Chapter 53: Chapter 53

The trial feels like a farce, even more so than the one I didn’t get at Resistance. The outcomes are identical. My defense is a joke.

All I can do is listen as Master David, the Master who was locked up with me, painstakingly recounts all the crimes I committed in Resistance, among the Kagegun, and with the Chinese.

He spins tales of me feeding information to the Resistants to set up their ambush, tales of me sleeping with all the Kagegun men, tainting my Perfect bloodline, tales of me leaking secrets to the Chinese, of running away.

I see his smirks, I see his taunts, hear the fury in his voice as he points at me and berates me.

He’s joined by an older Master, who accuses me of aiding the Kagegun in attacking the Masters’ mansion, of kidnapping Beth and Juliet, and of killing a Perfect fetus by sending Gael away.

I press my lips together at this last accusation, and I let my eyes meet Eric’s. He’s been trying to catch my eye throughout the trial. He looks like he’s about to explode with anger.

The tales of me sleeping with as many foreign men as I could have him clutching the edges of the desk so tightly, I’m scared he’ll break it in half.

“I’ve already been punished for that,” I retort. “I spent those nights with Master Hector,” I remind them.

Eric almost growls.

“That was a privilege,” the old Master reprimands.

“It was awful, to be honest,” I respond. “He was a revolting man.”

“Alex!” Eric can’t help but reprimand.

“You see! She’s absolute filth,” Master David spits.

The oldest Master lets out a sigh, which quickly turns into a coughing fit.

I let my gaze shift to the soldier still gripping my upper arm. His eyes are fixed on the Masters.

“Traitor 958,687,487.64.4.2.1. Alexandra, you have been found guilty of eight different charges of treason, murder, kidnapping, and prostitution.

“You have been stripped of your Perfect title. You are hereby sentenced to be burned at the stake until death. Return to the ashes of Albion. We will be glad to be rid of you,” says the older Master. He dismisses me with a wave.

“Scum,” Master David sneers.

“Get her out of my sight!” the older Master yells, and the soldier drags me out of the room.

He takes me back to the room I was in before and fastens my shackles to the wall. When he steps back, his dark gaze meets mine.

“I told you,” he says, but his voice is soft.

I give him a small smile. “I know. But it was worth it. She was worth it. He was worth it. They were all worth it.”

His lips twitch, and he steps out the door. Just as he’s about to lock it, I hear his voice again.

“My name is Jeremy,” he says.

When I sit back down on the bench, I don’t feel the tears, I just see them falling from my face.

***

Jeremy brings more food for me. He sits this time while I eat. Clearly, he’s realized that I’m not that dangerous.

“Jeremy,” I start. “Were you there? At the factory, I mean, when Master Eric found me. Were you fighting?”

The corner of his lip twitches. “I was with the Masters,” he tells me.

I nod.

“I saw you try to fight Master Eric,” he continues.

“I see.”

I finish my plate and push it back toward him. He starts to shackle me up again to the wall. His skin brushes the inside of my wrist, and for a split second his dark eyes meet mine and he seems taken aback.

I lean my head back against the concrete and close my eyes for a moment while he finishes locking the chains to the ring in the wall.

“They aren’t just going to kill me, are they, Jeremy?” I whisper.

I hear his steps, and when I open my eyes, he’s picking up my tray of food. He doesn’t look at me.

“No, they’re not. You’re a Traitor.”

“Have there been many female Traitors?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I’ve never met one before,” he admits. He glances at me. “I’ve never spoken this much with a woman before.”

“I see.” I give him a small smile. “We aren’t so scary, are we?”

He lets out a dry chuckle and shakes his head. “You are.”

His gaze drops to my shackled wrists. He takes a step toward me and lets his fingers lightly touch the inside of my wrist. His dark eyes meet mine.

“But you’re just as vulnerable as I had always thought. You’re so soft.”

His fingers trace the inside of my arm like he’s in a trance.

“Perfect women are soft, weak mothers that I have sworn to protect. You don’t look any different. You look…”

He trails off for a second. “You look like a dream. But your thoughts are dangerous. They threaten to destroy Albion and to hurt the very women that I have sworn my life to protect.”

“I would never hurt the women,” I tell him. “I am one of them.”

He shakes his head, pulling away from me.

“You are a trap for men.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear the Masters say, Jeremy.” I press my lips together. “I only ever wanted to get my daughter back.”

He presses his lips together and starts to walk to the door.

“I have another question, Jeremy,” I murmur.

“What is it?”

“There was an attack on the Chinese forces, the ones who had Master David. What happened?”

“We destroyed them,” he answers.

***

I’m asleep when the door swings open and two soldiers burst in. Neither of them is Jeremy, though I spot him standing guard by the door as they drag me out of the room.

They haul me through the corridors and shove me into a smaller room. There’s a table in the middle of the room, gray painted walls, and large red phoenixes looming from the ceiling.

I’m hoisted up and set on a table. My wrists and ankles are bound tightly. I can barely lift my head. My arms are yanked above my head.

It all happens in a blink. The soldiers vanish, and I realize I’m not alone.

The Masters emerge from a shadowy corner of the room. It’s a scare tactic. I watch them approach. It’s Master David and Master Eric.

“Alexandra, we didn’t need to go this far. You chose this,” Eric says.

I tune him out, my eyes on Master David as he gently places what looks like a tool belt on the table next to me. But these tools aren’t for fixing or building. They’re stained with dried blood.

“You’ve got a lot to spill, Traitor,” he says, a smirk playing on his lips.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Eric chimes in.

I lock eyes with him. “You might as well burn me now. I’ll never tell you where my daughter is,” I say, surprised at how steady my voice is despite the pounding in my chest.

Master David smirks.

“No one gives a damn about one measly Pre-Prefect,” he scoffs. “You’re going to tell us about the Resistance and how a group of Japanese soldiers have been hiding in our lands for the past two years.

“And then you’ll tell us how the Chinese landed on our shores.”

His eyes gleam as he twirls a hammer in his hand.

“You’ll spill everything, little Traitor. Or we’ll force it out of you.”

I shut my eyes for a moment, my mind filled with images of Sanoske, the training sessions I watched him lead for the Resistance. How he could switch from being so cold, so deadly, to being so gentle with me and his men.

It’s crystal clear to me that the Masters can’t know anything about the Resistance.

Even though they’ve labeled me a spy, the Resistance is a living, breathing network that spans across Albion, fighting for freedom and providing a haven for those who escape.

The Masters can’t know anything about the Kagegun or the Chinese either.

With my fate sealed, I open my eyes again to find Master Eric staring down at me.

“Do your worst,” I hear myself say.