Page 252 of Seasons of War
The captain rolled his eyes. “Enough of this.” He ripped Lance’s head back, glare on Miya. “I’ll give you a chance to talk. Pass this up, and I won’t offer it again while everything is still attached to him.”
Her stomach rolled. She rose up face-to-face with the captain. “I’ll cooperate entirely when Lance is safe.”
No one spoke for several seconds. Then the captain narrowed his eyes. “Do you understand what’s about to happen?”
She had to talk and not stop. “When you ran the facial recognition, you searched the wrong database. You didn’t find me because I’m restricted. Call your superior officer and have him search the restricted database.”
“I show up in the database,” he said. “Do you have any idea how few people are restricted? You’re insane, aren’t you?” The captain drew his knife. “Perhaps, we need to remove his fingers.”
Tears blurred her vision. “You won’t believe me until you do the search.”
“Crazy bitch.” The captain pushed her back. “Fine. Have it your way.”
“It'll take a few minutes. It doesn’t hurt to run it. You have to—”
“Would someone deal with her? Tell me when she starts to spill the truth.”
Arms locked around her waist. Panic blinded her. Miya pushed and kicked without thought, ripping against the soldier dragging her away.
“You searched the wrong database, you incompetent asshole!” Miya screamed and thrashed. “The restricted database!” She spat, trying her best to make it reach him, but it fell short. “Listen to me. You're about to pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Barely controlled fury strained the captain's expression when he wheeled around for her. “You just lost the offer for mercy. I won’t kill him quickly if you talk. I’m going to enjoy it. You get to decide for how long.”
“Run a search in the restricted database. Someone!”
“Don’t waste your time on her lies.”
“What will the Phaedra say when he finds out you killed the king’s daughter? All because you’re too stupid to do a simple search?”
Everyone fell quiet.
And then laughter erupted.
The captain's shoulders heaved. “We’ve got a royal whore.” He cackled.
“Look it up.” Miya lunged forward, caught against the soldier's arms.
The one holding her shoved her against the wall and gripped her cheeks. “Shut up.”
The captain placed the tip of his knife against Lance’s thigh.
“One of my dad's advisors took me under his wing when my mom died.” Miya jerked her face from the soldier's grip. “He said he'd help me run away, but he just used me to make himself rich and powerful.”
The soldier pushed her again. Miya shrieked as loud as she could until the man grimaced, dropping her.
“I’m talking. Listen up!” Miya shoved past the soldier and marched for the captain. No one even tried to stop her. Her behavior must have seemed so irrational to them that they were stunned. “The United is searching for me because I told them already. You'll look like a fool if you ignore me.”
The captain was watching her with his blade still on Lance, eyes wide.
“Stabbing Lance won’t change the truth. Run the search. If I’m wrong, I’ll stab him myself. What does it hurt to check? I won’t shut up about it until you do.”
“I can call,” a man at the corner of the room said. “Just say the word, Captain.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” the captain said.
“This could mean something big for your career.” Miya touched her heart. “Verify my story and release Lance. If you do, I'm yours. Whatever you want.”
“You’ll only make this more painful for yourself.” The captain nodded at the man in the corner. “Do it. Let’s put this to rest.”
