Page 84 of Us Defiant Few

“I’m not telling you shit until I see the man you shot. Is he in a different tent? Where are the others?” Khalani fought to keep the desperation out of her voice.

“The others in your group escaped. We only grabbed the two of you. But it’s funny.” Ansel tilted his head. “He said the same thing about you.”

“So he’s here?” Her heart beat a chaotic rhythm as Ansel’s lips curved into a cruel smile.

“Tell me what I need to know, and I’ll let you see him.”

Khalani’s jaw tightened as he slouched back in his seat like time was an infinite resource.

But the impatience in those blue eyes betrayed his interests. Ansel appeared deeply invested in whatever she knew. She had to choose her words carefully if they had any hope of making it out alive.

“We were traveling across the Death-Zone when we made contact with Desert Spring. They let us stay with them.”

“Traveling from where?”

Khalani hesitated. “Apollo.”

That detail got his attention. Ansel straightened in his chair, leaning forward. “The underground city?”

“Yes.”

“Those people are still alive?”

She furrowed her brow. “Why would you ask that?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Yes. As far as I know, they’re still alive.”

“Interesting,” he mused, deep in thought.

“What is it that you want?” she dared to ask.

Ansel didn’t answer as he casually pulled a sharp blade from his back pocket. She tensed, waiting for the inevitable pain, but he didn’t move to cut her throat. He used the knife to pick under his fingernails. She swallowed at the glinting edge as he finally spoke.

“I want my people to prosper on the surface,” he said. “And once Desert Spring is out of the picture, we can finally start rebuilding. Become more powerful than our ancestors ever dreamed.” His powerful voice strengthened with each word, and the other man in the tent puffed out his chest.

“But what does that have to do with Desert Spring?” She frowned. “They just want peace, too.”

Raucous laughter boomed from both men, and Ansel wiped an invisible tear from the corner of his eye. “Oh, you have no idea, do you? I’m sure they told you my people are cannibals too, right?”

Her silence was answer enough.

“What I thought.”

“But you’re the one trying to kill them!” she shouted. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

She remembered the stench of burning wood. The woman who reached for Khalani’s hand, right before an arrow pierced through her heart.

Ansel sneered. “My only regret is most of them survived. But that won’t last for long. The next raid will end their town. Want to know how I’m so sure?”

Khalani didn’t answer, refusing to take part in his mind games.

“Because you’re going to help me do it,” he said.

At that, she jolted back. “You have no idea who you’re talking to if you think I’d ever help you.”

His awful grin widened.