All Chapters of To Kill Alpha Roderic: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

- RAVENA"I said take off the tunic," Master Volt repeated, those long, spidery fingers twitching around the handles of his iron shears. "Or I will slice the wool right off your back."My heart pounded frantically in my chest. Underneath this grease-stained wool tunic sat three layers of tight linen chest bindings and an ugly, raised scar stamped right into my left shoulder blade, the branded mark the Crimsonridge Pack elders had burned into my flesh, branding me as the Valecrest family killer. One tear in that fabric and my whole life was over.I took a slow, clumsy step backward, dragging my heavy boots across the flagstones, making as much noise as humanly possible."Alright, alright! Hold your horses, Doc!" I rasped, putting on the most obnoxious, whiny Zavier voice I could muster. "I'm unclipping the damn coat! These brass toggles are stuck, okay? I haven't washed this thing since harvest season, and the leather is stiff as a board."I fumbled with the coat toggles, intentionally

- ZAVIERThe distant clatter of boots and screaming on the lower courtyard steps finally faded into a dull, heavy quiet.The battle at the perimeter was over. The Suncrest mercenaries who didn't end up face-down in the icy mud had scrambled back down the mountain pass, leaving the main courtyard.I dragged my feet through the heavy oak door of Roderic’s private study, shutting it behind me with a solid CLICK.My hands were covered in dried mud and black soot, and my shoulders ached from lugging two heavy wooden ammo crates up three flights of stairs. I collapsed into the leather armchair across from his desk, letting my head fall back against the worn leather with a groaning, exhaling breath."Damn it," I muttered to the dark ceiling rafters. "My legs feel numb."Roderic was sitting at his heavy oak desk, his leather mask lying flat on the dark wood beside an unlit oil lamp. Without the visor, his face looked drained. Dark blue smudges sat under his eyes, and the jagged scar running

- RAVENAI pulled the heavy leather ledger out from behind my back and tossed it right onto his lap. The rusted iron bands gave a dull thud against his thighs."Just curious, Chief," I rasped, forcing Zavier's scratchy pitch back into my throat. "From what I heard around the yard, Valecrest's killer was their own precious daughter. Whole story sounded like bullshit, so I wanted to read the official dispatch myself."Roderic didn't look down at the ledger. His amber eyes stayed locked on mine, heavy and unblinking in the dim lantern light."Curiosity gets strays hanged around here," he said softly."Yeah, well, bad sleep habits make me nosey." I shoved my hands deep into my coat pockets and slouched past his chair, my shoulder intentionally brushing his arm as I headed for the dark corridor. "Keep the book. It’s too boring for me anyway."He didn't grab my arm. Luckily, he didn't call for the wardens. But two hours later, right after morning mess call, Franz knocked on my door and told

- RAVENA"Because I was just born different, Chief," I rasped, yanking my wrist out of his grip before my pulse could betray me any further. "Now put your damn tunic back on before you catch a lung chill."I didn't give him time to question me again. I left Roderic in the damp, cooling steam of the bath chamber, my hands still buzzing with the trace of his skin against mine.Two days passed in a tense, uncomfortable blur. The citadel settled back into its freezing winter, but every time I walked past Roderic's study, I felt his eyes tracking me through the open door. I was running out of lies. I was running out of ways to play the sloppy borderland stray when my own skin kept giving me away.By midnight on the third day, a heavy snowstorm blew in off the northern peaks, howling through the stone arches and burying the courtyard under knee-deep drifts.I was tossing a crate of frozen cabbage heads onto the rear supply porch when a sharp, low whistle cut through the whistling wind.Two

- RAVENAThat night, I pulled out the pendant with the silver chain that I always kept stuffed in the front pocket of my trousers.It was a raw, heavy piece of Crimson Gibcasite, wrapped in a crude silver wire that was already starting to tarnish along the loops. The stone itself looked like a drop of dried blood frozen in crystal, dark and cloudy around the edges. But whenever the torchlight caught it just right, a sharp, fiery crimson pulse seemed to flash from deep inside the core. The stone rested against my palm, carrying a soft, steady thrum that felt eerily familiar.I stared at it in the quiet dark of my room, my thumb tracing the rough edges, wondering if this stupid rock had anything to do with the golden freak-show magic that had erupted out of my hands in the clinic.I didn't get time to figure it out.A heavy fist slammed against my door frame, making the iron latch rattle hard against the wood."Zave! Get your boots on!" Instructor Franz’s loud, rough voice barked from