“Is anything you told me the truth?” I gripped the sword and the baby with ferocious care.
“Yes.” He stepped forward, his fingers curled as if he imagined strangling me.” My name is Buster.”
He jumped forward. Instinct had me lifting the sword to keep him at bay. The blade pierced through Buster’s stomach. Blood sprayed, covering my shirt, the baby’s blanket, and a good portion of the floor.
Marcus screamed.
“Shh, shh.” I rocked him in my arms ignoring the bleeding man.
“I can’t die,” Buster whispered. His knees hit the concrete floor. “I’m immortal.”
I had never actually killed anyone before. Sure, I had threatened assailants with Oss’s blade, and punching attackers didn’t really count.
As his body began to fall backward, I released my grip on the blade and watched him tumble into gravity’s embrace. I pressed a shaking hand across my trembling lips.
Now what did I do?
“Marbrey,” Justin called out.
How would Justin feel about dating a murderer?
“Over here.” My voice cracked at the end. What kind of monster had I become when the sight of a dead body at my feet granted me satisfaction over sorrow? I had taken a life and not a smudge of remorse lightened my newly blackened soul.
My sweet Justin took in the sight of a dead body at my feet and Marcus clutched in my left arm. Without a word, he wrapped me in his arms pressing my head against his chest. His wide shoulders blocked the bloody sight from my shocked gaze. Relief, not remorse, caused my eyes to water and nothing could persuade me otherwise.
Silent as a graveyard, I soaked in his body heat. I smashed my nose into the base of his neck, inhaling his masculine scent. Safety. Nothing could harm me in Justin’s arms.
“I killed him,” I whispered.
“It was a battle. Anything could’ve happened. The magistrate met his end at Oss’s blades. Accidentally, of course.”
A smile curved my lips, unseen against Justin’s skin. Was this how Oss felt when he got away with murder? He was going to be so proud of me.
“We can subtly dispose of the bodies. Spread the word of a street fight. By the time we are done, dozens will declare they saw the whole thing.”
Considering the gossip around Keys, I wouldn’t be surprised. “This was a prison, you know. An entire city founded to keep one man in check. All the other stories about this place were lies.”
“Torren is long dead. There is nothing that remains except the people and they’ve made the city their own. You’ll be happy to learn the slavers have been captured. For some reason, they didn’t want to be eaten by a dragon. We might not be able keep them in jail, but they can be there long enough for us to rescue the rest of the mechanicals.”
“You might want to get Oss to help with the cleanup.”
“Does he have a lot of experience disposing of bodies?” He used a humorous tone, but when I didn’t laugh along with him, he cleared his throat. “I’ll be right back. I’ll take Marcus and get him fed. One of the others said they had milk when they heard I had a baby.”
I reluctantly released the infant to his father, then spent an unknown number of minutes staring at the man I’d killed. He had helped enslave people just like him. What made him think it would be all right to do that to anyone. Maybe the answers would be found in this workshop. Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“Oh, good job, Marbrey!” Oss shouted when he entered the building. “Justin didn’t say who you’d killed. Sorry I wasn’t here. I was busy with the magistrate.”
“I did all right.”
Oss bumped shoulders with me. “Yes, you did.”
I shared a smile with Oss.
Justin returned without his baby.
“Marcus?”
“One of the ladies is watching him.”
