I feel a pang as I think of Scarlett. Young, idealistic, annoying as hell, but loyal and a much-needed bit of fun whenever I needed a silly chat. When Wolfe had given my team his ultimatum to leave the city, he’d singled her out with an invitation to stay in Sanctuary since she had belonged to the original harem. Scarlett had decided to leave the city with Deacon and the rest of the team, saying she was now invested in distributing the vaccine. I’d been both proud and jealous of her dedication.
I throw pieces of cloth and paper into the middle of the floor, using an old roasting pot as a makeshift fire pit. Once I have enough flammable items inside, I strike a match and drop it into the pot. It takes a moment to catch, but when it does the paper goes up quickly.
I take a step back as the burning paper starts to light the bits of cloth. Satisfied that my fire is about to become a raging inferno I run to the window, lift a sewing machine and smash out the windowpane, which was bolted shut. I keep hitting it until all the shards of glass have fallen. We are high above the ground, about thirty floors. I hope no one is on the street below.
I drop the sewing machine and shove a chair up against the window, then knock it over onto its side. As smoke fills the room, I run to the pantry closet and hide just inside the door.
Moments later, having been alerted to the fire by the smoke streaming under the door, the harem guards fill the room. I can hear them shouting as they search for me and shout for water to put out the fire.
"Dammit, I think she went out the window," one of them shouts. "She's just crazy enough to do it!"
I smirk. It's about time they stop underestimating exactly what I'm willing to do to escape. Crazy? No. Determined, stubborn, hardheaded, argumentative? Absolutely.
I peek around the door in time to see men rushing to the window, one of them climbing onto the sill to lean out and check for me on the ledge. I waste a couple of seconds worrying that the idiot might fall because he actually believes I’d be foolish enough to go out a thirty-story window. Actually, maybe not so foolish. My sister is an excellent climber and she would absolutely have gone out the window long before now. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit her climbing talent.
While the guards are distracted, I race through the smoke and out the door. When I reach the other side, I bend over and grip my knees, coughing and pointing over my shoulder back into the harem.
"There's a fire!" I say to the guards running toward me. "Quick, I think someone might be going out the window to escape the flames. You have to help!"
They hurtle past me with buckets of water. The second they’re gone I race through the corridor and head toward the nearest exit. I know I won't be able to make it to the ground before the guards figure out my ruse and alert the guards on the main floors of the building, but maybe I can hide long enough for them to stop searching and then eventually slip out. The building is massive, there are so many places to get lost. In fact, when I'd lived here with Silas, I'd gotten lost many times without even trying.
I decide to head to the Warlord’s chambers, confident that they’ll be empty. Wolfe is a solitary man. He won't want guards lingering in his personal space. And I'm relatively certain that he's out in the city working and not inside the palace. It's a gamble, but one I'll take. If I do happen to find him, I'll just have to find a way to take him down so I can leave.
Luckily, as predicted, the hallway leading to the Warlord’s private chambers is completely deserted. In fact, the area is so empty that I start to wonder if Wolfe has inhabited the chambers at all or if he decided to make a space for himself elsewhere. As Warlord, it's his right to take over the Warlord’s private floor. Silas enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful things, such as his harem women. He wanted the best, most unique of everything. He worked hard for it too. Thus, his chambers are filled with beautiful furniture, paintings, expensive rugs and priceless ornaments.
The doors are locked, but I have a key. A key given to me long ago by Silas. I'd left it in the drawer next to my bed in the harem. I'd never thought to use it. I'd always been escorted in and out by guards, but his giving it to me had been symbolic and I treasured it at the time. It was an all access pass to see the Warlord whenever I wanted. Now, it will help me evade pursuit.
I unlock the door and slip inside, locking it behind me. The rooms are dark and cool. I run my fingers over a shelf and then hold them up in the dim light filtering through one of the windows, squinting. No dust. Which means that Wolfe is either living here or the palace cleaners come in on a regular basis.
Nostalgia hits me hard as I wander the rooms, touching things that belonged to Silas. I'm a little surprised that Wolfe hasn't had them removed, considering they're not even close to his taste. Actually, I don't know what his tastes are. From what I can tell that man only loves two things. War and death.
I continue through the chambers, heading toward the solarium. Silas's favourite room. The last place I'd set eyes on him.
I hold my breath as I step inside. I don't know what I was expecting, but the room is still and quiet. I'm amazed to find that much of the greenery has survived. Someone must be watering the beds. In fact, weeds seem to be taking over. I yank on one, pulling it out of the soil where it's choking another plant. It resists and then finally the roots give. I toss it aside with a sigh.
I did this so many times, with Silas. He told me that his garden would help me become more serene, more accepting of the life that he wanted me to live. He'd been partially right. Tending the garden had taught me about the value of life after a lifetime of living only death, but serenity is not an emotion I’ve ever learned to value.
"Thought I'd find you here."
I whirl around, bringing my fists up. Wolfe is standing just inside the solarium doorway, watching me carefully with that one single piercing eye.
"Then it would seem you're the only one. Are your people still battling the fire?" I give him a smug look.
