Oxley scoffed. ‘And why would he think you’d do him any favours? If anything, he’d be scared of you finding out who she is, after what he helped do to …’ He dipped his head, and Bear knew it was hard for any of them to finish that sentence, as they had all watched the torture of Bear’s mother.
They had been strapped to posts, heads held in place, forced to watch their elders hang, then Bear’s mother, Ranola, take one hundred lashes, remain there for a week, then burn at the stake while alive. There wasn’t a night Bear didn’t hear her screams when he closed his eyes, which was why he appreciated having the escape plan keeping him awake most of the night. Better than the nightmares. Better than the sound of torture.
One day, he would be free, and one day he would kill the king with his bare hands, slowly, painfully. Suffering was needed. Renwah would know ultimate pain.
Raven briefly placed a hand on Oxley’s shoulder. ‘He’s right, Bear. So why aren’t we hating on her to get revenge on the general?’
‘Because in exchange for me keeping his precious girl alive, Wynter gets a king’s pardon at the end of Smithson’s sentence.’
Raven’s golden eyes were the widest. ‘I feel like he is rubbing salt in the wounds.’
‘What Rav means is it’s a fucking audacity.’ Oxley huffed, his usual friendly expression switched to vexed.
‘It’s a chance for Wynter if things go wrong for us.’ Bear glanced around to see no one was listening outside of his small circle.
‘And you believe the general?’ asked Raven, looking unconvinced.
‘I have no trust for any of that lot, but if we can’t make it out of here before Ox’s death date, we have some hope for my sister.’ He watched Raven peruse Green yard for Wynter while Oxley stole a glance at Scarlen talking to Elbar and Temple, and he wondered if either of the women knew they were being spoken about.
Wynter found Raven’s smile and offered a small wave before returning to the card game she was playing with friends.
‘It’s not much hope,’ said Bear. ‘But it’s some, so I agreed to his terms, and so far, it hasn’t been any skin off my nose. I’ve done enough to prove Smithson’s my girl, so she should be safe. I can go back to fully focusing on our plan. With any luck, we’ll be long gone in a couple of months, and she can rot in here with the others.’
Oxley turned back to him. ‘I wonder what she did to get put in here, because there’s no way it was food theft.’ He gasped quietly, a thought occurring. ‘Do you think she rebelled against her father?’
‘No,’ said Raven. ‘The king wouldn’t offer a pardon for her safety if she had joined the resistance.’
‘I don’t care what her crime is, or if she’s on our side. I don’t care about her at all. I played my part, and now my work here is done.’ Bear snarled at the memory of the general sitting in Cardell’s chair, making demands as though he held all the cards,which to be fair, he had, but it was still so tempting to tell him to fuck off and that he would rip out his daughter’s throat as soon as see her. ‘Just one more thing.’
‘What?’ asked Oxley.
‘I’m not supposed to tell anyone about this deal, especially Smithson. And I don’t want Wynter knowing. She needs to be as safe as possible.’ His last words were mainly for Raven, as he knew the engaged couple had no secrets.
Raven gave a firm nod. ‘If things do go wrong, and we end up stuck here till we hang, I want Wynter to have a chance of freedom, but I’d rather not give her hope when we know it could all be a lie.’
Oxley offered him a warm smile. ‘I’m going to believe it’s a genuine deal. Beats thinking the worst. And when you do think about it, the general’s taking a risk himself, as Bear could have agreed but then went back on his word.’
Bear shook his head. ‘I was told if I do that, they’d bring in the rack and strap Wynter to it in front of everyone so we can watch her limbs being torn from her body.’
A loud sigh came from Oxley as he gazed through the fence. ‘Looks like we’re all looking out for little Miss Degafe, then.’
Raven scoffed. ‘I thought you’d already started.’
‘I gave her my spoon because I thought she was Bear’s girl.’
As much as Bear was telling them he didn’t care about the general’s daughter, she had grown on him, and he didn’t hate her, but he reminded himself she wasn’t his girl. She was just another chance at freedom for Wynter.
‘I wonder what’s going through her mind,’ said Oxley, his eyes still on Scarlen. ‘She knows we’re her father’s enemies. She must wonder why Bear claimed her.’
‘I told her I was saving her from Judd. She believed me, but you’re right, she knows who we are, but she thinks we don’t know who she is, so that’s why she’s okay with us.’ At least,she seemed to be settling around him during family time, even though he could see the wariness in her eyes, which made part of him feel sorry for her, knowing how scared she must feel.
‘Wynter has become good friends with her,’ said Raven.
Bear twisted his lips to one side, debating whether to say what was on his mind. ‘That’s all right. Smithson’s no bother. It’s best we act normal and carry on with our plan.’
‘My fiancée will be ever so slightly pissed off when she finds out she played nicely with the general’s daughter.’
‘We’ll be long gone by then, Rav. Besides, Smithson hasn’t shown any signs of the wickedness her father possesses. She’s a little feisty, but she’s easy to get on with.’
