Chapter 36: The Consequences

NINE

I spend the next week in agony, confined to my quarters, to a cot no bigger than me. Outside of showering in the Unfortunate communal bathhouse with people who consider me a traitor, my only other human contact has been Portia. I'd have bashed my head into a stone wall days ago if it weren't for her.

It's driving me mad not knowing my fate. Am I to lie here and choke on my explanation? Am I to wither away as anxiety chisels at my bones?

I startle as a shadow darkens my doorway, expecting to see Vince with his rifle, ready to fulfil the sentencing of the council. Instead, Thirteen loiters.

"Master Kade would like to see you in the garden."

My heart picks up in its beat, and Thirteen's face gives nothing away. No smugness. No sympathy. No fear. She's simply indifferent.

Sucking in a deep breath, I lift myself off the cot and follow her out. She escorts me through the maze of flowers, and I squint under the midday sun, my eyes taking longer to adjust to the brightness after an et