My brows knit together at hearing The Order. I still remember those words being whispered when I was a child. Talk in the squares and streets of an unknown military, a new government making rise in the wake of the virus.
I remember little about the world before but remember the fear of the women not taken by the virus. Women have a way of calming a man’s soul, that vicious part of all of us. With so few women after the virus, the monstrous side of men took over. It’s sobering to realize that even if Mama and I hadn’t been thrown into the Tomb, she likely wouldn’t have survived long.
"And why is this relevant to us?"
Ana explains to me all she was told by Sammi and some woman named Ceyda. I keep my mouth shut, deciding this isn't the moment to mention the reliability of whores.
"I don't think Tahar would give up if we broke Ethan out, especially if he already thinks he’s one of The Tomb prisoners. Ax, I don't want to be on the run forever."
"Just because this fucker comes after us means nothing. We head for the forests, for the hills, and we'll escape easy enough."
"But what if we didn't have to hide," she continues.
"What are you getting at?"
She looks up at me with those big blue eyes and I narrow mine.
"Ana..."
"I think we should kill them all," she says quickly. "Fuck The Watch and fuck Tahar. Let's give Theo the vengeance he deserves and free Tekir, and ourselves, from these assholes."
I sit back in my seat, crossing my arms and looking at my woman. Her face holds only a hint of uncertainty and the rest pure fire. After a moment, I let out a deep and booming laugh.
"My fucking god, woman," I say through the laughter. She looks a bit perplexed by this response, so I pull her into my lap, still laughing into her neck before kissing her firmly.
"I fucking love you."
She flushes and the corner of her lips twitch up.
"Certainly wasn't the response I was expecting," she says mildly. "So, you agree?"
A slow tingle crawls under my skin, the anticipation of blood.
"Well, your reasons are shit, but have you ever known me to turn down the chance to gut a bunch of assholes?"
Ana laughs, the light sound making my heart full. I notice the faint gleam of sweat on her brow and make my way over to the window, opening it and letting in a breeze. The smell of something cooking below wafts in through the window and I inhale deeply, savoring the smell of real food.
Suddenly, her face whitens, and she runs toward the bathroom, almost tripping on her skirts in the process.
"Ana?" I walk up behind her and sure enough, her head is hanging in the toilet.
"What's going on?" I ask, kneeling beside her to put a hand on her back. She turns and looks up to me and I see something akin to fear in her eyes.
Flames dance under my skin at the thought of Ana feeling fear and my fists clench.
"What is it?"
Chapter Sixteen
Ana
My stomach dances still but this time, with something else. Realization. Dread.
Ax's face watches mine closely and I see the anger building up instinctually, the fury at something being wrong that he doesn't understand. If Ax had been raised somewhere else, he might have his suspicions. As it is, he only sees that I'm sick. Again.
Fuck.
"I'm sure it's just a cold or something." I wave him off, spitting into the bowl to clear my mouth, "Grab me that water skin."