humans out of the crossfire. She's not the problem. And yeah, I'm in charge. You two need to work on remembering that."
Mark snapped, "She's the lever. Without her, the dragons hole up, and we never find them. You want to waste another winter stalking the woods, go ahead. I'm ending it myself."
Kira ignored him. "Put her in the corner. I'll deal with this after I report in."
William saluted, drunk on his own power. "Whatever you say, boss."
He dumped me, literally, on the far side of the room, then stalked after Kira and Mark, their argument barely muffled by the cheap cabin walls.
I sucked in air, trying to plan. My hands were numb, but maybe the blood would provide enough lubrication to get my hands free? I twisted and wriggled against the zip ties as they argued.
William wanted to set up a perimeter, to use my car as a decoy on the main road. Mark mumbled about ‘trap points' and ‘single point access.' Through it all,Kira kept repeating quotes about some ‘purpose' and that using me as a lure went against that.
I stared at the walls, every single curse word I'd ever learned stacking up in my brain.
This was bad.
Maybe the worst.
Chance had no reason not to trust the text.
Fuck.
The argument in the kitchen got louder, then Kira stormed back in, gaze like a laser.
She didn't speak to me, but her eyes weren't cold, not exactly. She did a quick once-over, checking the zip ties, the bruises, my hands, and wrists.
The men retreated outside, boots pounding on the porch.
I waited, counting my heartbeats, praying for some kind of break.
Kira paused at the door, looked back, and for just a second, her expression changed. Not sympathy. No, it was calculation. A vibe I knew well.
Whose side was she on?
The second she vanished, I set to work testing the ties. I wasn't going to just sit here and wait to be turned into bait.
Through the window, blue dark pressed in. Noneighbors. No lights. Just the hum of the wind and the slow tick of time, cold and merciless.
I wasn't going down easy. But I'd have to pick my moment. Wait for the right crack in their defenses.
My wrists ached.
The men were arguing on the porch in hushed whispers, but I was right by the door. William and Mark traded whispers, low and mean, but I caught it anyway,
"She's smarter than you think. I'd call for more backup."
"She's a human sleeping bag, for Christ's sake. Chill."
I closed my eyes, cataloguing every sound, every step, every hissed slur.
The world had gone from "do I want this?" to "do or die" in about five minutes flat.
When the cabin finally went quiet, it wasn't a good silence.
Paint flaked off the floor. My boots squeaked if I shifted, so I stopped moving. Sat still and watched the shadows twitch and move across the opposite wall.
Time blurred. At some point I must've zoned out, slept a little.