He steps farther into the room, circling around behind me without coming too close. Almost as though he’s stalking a wild animal. An apt comparison considering I’ll scratch his face off if he touches me.
"It was hardly an out-of-control blaze. A few buckets of water and it was extinguished. You could've done better, gone bigger."
Unable to help myself, I laugh out loud. It's just like Wolfe to criticize my fire making abilities. The man is all about destruction. He doesn't care that I tried to burn down the palace, he only cares about how big the fire was.
"You're right, I could've done better," I admit, reaching back into the garden and plucking a few more weeds. Now that he's caught me, I may as well relax and do something I enjoy. Wolfe won't let me out of the room anyway until he's ready. "I couldn't bring myself to burn down the harem. Too many memories."
"Good or bad?"
I'm surprised he cares. Then, Wolfe has been doing that a lot lately. Surprising me. I'm starting to think I never really knew him well at all.
“Just… memories. Not good, not bad, but mine. I don't want to lose them."
Wolfe steps closer to the plant box that I'm working on. His gaze meets mine through the shrubbery. "Tell me."
I frown. "Tell you what?"
"A memory." As usual, he doesn't expound so I'm left trying to decipher what he wants.
Though I'm not particularly inclined to give Wolfe anything he wants as long as I'm his captive, maybe if I act more compliant he’ll be willing to give me more freedom. Especially now that I'm on the outside of the harem instead of the inside.
I search for a memory that he might find pleasing but I'm left floundering. I have no idea what pleases Wolfe. Death and violence? Those things definitely didn't occur in the tranquil harem. Not before the city fell.
I might have something that’ll work though. "You remember when I was first brought to the city and placed in the harem?" At his nod, I continue, "I resisted everything. I didn't want to settle down, no matter how hard everyone tried to make me feel welcome."
He continues to loo
k serious, but there’s a humorous glint in his eye. "You wouldn't stop. You were either shouting, throwing things or threatening anyone who would listen."
I smile at the memory. "I wasn't well behaved it all, but the memory is a happy one. Mostly because of the love and patience everyone around me showed. No one blamed me for my attitude or my terrible temper. They just continued to accommodate me until I was ready to settle down."
He nods. "It took damn near a year before I figured you stopped wanting to kill us all."
"I kept a knife under my mattress and carried in around everywhere with me, tucked inside my waistband, even once I accepted my position." I meet his gaze, pausing my weeding. "It was the only way I could feel safe."
"I know."
"You knew about the knife?" I ask incredulously.
"Yes, I knew about the knife."
"Why didn't you take it away?"
"Because you needed it." He says it so simply, but his words mean everything.
He allowed me to keep a knife because he knew what it meant to me. I didn’t need it for safety, or because my life was being threatened or because I'd intended to hurt anyone, but because I needed the security of knowing I could defend myself if I had to.
"Why would you do that for me?" There's a catch in my voice and it's hard to get the words out as memories wash over me. Those first months of fear and hatred, then warmth, and finally acceptance. Of spending time with my husband and gradually falling in love.
Yet, the shadow of Wolfe had always been there. I just hadn't realized. Or I wasn't ready to see it.
"Because we’re the same."
"We're not the same, not at all!" I step from the table and shake my head in denial, brushing the dirt from my hands onto my pants. "You love death. You thrive off of blood and the war. I hate it, hate everything about it. I just want peace."
He stares at me but doesn't say anything. I'm frustrated. This is the way he is. Enigmatic. Difficult. Impossible to predict.
"I suppose you're going to take me back to the harem now?" I demand, breaking our moment with my anger. I'm not ready to have the kind of honest conversation he seems to want. I don't know if I’ll ever be ready.
"Not yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He looks at me as though searching for words and finally says, "You proved that you can't be kept locked in the harem. So, you'll only spend nights there for now."
I shake my head trying to understand. He sounds almost proud that I managed to escape the harem. "You wanted me to prove something to you? Is that it? You kept me locked up in there for three weeks, waiting to see if I could escape?"
He just stares back, his one amber eye bottomless and unfathomable.
I throw my hands up in annoyance. "If I’m going to spend nights there, then what about my days?"
This time he does speak, his words thoughtful and measured. "You're standing in a dying city. There’s more for you to do than you could possibly know."
Seventeen
True to his word, Wolfe has me taken back to the harem for the night. I'm excited for what tomorrow will bring. Though I don't trust him completely, I know that Wolfe is a man of his word. If he says he's going to let me out, then he will.
I don't bother to speak to the guards as they bring my food in, though I'm surprised when one of them asks if I need anything else. I turn a frown on him.
"You've never asked me that before." It's a statement with an implied question. I want to know what his game is.
He doesn't look at me but fixes his eyes on the wall behind me. "The Warlord has asked that we treat you with respect."
"So… you weren't treating me with respect before?"
He shuffles his feet and searches for an answer. "The Warlord has instructed us to treat you as we would treat him. We are at your disposal."
A slow grin spreads across my face as I think of all the possibilities. There's no chance that Wolfe will give me complete freedom, but I can have fun with this, or at least fun with the guards. They've kept me cooped up in the harem for three long weeks and though I know that it's on Wolfe’s orders, I'm not feeling particularly kind toward my guards.
