Page 32 of Wrath

“Maybe we can meet somewhere?” she suggests.

Martha takes my arm. “Let’s not make trouble for ourselves,” she says.

I slip my hand from Summer’s. “I’m sorry,” I whisper as I’m led away.

“If your father sees you, he’ll follow through on his threat,” Martha warns.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen her since I left, and she reached out to me.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re our only hope of getting out of here,” she says. “Don’t mess it up.”

We get back to the caves and gather around Martha’s kitchen table. Jaycee and Anna stare at me, waiting for me to speak, and eventually, I sigh heavily. “I don’t know what the plan is yet,” I admit.

“Nothing at all?” asks Martha.

“Not exactly. I know I need the warriors on side and I’m working on that. A villager approached me tonight to meet with her tomorrow. She doesn’t want her daughter to marry one of the four. Understandable seeing as she’s just a kid. But what I really need is to piece together the warriors. I want to know how they got here and if they knew they were coming.”

“So, you need to spend time with Wrath,” Martha states, and I nod.

“They all need to trust me.”

“Alex is on duty, and he’s pretty relaxed,” says Anna.

“Only because he’s in love with you,” teases Jaycee.

My eyes widen, “Use that,” I tell her. “Go on a date and I’ll watch the warriors.”

“He’ll never leave his post,” says Anna.

“Unless you make him,” says Martha, smirking. She takes a small brown bottle from the shelf. “Slip this in his drink and he’ll spend the night over the toilet.” She begins to make Alex a cup of hot milk. “Tell him it’s a treat from me to cheer him up. It’s the least I can do after the loss of his friend.”

Alex looks up from the desk and smiles. I place the hot milk on the table and pull up a chair. He eyes it suspiciously. “What’s this?”

“Martha sent it, to say sorry you lost Lenny.”

He smirks, taking a sip and closing his eyes. “That’s delicious.”

“I’m sorry too,” I add.

“Don’t be. Lenny was a hard man to please. I’m not exactly sorry he’s gone,” he admits, shrugging. “And things are a little less stressful down here without him.”

“He liked to upset the warriors,” I agree.

“What’s going on with you and Wrath?” he asks.

I rest my elbows on the desk. “I feel bad for him,” I say. “Lenny was hard on him.”

“Lenny was hard on everyone, most of all Wrath.”

“Why?”

He shrugs again. “I guess he didn’t like him being the best.”

“The best?”

“In the ring. Wrath is strong, and he’s clever. He just hides behind his silence so nobody can work him out. Lenny was suspicious of him.”

“I heard you like Anna,” I say with a grin.