Chapter 40. Murder Again?

Chapter 40. Murder Again?

Nolie POV
“No one’s coming,” I whispered, my cheek pressed into the dirt. The knife hovered above me, glowing red, heat already kissing my skin. “I told him not to follow. I told them all. Fuck.”
The boy’s breath rained hot over my face. He grinned, tobacco-stained teeth gleaming. “Do not Scream.”
I snapped. My knee shot up, smashing between his legs.
He howled, folding, body jerking back. I rolled, gasping, scrambling for space. My hand hit the packet in my pocket—The pills, the ones i got at the workers quarters in Verlin’s Estate
Instinct took over. I ripped it open with my teeth. He lunged again, cursing, grabbing at my hair. I shoved the powder straight into his mouth, my hand clamping his jaw shut.
“Swallow it, you bastard!” I screamed.
He choked, gagged, spit spraying across my cheek. He clawed at my wrist, tried to cough it out, but the powder coated his tongue. He gagged harder, eyes bulging.
“You” He coughed, spat white dust, face red. “What the fuck did you—” His words broke in a strangled wheeze.
I shoved him off, rolling away, dirt and hay sticking to my arms. Smoke curled thick around us, hotter now, flames climbing the beams.
“You bitch!” He staggered, slamming into a post. The knife clattered from his grip. His whole body shook.
I ran, searching for a way out. The barn felt smaller by the second, the air heavy, choking.
He staggered after me, still laughing through coughs. “Think… that stops me?!” His laugh cracked, ugly, spit flying. “Arjona owns me. I’ll finish this even if I burn!”
The fire snapped louder, hay bursting into flame. My eyes burned. My chest screamed with each inhale. I coughed, stumbled, palms slick with sweat.
“Zorak” I whispered, choking. “Please”
But I remembered my own damn words. Don’t follow me. I’ll take a while. Leave me alone.
No one was coming.
My sisters weren’t here. It was all a lie.
He lunged again, knife back in his hand, glowing hot. “Let me ruin you!”
I ducked, grabbed a handful of burning hay, and shoved it at his face.
He screamed, clawing at his eyes as sparks snapped across his cheek.
I stumbled toward the far wall, saw a crack of moonlight through old wood panels. A gap. An exit. I shoved at it with my shoulder, wood splintering under the force.
Behind me, his voice roared. “You whore! You’ll pay” Then a crash as he slammed into the floor, coughing, spitting, convulsing.
The fire swallowed the barn, heat licking my skin.
Somewhere beyond the walls, A voice barked her name. She thought she imagined it—until she heard it again, low and furious: “Nolie.”
I shoved again, boards breaking, and squeezed through. Cold night air slapped me hard.
The roof cracked above me. A burning beam gave way, crashing down, sparks raining across my back as I clawed through the gap. The heat bit into my skin. If I’d been a second slower, it would’ve buried me.
I collapsed into the dirt, coughing so hard I tasted blood. My whole body shook. I crawled forward on my hands, gasping, when arms caught me.
It was Strong and Familiar.
“I knew it,” Zorak growled. His face was dark with fury, smoke smudging his jaw. “I knew you’d get yourself killed.”
I sagged into him, choking. “I told you… don’t follow.”
“And you thought I’d fucking listen?” He scooped me up like I weighed nothing, cradling me against his chest. “You smell like smoke, woman. Like fire. You’re lucky I came.”
My lips trembled. “No one was there. It was all a trap.”
His grip tightened, voice low and dangerous. “Arjona.”
I buried my face in his shirt as the barn cracked, flames spilling out the roof.
He carried me fast, down the back path, away from the main crowd. His stride was long, furious, like he could outrun the smoke itself. I clutched his shirt, shaking.
“Put me down,” I croaked.
“Shut up.” His jaw was stone. “You almost burned alive because you think I take orders from you?” His glare cut down at me. “Next time you tell me not to follow, I’ll put a leash on you and drag you myself.”
The night filled with shouts—guards, medics, police rushing in with stretchers. The barn groaned behind us, half its roof caving in under the fire. Sparks shot into the air, smoke rolling like a storm.
And then I saw him.
The boy. His body hauled out on a stretcher, face blackened with soot. His hand hung loose, limp, fingers dragging in the dirt.
Dead.
His hand slipped from the stretcher, fingers black with soot and something darker. My stomach lurched. Was it fire that killed him… or the powder I forced down his throat..or someone else clearing their tracks ? Was this self-defense… or murder all over again?
The medics barked orders“Clear! He’s gone, he’s gone!”—but their voices were already background noise.
My whole body went cold.
“Was it me?” I whispered, barely a breath. My throat felt cut open. “Was it the fire… or the drugs?”
Zorak stopped walking. Looked down at me, his eyes sharp and cutting. “What did you do, Nolie?”
I shook my head, trembling. “I don’t know… I don’t know.”
But inside, my gut twisted. I had killed before. I had sworn I wouldn’t again. And now—now another body lay on the dirt, limp and gone, because of me.
I buried my face in Zorak’s chest, clutching the lapel of his jacket. The heat of the barn fire burned behind us, the smell of smoke curling through the night.
One thing was sure: I was in trouble. Big trouble. And for the first time since this nightmare started, I prayed—not for my sisters, not for myself, but that boy. That maybe he hadn’t died from the drugs in his mouth.
Because if he had… then my hands were bloodied all over again.