Page 127

Grimacing, I sigh-growled and shook my head. "If it is as you say, then we don't have a choice. Trust me. Frexinwillget what she wants. So why not make it easier on everyone and just give me the damn names."

Cheeks red, eyes sparking, she pulled a paper and pencil from her knapsack and began scrawling the names down.

My shoulders relaxed.Thank the gods!

"Here's your fucking list," she snapped, leaning forward and slapping the paper into my chest. "But I'm going to ask Frexin to have you collect them. Maybe when you pull that mother away from her baby and make him an orphan — maybe then you'll finally fucking grow a heart!"

I thought back to the woman and her baby.

No. It wasn't possible …

"What about the others? At least that nasty red-headwoman deserves it. Even from where I stood, I could tell she was twisted."

"Darlene?" Kaiya spat. "You'd think she was corrupted, but no — her level of corruption isn't even NEAR the level needed."

Kaiya leaned forward, looking almost defeated. "Tye,everyoneon that list is a genuinely good person.Every. Single. One."

I slumped. Forsaken mages …

She had to be wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

But of course, that's how it went. Frexin never played straight. Wasn't that what Japhire had been trying to say earlier, too?

I crumpled the paper and tossed it back to her, already regretting what I was about to say. "Go back to the barracks. I'll walk through the prison camp and find the corrupted myself. I can sense them too, if I get close enough."

She frowned, confused.

"I'll make a list of who I find, and I'll give it to Frexin," I whispered, making sure Japhire couldn't hear me from wherever he hid. "If it's as you say, the list will be the same. And I'll tell Frexin it was you who found the corrupted, but I'll hand hermylist. Then you can have at least a little peace knowing it wasn'tyouwho put those people into danger."

A sudden wave of emotions poured through the bond, so deep and strong that it threatened to drown me.

Kaiya stared at me, speechless. I wasn't sure if she was going to smile or cry, and her expression was full of such intensity that I shifted in my seat and had to resist the urge to rub the back of my neck.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "That is perhaps the sweetest, albeit misguided, thing you've ever said to me."

Warmth bubbled up in my chest and the wolf let out a happy yip.

I sat rigidly, frozen by the odd emotions.

What was happening here?

"Fortunately, though," she said, offering me a smile. "I have an idea I'd like to tryfirst."

I stared at her, mind still struggling to grasp the way her praise had made me feel.

"We still have five days," she said. "Lady Frexin said she wanted me to choose six corrupted by then. But her only rules were that they were prisoners or locals. And, as we both know, Frexin seems to get a weird thrill from me doing something unexpected."

She was right. It was fucked up, but true.

I reluctantly nodded along.

"So, what if … we went to other villages to find volunteers?"

My brows rose.

"Think about it," she continued, voice rising. "There will be more corrupted out there than in this prison camp. And if we were upfront about the danger while also offering them generous compensation for participating,surely some would be willing to take us up on the deal?"

"No," I said, gritting my teeth. "The little villages may put up with the Empire's presence, but they aren't going to volunteer."