shirt of a stranger, still uncomfortably warm with his body heat, I hesitated for a second, then put it on—it was better than being half-naked.
Escorted back to my cage, I greedily drank half of the water from the bottle Amira had left for me, then ate the oatmeal with my hand since she hadn’t brought a spoon. Meanwhile, my cage was loaded into the truck.
As soon as I heard the doors close and felt the movement of the vehicle being brought into motion, I lifted the edge of the rug and searched for Zeph’s tank. Despite the darkness inside, I spotted its large shape, draped in yellow, and exhaled with relief that we were still on the same vehicle. The tank stood too far for me to reach it this time, though.
With a sigh, I curled up on the floor again, waiting for whatever was to come next.
I ASSUMED IT WAS ANOTHER fair, in the United States, most likely. Possibly some large state fair, judging by the number of days we stayed there. As soon as we had arrived, my cage was placed somewhere in the bowels of the tents. The excitement beyond the fabric walls reached me only as a distant humming noise of the crowds.
Radax gave me a stern warning look, before covering the cage with the rug again.
I knew what that warning meant: I was not to yell for help.
It was very tempting to do so, since I assumed a number of visitors passed through the tents, daily. Even as I never heard anything beyond the background noise of the crowd, there was a chance someone might hear me if I screamed loud enough.
Radax would still get to me first if I screamed, before any visitors would. He knew the interior layout of the tents much better than them.
The freedom seemed to be so close, separated just by a piece of striped fabric. Yet as far away as ever.
Every day of the fair, Amira brought me a bowl of porridge each morning and night, and a sandwich at lunch. I tried to speak with her almost every time. Especially if no one happened to be around, but she only retreated into the voluminous scarf around her neck and scurried away as fast as she could.
If I hadn’t heard her speak before, I would’ve believed she was completely mute.
I still had no idea about Radax’s plans for me. Once he’d placed me in that small dusty room, which seemed to be away from everything, I didn’t see him again. Madame had not come by, either, making me wonder if she even knew I was there.
Then one day, when Amira came to pick up my bowl after dinner, I heard a loud squealing noise dashing our way.
“Oh, you little spawn of Satan!” Madame exclaimed somewhere close. Way too close, as Amira’s face paled with an expression of utter horror.
Quickly, she shoved the empty bowl between some crates nearby and yanked at the rug to cover my cage. Its edge caught somewhere, though, and in her haste, she couldn’t make it come down all the way, leaving a gap for me to see through.
The squealing intensified. The noise pierced my ears when a flush of pale pink dashed under the curtain in the entrance and into the room.
“You come here.” Madame burst in as well, chasing the two-headed piglet. “Oh good, you’re here.” She exhaled with relief at the sight of Amira. Winded, she tucked a strand of her bright red hair behind her ear and smoothed her hands over her richly embroidered white blouse. “Can you catch him?”
Amira nodded, diving after the pig.
Trez appeared in the doorway. His gaze crossed with mine. The resentment in his eyes pressed heavily on my chest.
“Is this her?” Madame’s glanced over her shoulder to him, advancing to the cage.
He nodded, satisfaction settling over his face.
So, Madame didn’t know I’d been traveling with her show. Until now.
Did Trez just rat me out to her? Why would he do this? What had I done to him?
The next moment, the rug flew off, and I came face to face with Madame herself. Her expression left no doubt—she was furious.
“What is she doing here?” She moved on Amira. “And how, by gods, is she still alive?”
Trembling like a leaf, Amira backed up all the way to the furthest wall in the room.
“It was Radax,” Trez offered, with a gratified smirk. “He disobeyed your order and left her alive.”
“Radax!” Madame yelled, then turned back to Amira. “Were you