I turn in my seat to face the guard more fully. "I require my freedom. You will let me leave immediately."
I'm impressed with how straight he keeps his face as he answers back, "You may ask for anything you wish, but there are several things we have been instructed not to give you. Your immediate freedom is one of them."
"Then I guess I'm not being treated exactly the way Wolfe would be treated." My words are smug. "I don’t see him locked up in the harem."
Finally, his eyes slide down to meet mine. A frown of disapproval draws his brows together. "You think that Warlord Wolfe is a free man? Then you know nothing about running a Sanctuary. It is as much a prison as this harem."
Well that got serious fast.
"What’s your name?" I demand.
"Kingston."
"Last name?"
He continues to stare at nothing, but I can see the tension in him. He doesn’t like answering my questions. I wonder if it’s because I’m a woman or a prisoner.
"Kingston Carr."
I happen to agree with the man about what Wolfe’s job entails, knowing exactly what it takes to run a Sanctuary, but I'm not going to get into an argument with him. Until I have my complete freedom, I refuse to be compliant.
I turn my back on him and reach for my fork. "You may leave, Kingston Carr."
I hear the door close and lock behind him. I've been left alone in the harem once more, but today the idea is a little less depressing since I know I'll be leaving tomorrow. Perhaps for good, if I can find a way out of the city.
Wolfe will have me watched closely, will expect me to act. I'd love to disappoint him, but I need to catch up with my team and they have a two-week head start on me.
I dig into my food, savouring it, knowing what it takes to put this kind of meal on the table. The succulent meat took manpower to hunt, the vegetables took time, effort and skill to grow. But the bread, oh my god, the bread! It’s my favourite part. It's like heaven in my mouth and I know that it was baked recently. I eat three pieces, all smothered in butter that was cultivated in the palace. Again, the collective effort that goes into this kind of elaborate meal is not to be taken lightly. I wonder if Wolfe eats the same things as me; if everyone in the palace eats this well.
I frown at my plate. It almost seems wrong to eat food this delicious and plentiful bounty when I know that there are people in the city who are not as lucky.
Still, I eat everything on my plate. There's no point in waste. I vow to find out in the morning how food is being distributed throughout the city. Maybe Wolfe can use some tips. Food distribution was one of the things I oversaw when I lived here before.
I prepare myself for bed, taking a shower and changing into a long warm nightgown. I like to sleep with the windows open, I've always felt this way. Something about the fresh breeze floating over me as I sleep is as comforting as a blanket. Someone must know this about me because my bedroom window is the only one in the harem with the ability to open. It can only open a crack, but it’s enough to let the breeze in.
What's less comforting is the way I'm woken up the next morning. Being locked up in the harem for weeks on end I’ve grown lazy, sleeping in because there's nothing else for me to do. This particular morning, I find myself being rudely awakened just as the sun is beginning to peek through the window.
I roll over to look at my attacker and find myself blinking up at a scowling, scarred man. Wolfe. I'm not worried about the scowl since it's his go-to expression. I smooth the hair off my face and sit up, yawning.
"What's going on? Is the palace on fire… again?" I snicker.
"You wanted to get out of here," he says matter-of-factly. "Get up, get dressed, meet me outside."
He turns to leave before I can ask questions. Like, where are we going, why are we doing it so early, and should I
wear anything special? The man of few words strikes again.
I mumble my annoyance as I start digging through clothes. Besides the outfit that I showed up in I have a few leather items that I’d packed from Tucson and several harem outfits. Filmy dresses mostly. I decide to wear the same leather pants and shirt that I'd worn the day we came to Santa Fe. Leather clothing is a particularly sought-after commodity in a world filled with Primitives sporting sharp teeth. Leather is a difficult material to penetrate.
I head out of my room toward the entrance of the harem. As I walk past the table, I notice a plate laden with food and a steaming cup of tea. I shove a forkful of fried potatoes in my mouth, a couple grapes and a piece of buttered bread. I grab the cup of tea and head out the door.
Wolfe meets me at the entrance. He glances at my tea and then turns and starts to walk. I assume he wants me to follow so I hurry to catch up.
"For someone who kept me locked up for three weeks, you're in a hurry to get me out of here now." Not that I mind. I hated being locked up. "Where are we going?"
Wolfe continues walking until he reaches the main stairway leading down in the building. He shoves the door open and we start to descend together. It takes him a minute to answer.
"I kept you in the harem because you needed time to calm down and accept your situation. Your anger had to dissipate so that you wouldn't do anything stupid."
"Like set a fire?" I ask sarcastically.
He glances at me. "You did that deliberately, with careful precision. You didn't set anything more than that part of the harem on fire and you used the distraction to escape. It was a decent plan. Would you have come up with such a strategy during your first few days here?"
The fact that I hadn't come up with a plan proves his point. I'd been far too angry and emotional to think straight. I'd wanted to burn the harem down, but had I acted then I might’ve hurt myself and others. Dammit, I hate when this man is right.
The Road to Wolfe (The Sanctuary Series Book 4) Page 9