“You’ve got to get the keys to the handcuffs. It’s in the captain’s pocket.”

  Wilma had climbed onto the wooden table and was kicking at the soldiers who were trying to grab her by her legs. They had guns pointing at her but the idea of killing a woman was so alien to any Nman that I knew they wouldn’t fire their weapons.

  “Don’t you fucking touch her,” Emmerson yelled and tackled one of them to the ground.

  Jeremiah’s torso had collapsed, head down, on the table, a large pool of blood coloring the white tablecloth underneath him, but his eyes were open and blinking.

  “I’ve got the keys,” Claire said close to my ear and in a few seconds, I had my hands free again. The room was in chaos and my sole priority was to secure the women’s safety.

  “Get behind me,” I shouted to the women and pulled my mother away from the soldier she was screaming at to put down his gun. It was obvious that the men were unsure about how to tackle women attacking them physically and verbally when they’d been taught their whole lives never to touch a woman. The soldier in front of my mom turned his gun on me for about two seconds until Frederick stormed him from behind.

  Claire had managed to uncuff my father, Lucas, and Henry, and was now working on freeing Emmerson’s hands. As soon as she did, Emmerson ran to the wall and pulled down an antique sword that hung as a decoration. With crazy eyes and a roar of anger, he stormed up to King Jeremiah and swung the large sword against the neck of the dying man.

  Wilma, who was still on the table, jumped back but looked on with the same blood rush I’d seen in her eyes when Emmerson fought in her tournament.

  The chaos and noise that had begun a few minutes ago ceased as we all stared at Emmerson decapitating King Jeremiah with the dull sword. When it was done, he fisted his hand into Jeremiah’s hair and lifted his head from the table.

  “Your king is dead!” He held out the head to the soldiers and pointed to the floor in front of the table. “I call victory.”

  For four hundred years we men had battled for control in the Northlands and it was tradition that killing a king would make you the new ruler.

  “But she killed him,” one of the soldiers whispered to his colleague.

  Wilma stepped down on a chair next to Emmerson and with a hand on her husband’s shoulder she challenged everyone in the room. “It’s true that I wounded the king, but it was my husband who killed him.”

  Only the people in this room would ever know that the king would have died even if Emmerson hadn’t decapitated him.

  Four of the soldiers were pointing their guns at Emmerson, Frederick, Lucas, and Henry but it was clear they were unsure of how to proceed now that King Jeremiah was dead and their captain had fallen to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

  “Your king is dead! Lay down your weapons,” my father repeated and this time one of the soldiers lowered his gun and slowly kneeled. Like a set of dominos, the other soldiers followed while the king’s friends backed away.

  “Not so fast!” I blocked their way and Lucas and Frederick were quick to form a wall with me. “Didn’t Jeremiah mention there were six spears out front?” I pointed to Jeremiah, “One.” My finger continued to the captain who lay lifeless on the floor. “Two.” My eyes came back to Eli, Carl, and Bruce, who were all pale when I counted. “Three, four, and five.”

  “That sounds about right.” Lucas nodded.

  “Detain these men!” Carl shouted to the soldiers in a last attempt at using his former power.

  Emmerson roared at them. “Don’t you fucking dare! King Jeremiah was a disgusting human being and these men are rats for terrorizing innocent women. Each of you knows that what happened here was a disgrace to the Northlands.”

  The soldiers exchanged glances and even if none of them verbalized it, it was clear that they agreed.

  “I’m ordering you to put handcuffs on them, right now.”

  The guards followed Emmerson’s order and placed Carl, Eli, and Bruce along the wall, where they were pushed to sit down.

  My dad moved to the table and picked up a glass of water. “Before we leave this room, we should eat and drink. We might have to fight to convince a few that Emmerson is the rightful ruler now.”

  Emmerson reached up his hands to Wilma, who let herself fall into his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck. “Did you see it?”

  “I saw, babe, and I’m so proud of you.”

  “He was going to kill all of you. I couldn’t let him, so I tricked him and…”

  Emmerson swallowed her last words with a powerful kiss on her forehead.

  I moved to the table and began eating from the trays of food that hadn’t been sprayed with blood. Around me the couples were kissing and hugging. Even Henry was holding Marni tight against his chest and placing kisses on her hair.

  My father sat down at the table and pulled my mother onto his lap. She was feeding him and they smiled at each other.

  “Are you sure you want to be the ruler?” I asked Emmerson while picking up a turkey drumstick. “It’s a lot of work with all the people plotting to kill you to gain power for themselves.”

  “I’ll be like Dawson McGreggor. He ruled until he was old enough to pass on the responsibility to his son.”

  “Yeah, but he’s the only one. Every other ruler has met an untimely death.”

  Emmerson pushed out his chest. “Then I’ll be the second one.”

  Taking a bite of my drumstick, I blinked at Wilma. “I’m sure that with you by his side, Emmerson will be invincible.”

  She raised her chin. “That’s right. You men should never underestimate us women.”

  I turned my head to Henry and Marni, who were talking in low voices. “Did you hear that, Henry?”

