“Let’s get you to a place to rest.”
“What about the magistrate?”
“He’s gone for now. I think he’s trying to think of a legal reason he can subjugate an entire group of people. Apparently, he didn’t have the sense to get a judge’s order before heading here. We have some time to stall.”
“Asshole.”
“Indeed.”
There wasn’t anything else I needed to say. The magistrate was a worm of the worst sort. He wiggled and thrived amongst the filth of humanity and had the unfortunate trick of always escaping justice for his actions.
“Can’t you just arrest him for slavey?”
“We have no proof it was him.”
I gritted my teeth. “He’s good at covering his tracks. I don’t suppose his prisoners are good enough witnesses.”
“It’s their word against his, and you can imagine how that will go.” Justin snatched Marcus back from a pouting Thorne.
“I wish I could just transform them all right now.” My magic had grown, but not enough to cure the entire crowd at once.
“Chin up, love,” Justin whispered in my ear. “You have nothing to be ashamed over. You’ve helped them more than anyone else in their lives.”
“That’s a rather low bar to set.” Considering the others they knew kept them in cages and committed unspeakable acts against them.
“True. But that doesn’t change the fact you have done your best. You brought notes from the Gear Master. What does he have to say?”
“I was going to use those runes I talked about before my magic stepped in.”
Justin let out a soft hum. “Once you’ve rested, we’ll see if those runes will rush things along and maybe lose less power.”
“I haven’t told you what Cruller said about Torren.”
“Tell me later, you need to sleep.”
“But it’s important,” I insisted even as my eyes drooped, and I stumbled along beside him.
Justin kept one arm around me and the other cradling Marcus. “It will be just as important tomorrow.”
The front door of the Gear Master’s workshop had never appeared so welcoming. “I just need a few hours rest.”
“You’ll be getting a full night’s sleep. Once you are recharged, you can begin again in the morning.”
I allowed Justin to tuck me into the cot on the bottom floor I found behind the staircase.
“Get some sleep. You can fuss about everything tomorrow.”
“We have to protect everyone,” I mumbled, trying to stay awake.
“We will do our best. Right now, you need to sleep.”
A soft kiss pressed to my forehead was the last thing I felt before I faded into sleep.
