Inside the gates of Aldrion, where Mel should feel safe, nothing awaited her but danger. As they walked through town square, she took in the people moving away from their stalls, leaving their merchandise unguarded just to sneak a peek at her face.
The soldier holding her arms behind her back was still breathing down her neck, and she thought she could feel him smile when he dragged her through the streets. Mel’s purple cloak still clung to her back, but the hood had gathered down by her shoulders and she wished she could sneak it up over her head, hiding her from the shame.
The people’s eyes were filled with glee and satisfaction when they looked at her. Like they had wanted someone to be caught by the army for a while now and felt like justice was being served. But Mel couldn’t feel the justice in this. She had only gone out into the wastes against Derek’s wishes, not killed someone or stole from the king. She didn’t understand why they had to use such force when bringing her in. She wasn’t dangerous.
Austin had her dagger now, Gabs the metal ingot they’d found in Bahlan, and Mel was back to being a defenseless nobody. Not a master elemental warrior with weapons at hand, like Derek, who strode beside her. He kept a two-step distance between them at all times, and he even seemed wary of stepping too close to Mel.
They took her up toward the western gate and Clara, Brandon, and Flavio followed the party. She didn’t know what they would do to them, but Mel wanted to plead guilty if it meant saving her companions. It wasn’t a secret that Mel didn’t care much for the nobles, but this was different. They had tried to protect her out there and all she could do now was the same for them.
As the doors swung open to the town hall, Mel saw the two receptionists staring up from their desks at her. One of them bore a look of genuine surprise and horror, the other looked like she’d won the lottery and had a wide grin on her face. Mel felt sick by this and wanted nothing but to scream at them. What were they doing?
They dragged her up the stairs and into a large office with floor to ceiling windows at the end of the room. The ceiling was high and stretching across one of the walls was a huge bookcase filled with a private library. There were two plush chairs in front of a large wooden desk and behind it sat a man dressed in a gentleman’s suit and white hair. He looked old and his face bore many wrinkles, but Mel thought she could see a depth in his black eyes.
He stood up and walked around his desk, dropping down a pen to land at the wooden surface. He came to a stop in front of the desk and leaned back against it. His arms spread across his chest and he regarded her with a determined gaze.
Mel heard the door bang closed behind them and in the office, Brandon, Clara, Flavio and Derek stood. Mel was still held back by her arms from a soldier, and as Mel glanced around, she saw four more soldiers spreading out across the room. They kept their focus on Mel and the nobles, like they were expecting them to make a fuss.
“So, are we having trouble with the law today, Miss Temper?”
Mel’s gaze focused on the man standing by his desk and swallowed hard.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Edward Perrole, the governor of Aldrion, and it’s my laws that you’ve broken.”
Mel’s eyes went wide, and she stared at him with an open mouth. It was Grace’s brother, the governor. Shit, she was in trouble.
“I found her out by the old ruins, Sir,” Derek said, striding into the room. “I told you she was not to be trusted. A moment later and she might have summoned the void.”
The governor held up a hand to Derek, but didn’t meet his gaze. Mel looked between the two of them and saw Derek’s face grow red. He was not used to being treated this way. The governor kept looking at Mel and she felt fear creep into her bones. The soldier holding her back adjusted his grip around her arms and pain shot through her shoulders. Mel winced.
“What was your motive for going out into the waste?” Perrole asked.
“Motive?” Mel said through gritted teeth. “Well, we thought we might find something there that could help us… you… to defeat the black dragon.”
“Help us?” He lifted an eyebrow at her.
Mel’s mouth went dry and her limbs protested against the tight grip of the soldier. She couldn’t think under these circumstances. It was like her mind was too preoccupied with the pain and the panic that she just couldn’t form a sentence.
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“Yeah…”
The door swung open and Mel tried to crane her neck to see who it was, but the soldier pulled her tighter.
“What are you doing here?” Derek asked.
No answer came, and then the door closed again. Mel took a few deep breaths and tried to make her mind clear from the fog of pain. The governor’s hand went up again, and she heard a growl escape Derek’s lips.
“Let him stay,” the governor said. “Maybe he can answer my questions, or maybe he can make her answer them.”
Mel saw a gleam in Perrole’s eyes as he said those words. A shiver went down her spine, and then her head lolled back to the floor. Too tired to keep it upright anymore.