  He looked over. “What?”

  “Wilma just pointed out that no man should ever underestimate how far a woman will go to defend herself or the people she loves.”

  He nodded and kissed Marni again.

  The food and beer filled me up with new energy and when Emmerson led the way down to the courtyard where people had turned up to witness our execution, he walked with a swagger and confidence onto the podium built for King Jeremiah to tower above his people.

  “There’s been a change of plans. You see, King Jeremiah wanted to make Wilma his queen. I agree that she would be a fantastic queen but the problem is, she’s already married.” In a dramatic way, Emmerson held up Jeremiah’s bloody head in the air.

  The cameras were pointed straight at him and would be doing a live broadcast to the whole country. Emmerson pointed to them.

  “I am your new ruler, and if you want to say goodbye to your old king you can find his head on a spear outside the palace where he planned to have all our heads.”

  Wilma walked up to stand next to Emmerson and he placed his other arm around her while still holding up the head of Jeremiah. “This is the head of the despicable, sick man who has tyrannized us for years. He hurt not just my wife, but her sisters, her mother, and Starr too. I’m fucking proud to be the king slayer.”

  The people who had come to see the execution were listening and moved closer.

  “Wilma, why don’t you tell them what happened?”

  In her own words, Wilma explained how the women had been paired with new men before their first husbands were dead. She was thundering about the women being stripped of their right to choose their own husbands and how they had fought against the unfairness of it all.

  “That’s right. Wilma stabbed Jeremiah with a knife in his throat. That’s what you get for messing with a strong Northwoman.”

  Wilma smiled like she had just been told she’d aced a science test.

  “Jeremiah touched my woman, so I cut off his head.” Again, Emmerson dangled the bloody head of Jeremiah and in that moment, I was grateful that Devina wasn’t here to see it.

  For a sweet Motlander like her this would all seem brutal and primitive. But there was something deeply satisfying in seeing our tormenter reduced to almost nothing.

  The people had come for executions and cheered when Bruce and Eli were shot dead and decapitated. The cheers went crazy when it was Carl’s turn. As the tax collector, he and his staff were disliked for setting fire to houses of people who couldn’t pay.

  None of the three men had any last words before they ended their time on earth with their heads impaled upon spears.

  “Tomorrow you will wake up to a new dawn and a much better world than what Jeremiah had to offer you. I will lead you and care for you with my beautiful queen by my side.” Emmerson held up Wilma’s hand and smiled as the crowd cheered.

  “Can you believe these people?” Frederick muttered in my ear. “They came to see us die and now they’re cheering for one of us to be their new ruler.”

  “Maybe they’re afraid that we’ll kill them if they don’t cheer.”

  Frederick shrugged and pulled Starr closer to him. “Or maybe they were longing for change just as much as we were.”

  “Hmm.”

  “You know what this means, right?” Frederick gave me a small smile. “You’re in a good position to ask a favor of the new ruler.”

  I raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Is your mind clouded from this chaos?” Frederick reached out a hand and shook my shoulder. “If Devina came to this side of the border, she might be allowed to marry a man of her own choice without a tournament.”

  “But there would be a war if Devina came here. The Motherlands would demand her back.”

  Starr and Frederick were watching me with sympathy on their faces.

  “You knew about Devina?” I asked Starr.

  “Yes, Frederick told me after Wilma’s tournament.”

  “It was a secret,” I scolded him, but he just shrugged.

  “She’s my wife and I trust her.”

  Fuck, I wanted what they had so badly. Sucking in a deep breath, I declared, “You’re right. I’m going to go after her.”

  Frederick gave a nod. “You do what you have to do, but just be careful.”

  “Will you explain it to the others? I might be gone for a while if I have to track her down in the Motherlands.”

  Starr stopped me when I backed away. “Tyton.”

  “Mmm.”

  “Be sure to shower first before you go after her. You all kind of stink.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Last Letters

  Tyton

  When I got back to my house only the dusk lit up my path as I ran straight to the green belt behind our house hoping to find more letters from Devina. She had told me she would be back on December 30th and that was yesterday. If the stars were with me, she wouldn’t have left yet.

  There were four bottles with letters expressing how she wanted to meet with me and talk. Reading her letters, I felt sick to my stomach from seeing how the woman I loved had come back sooner than expected and begged me to answer her.

  Did she come back because she missed me?

  I closed my eyes when I read her conclusion that I was angry with her and no longer cared.

  Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I’m giving over the house at noon and then I have to leave. You don’t know how much I wish I could stay and wait for your anger to cool down, so we could talk.

  Noon. Dammit, it was close to nine in the evening and she would be gone now. I reread the next paragraph with my heart hurting.

  Please forgive me for causing you the pain that would make you hold a grudge so deep that you continue to ignore me and refuse to write me back.

  For what it’s worth, I think of you constantly, and I meant it when I said that I love you.

  Devina

  I love you too!

  I looked up at the tall wall and calculated in my mind how long a rope I’d need to get across. Flying over with my drone would draw unwanted attention so I’d better do it as simply as possible.

