Twisted Metal Heart - Eve Langlais Page 0,51
have to give me a bit more info.”
It wasn’t hard to give him the spiel. “Roark, the king of the Marshlands, self-proclaimed, I should add. He’s a nobody. Came out of nowhere, barely educated, unmarked, but powerful, apparently. Somehow, he convinced the marsh clans to stop fighting each other and the Enclave and band together.” It was kind of impressive.
“Hold on,” Gunner interjected. “You mean we’re not dealing with an Enclave member?”
“Nope. Roark and the united Marsh clans rebuilt this old city. Rumor has it he wants the Marshes to be recognized by the Enclave and declared a sovereign nation so they can build trade channels.” The idea of trading openly with other towns and cities and kingdoms…It blew the mind.
“What does that have to do with us?”
“Nothing. We’re simply used for entertainment. The Marsh king employs the use of tournaments as part of his justice system. Meaning fighting matches with lots of blood.” The kind perfect for venting frustration.
“So we’re under arrest?” Gunner asked. “But I haven’t done anything.”
“It doesn’t take much to be arrested. Turns out Roark is a good ruler because there aren’t enough criminals anymore to please the crowd. So they started conscripting trespassers.”
“I wasn’t drafted into this fight club. Someone sold me,” Gunner remarked.
“Because they found you trespassing. Perfectly legal according to Marsh law.” He’d read the list along with some other books. They treated him remarkably well.
“That is severely fucked up.”
“I don’t know. It’s brutally efficient from what I’ve seen.” Titan couldn’t help his admiration.
“How long have you been here?”
“Too long.” Part of what Riella said made him grumble. He was not sulking. Was he?
“I wish we’d have known you were a prisoner. We thought you’d left and needed time to deal with the accident. We would have come to rescue you.”
“I don’t need rescuing.” The very idea filled him with shame. Did everyone think him useless? This was why he left. It wasn’t the only reason, though. “But I have needed time to come to grips with the fact I’m not dead.”
“Does that mean you’ll come back with me to Haven?”
Did Gunner not know? “Still trying to be funny I see.”
“I’m serious. We are not staying here.”
“Maybe you don’t want to stay, but I gotta say, this place ain’t half bad.”
“It’s a prison.”
“It’s easy,” Titan said softly. People told him what to do and when. No decisions required.
“Have you tried to escape?”
At the query, Titan chuckled. “Why would I? I have everything I need here.” Everything except that spark that used to move him. “So what happened to Haven?”
Gunner’s news widened his eyes.
“Axel led a raid on a dome for real?”
“We took it over, but it was under attack when I got lost.”
“Lost how?”
“Long story. Listen—"
They might have spoken more, but he heard the cadence of boots, meaning visitors. The king and his guard had come to speak to the newest prisoner. Titan remained slouched in the corner half listening, kind of in shock.
The realization Haven hadn’t been destroyed did much to alleviate some of his depression. His friends were alive, and he was being an idiot for moping in the dungeons. More than ever, they needed him, metal limbs or not. Time to win the next fight so he could get out and start living again.
Hours later, the clang of the bars was a familiar sound as the door opened and the fighters were ushered out of their rooms. Time to pretty up for the fights. Couldn’t disappoint the crowd. He limbered himself on the way to the showers.
The king himself came to see him as they prepped Titan to fight. They oiled him, the creamy kind for his flesh, the lubing kind for the metal.
Roark leaned against the wall, indolent and yet deadly. Having spoken to him a few times, usually to refuse an offer of freedom, Titan knew better than to cross this man.
A benevolent ruler with an iron-tight grip. He would judge fairly until you harmed those he considered his own. King Roark, First of the Marshlands, ruler of Eden, named after the ancient garden of paradise, had a method of governance that, while harsh at times, proved effective.
A pity Titan had not had his epiphany earlier. This was just the kind of place Haven needed. And it wasn’t too late. Someone could tell them.
Roark broke the silence. “I hear you refused the offer of a certain lady today.”
He snorted. “That wasn’t an offer. It was her buying off her guilt.”
“So you know who she is.”
“The Emerald queen’s daughter.”
“She’s