“Can you please release her, at least?”
Mel’s head snapped up. It was Austin’s voice. Her eyes went wide, and then she saw his figure stepping into the periphery of her vision.
No, no, no. Why was he here?
He should have saved himself and taken care of Gabs, not come here to get himself into trouble.
Perrole shook his head. “She’s working with the void, Austin. You should know better. Derek just caught her out in the wastes. I know you’re friendly, but be careful of whose side you take.”
Derek walked up behind Austin and put a hand on his shoulder, but Austin shrugged him away.
“What do you want?” Austin asked, his eyes on the governor.
“I want her to give us information about the void. What the enemy is planning. Can you make her talk?”
Austin shook his head. “No, because she doesn’t know anything. She’s not working with the enemy.”
Perrole’s eyes hardened. “I will get the information out of her one way or the other.” His eyes snapped back to Mel. “Do you want to tell me what you know now, or shall we drag the words out of your throat with force?”
Mel felt her body grow rigid and her breath caught in her lungs. The fear had taken over now, and she was frozen to the ground. Not a word came out of her. She didn’t know how to even speak anymore.
“You’re wasting your time, Sir,” Austin said. “With all due respect, she doesn’t know anything. I have become friendly with her as you said, and I know for a fact that she doesn’t know anything about the void, but…” Austin stopped for a beat. He licked his lips and threw a glance over at Mel before he sighed. “But she does know something about magic after today. We found something in the old ruins out in the wastes. I think it could help you with the dragon and if you let her go, I’m sure she will help you create a powerful weapon to destroy the void with.”
The room grew quiet and Mel felt people’s eyes leaving her and landing on Austin. She hated what he had said. That he had made them believe he was on her side. He should have lied. He should have saved himself. But no, he had to risk the governor thinking him a traitor too. Now they knew he had been there, now he had admitted he had been out in the wastes with her.
“We don’t need whatever evil you think you found out there,” Perrole said. This time, his voice had turned acidic. “The wastes is where the void is, Austin. You, of all people, should know that. You should know better than to go out there and help a void worshiper. Don’t you think it’s pretty convenient that you found some solution out there of all places? That she knew where it was?”
His hand fell from his chest, down to his side, and he took a step away from his desk. His posture wasn’t relaxed anymore. Perrole looked hard and unyielding now.
“You’ve been tricked, Austin. I don’t blame you. The void is a force greater than most men. But you need to understand that this girl has tricked you into believing things, dangerous things. Once I might have thought it pertinent to risk everything to kill that dragon, once I might have tried this magic you supposedly found.”
Perrole shook his head. “But now, no, we have something of our own. We don’t need to hide in bunkers anymore, scouring like rats in the shadow of the void. Tonight we will turn a tide in this war. Tonight we will kill the black dragon and after that I won’t have any use for Melissa Temper or any of the void worshipers.”
Austin took a step back from Perrole. “I…” he started, but stopped and looked back at Mel for a moment. He licked his lips and sighed.
“I think that is wonderful news,” he said. “If the dragon dies, all of us, including Melissa, will be overjoyed. I wish you all the luck in killing the dragon tonight and ask you only to please keep Melissa under watch, but not harm her. I know she doesn’t have the information you seek and she could be an asset to you later if you change your mind about trying the magic we found in the ruins.”
Austin held up both hands to Perrole, pleading with his eyes. “Please, I don’t think it’s necessary to hurt her or anyone else.”
Perrole took a step back from Austin, his rage seeming to settle. His posture grew less stiff and his eyes wandered back to Mel. “Throw her in the dungeons and make sure she doesn’t have any metal on her. I don’t want her to contact the enemy.”
Austin’s gaze met Mel’s as the soldier holding her down pushed her toward the door. Mel could see the panic in Austin’s eyes and how his mouth opened to protest. Mel shook her head at him, feeling exhaustion well over her. She didn’t want to be thrown into a dungeon and possibly tortured for information, but Mel knew Austin couldn’t win this fight.
Edward Perrole was not the man Mel had thought he was, and she felt like she understood Grace a bit more now. How she had warned Mel for disobeying the law and how she had been wary of interacting with her brother or using her family name. Mel didn’t think she would have liked to be related to the governor, either. He was a ruthless man.