  The thorn bushes on their side would tear at my clothes but if I wore gloves and thick shoes, I should be able to rappel down.

  “Step back from the border.” The voice was female and made me look around to see a small drone approaching. I frowned and shoved my letters into my pocket.

  “Step away from the border, now! This drone is armed.”

  Two other drones came up fast and I took one step back.

  “Walk away from the border. There’s a twenty-meter no-trespassing zone.”

  I scoffed. “Maybe on your side. But on this side, the land belongs to me.”

  “Step back!”

  I’d never seen these drones before and felt annoyed as hell. In the story Devina and I had written, Mark had used a simple rope with a hook to climb the wall. It had never been a question to me how I’d get across it since it was ultimately just a tall wall. These little drones were fucking with my plan.

  “This is a no-trespassing zone.”

  “Where did all these drones come from?” I didn’t expect the voice to answer, but it did.

  “Border security has been enhanced and these drones have the means to harm anyone who tries to climb the wall.”

  “What do you mean harm? Aren’t you people supposed to be pacifists?”

  “We will numb you. It’s not lethal but if you climb the wall you might hurt yourself falling down.”

  “Who am I talking to?”

  “This is border patrol officer Tanya Banner. I’m going to ask you one last time, step back from the wall.”

  “All right, Tanya.” I knew she could see me via the cameras in the drones. “I’m leaving.”

  Backing away, I headed for my loft considering how I would get to Devina. Those drones were a nuisance, but they wouldn’t hold me back. I would find a way around, over, or under that wall, and once I did, I would track down Devina and convince her that we belonged together.

  Coming close to death had made me sure of one thing. I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t do everything in my power to make Devina mine.

  The dusk gave me enough light to find my way into the hay barn and up the stairs to my apartment, where I headed straight for the bathroom. My clothes were filthy and sweaty from days of wear. Stripping out of them, I walked into the shower and enjoyed the warm water falling down on me. I wouldn’t give up until I’d found Devina. Worst case, I’d get caught in the Motherlands and returned to the North, but with Emmerson as the new ruler he wouldn’t kill me.

  If the Motlanders decided to keep me and send me to one of their places of reflection, I could always leave. According to Devina those places weren’t guarded very well.

  Devina’s letters had been painful to read, but at least her sweet declaration of love gave me hope that I could convince her to come back here with me. All I needed was to find her among the one point five billion people on their side of the border.

  Despite the daunting task, I began whistling because a few hours ago, I’d been facing death. Now that I’d been given a second chance at life, I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste it worrying about all the things that could go wrong.

  When I was done showering, I grabbed a towel and dried myself off while making plans for my mission. If I left now, I could steal old Hansson’s boat and cross over to Devina’s side. A small voice told me it would be wiser to catch some sleep and come up with a solid plan.

  Walking out of my bathroom, I moved to the closet in my room and turned on the light.

  A creaking sound from my bed made me spin around to see Devina sitting in my bed looking like she’d just woken up from a deep sleep.

  I jolted back as if I’d seen a ghost. “What the fuck?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spook you.”

  Gaping, I starred at her, unable to understand how my brain was playing tricks on me.

  “Don’t be angry. I needed to see you.” She pulled the cover higher.

  “How…? When…?” I shook my head and managed to get my legs to move me to the bed.

  “You wouldn’t answer my letters.” Her eyes fell down my naked body and color spread in her cheeks.

  I was touching her arms and shoulders as if to make sure she was real. “Devina, how did you get here? Tell me you didn’t swim.”

  “No, I climbed the wall.”

  “How?”

  “Funny story. The Council banned our book because Motlanders have tried to get over the wall and have gotten injured. My friend Tina is a crime writer and kind of brilliant when it comes to coming up with sneaky plans so to help me, she pretended to be a reader, eager to cross the border. First, we carried a long ladder from our house to the border. Then I hid while she took it the last part of the way and placed it against the wall. Of course, the border patrol drones showed up and warned her to leave, but Tina was amazing. You should have seen the way she began arguing with them that it should be her choice to live in a place where she was free to pursue her art.”

  “What art?”

  “I told you. She’s an author like me, but she writes crime fiction, which isn’t the same after they made it illegal to portray anything that resembles horror or violence. Now the worst she can write about is insurance fraud and identity theft.” Devina seemed nervous and spoke fast.

  “So, after the border control ordered Tina to step away from the ladder, she jogged along the wall leading them away from me, while arguing out loud about the unfairness of it all. All the cameras and drones were fixed on her when she stopped and gave them a speech about freedom. That’s when I took my chance. I’ve never run so fast or climbed a ladder so quickly. There wasn’t any time to be scared. I just did what Tina had told me to do and used the hook-ended rope to climb down on the other side. It took less than two minutes and I could still hear Tina arguing with the border patrol further down when I released the hook and ran to your house.”

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” I raised my hands to touch her hair, letting the long strands slide through my fingers, with disbelief that I was touching her. “You know the Motherlands are going to ask to have you returned, right?”

 

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