Oculta by Maya Motayne

Author:Maya Motayne [Motayne, Maya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: 2021-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

29

The Interrogation

By the time the exhibition was over, the masked protestors were in the palace dungeons, ready to be questioned. Alfie’s stomach knotted with nerves. The summit had only gone on for three days and yet there had already been so much chaos.

After excusing himself and wishing Vesper and Marsden a pleasant afternoon, Alfie dashed down the halls to attend the interrogation. When he reached the twisting stairwell to the dungeons, it was lined with guardsmen. They bowed as Alfie walked briskly past them. He rushed down the stairs, only slowing his stride when he reached the bottom.

“Come mierda, hijo de puta,” a man grumbled from a cell before spitting in his direction.

Alfie raised a hand, and the glob of spit stopped before it hit his shoulder. At first, anger swept through him, hot and fast. But a wave of guilt doused the fire, turning it to hissing steam. Maybe this man had lost a loved one to Sombra and was looking for someone to blame, just as the people at the memorial had.

Instead of flinging the saliva back in the man’s face, Alfie let it drop to the ground and then walked on, leaving the man to stare after him, silent.

At the end of the hall, Maria, the head of the royal guard, stood in a cell where a cowering man was chained to the ground. The king and queen stood outside, watching from behind a wall of guardsmen, unseen by the captured protestors. When Alfie moved to stand beside them, his mother took him by the arm, her grip firm.

“Who do you work for?” Maria demanded. “Who is running this group?”

The man shook his head. “W-W-We don’t know!”

Maria summoned a plume of fire in her palm. “You can either tell me the truth or I can burn your tongue. Which would you prefer?” She leaned forward and held the flame just beneath his chin.

Alfie had known Maria since he was a boy, but he’d never heard her speak like this. It must be for show. His kingdom didn’t hurt its people simply for protesting. Perhaps the guardsmen were stressed from the constant fear of Los Toros attacking—he could see it in the tense set of their shoulders as they roamed today’s cultural exhibition. That was why Maria was getting carried away with this show of force—that must be it.

“I’m telling the truth!” the man cried as he pressed himself against the wall, jutting his chin up, away from the flame. “We only wanted to take up a symbol to make a point! To stand up for our kingdom.” He was gaining steam now, glaring up at Maria regardless of the fear in his eyes. “We are against this summit and the maldito Englassens! Our royal family can’t even protect us from the wild magics their own dueños release and now they bring in our kingdom’s greatest enemies? Disgusting!”

Alfie flinched. The man sounded just like the member of Los Toros who had stolen the cloak from Finn—because of this summit he didn’t believe that Alfie or his family were worthy of this throne.

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