of blood and lies ; dystopian

6

the formatting of this book is ODD. it is slightly confusing and the actual plotline does not follow in an arch like traditional books do.

you are presented with issues, and you read to learn about why these issues are presented, while gathering more issues.

if that makes sense.

when you read this book, it is going to be a story. when you REread this book, it is going to be another.

you should be confused, but not TOO confused. for example, Naga hates Karro. you should be confused as to why she hates him, and keep reading to learn why. then, when u reread it, u may understand why she hated him.

but if anything is WAYYY too confusing, like it is interrupting your reading, lmk:))

Present

"I've been here for the past fifty years."

I blinked.

"What did you just say?" I asked, my lips parting. I looked behind him and toward the array of tally marks. They were scratched on the white cushioned wall. Though, there were not 18,250 worth of days scratched behind him.

"You heard me." Karro laid back on the bed. I looked down the length of his abdomen, and how his muscles stretched from the movement.

I looked away from his bare stomach, a muscle jumping in my jaw. He did not deserve a body like the one he'd been granted.

This was all impossible.

His age; the room; the place before this. I scanned the room for any sign of wear, specifically of fifty years worth. The bed was worn and shredded straps held the flimsy mattress in place. But, that was not nearly five decades worth of wear.

He had to be lying.

"No," I snapped. My eyes narrowed. I ran a hand through my hair. I was going to rip the knots out. "You are lying to me. That's impossible. I mean, you still look the exact same as you had when you--."

I stopped. When you left me in that place. I didn't need to speak. He tilted his head, his eyes touching my own. His lips twitched.

When Karro had betrayed The Blood, he had done so by killing almost every Officer in the War Sector. The Blood still mourned the loss of so many Officer's; it was taught in schools as the Day of Death. The day Karro escaped and left nothing but corpses.

I'd watched the footage as my way of training for the mission.

He'd smiled the entire time.

If Karro was smiling, at any point, I believed it would end in death.

Something under my skin turned scolding hot.

He reached for his temples, a bitter laugh slipping out. "You accuse me of lying?"

If I had something to throw, I would have thrown it. My chest was tight. I needed to scream, cry, and lash out. Anything. I needed to relieve the tension building inside of me before I burst.

It was all too much. This room. Him. Me. The Blood. That place. Why did he look the same age as I did? Why didn't we age?

I thought of the place he'd sent me to. Originally, I believed it was hell, and Karro had found a way to bring me to it. It was the same night, repeating over and over. The moon didn't move and the sun never showed itself. It felt like death.

"Why haven't you aged?" I asked, my voice coming out soft. Whatever his answer, it would explain why I hadn't. This was abnormal. Everything about this was wrong.

Karro did not respond. His eyes left my face, traveling down to my feet, and then back. He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand.

His head twisted back to face the ceiling. My blood grew hotter watching his eyes flutter shut, like I hadn't even asked him a question.

I pushed myself from the bed, taking two short strides toward him. "You sadistic fucker, answer me."

Karro mirrored my movements, standing from his bed and stepping directly in front of me. He rolled his shoulders backward, holding himself as highly as I did.

My body shook, rage racking through me. The sight of his face made my body tight, and defensive. Blood was now smeared beneath his nose, where I had kicked him so hard. Even covered in blood, I wanted to hurt him more. He deserved worse than death. I wanted him to be banished to a land of time, as he had me.

"You are one of them. You are a conniving little snake." He took a step forward. I did not cower, rather I held my chin higher. People usually cowered around Karro. "If you think I will ever answer to you, you are mistaken. Stupid fucking girl."

My throat dried, but I showed no sign of it. It was strange hearing him speak so spiteful. I remembered the days he held me as I trembled over something I refused to speak of. As I sobbed, uttering words he did not understand.

It was the guilt of it all. The mission. Him.

My spine straightened. I reminded myself of what made me so angry. He fucking knew. He'd tricked the untrickable. Me.

If I were the Murthaa, in charge of everything to do with the sectors, I would have called for his head.

Specifically, his head with his cock shoved deep down his mouth. I'd find a way to make it a lamp.

I took another step toward him. I pressed my shaky index finger hard into his chest. I sucked in a breath to steady myself. "You left me there. At that place. Alone for so long. You killed them."

I felt a sharp pain rise in my chest. Generals could die. Children though? I wanted to rip off his head.

Something flashed in his eyes. Surprise, if I were not mistaken. I balled my fists, restraining myself. He had no right to act like he did not kill them. They haunted me; Karro haunted me. I'd been alone for too long, with nothing but the memory of The Blood, lifeless bodies, and him.

Something inside of me broke that day, when I discovered what Karro could be.

I thought I'd be able to change him. He had changed me.

Hot anger brewed deep in my belly. My knuckles turned white. Karro blinked, staring down at me with a face that held no emotion. "Our child. You didn't even give her a chance. Just because you had your poor little heartbroken. Fuck. You." I spat at his feet.

My fists came to his chest, pounding hard into it. Again, and again. "Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you."

Karro, surprisingly, did not stop me.

No matter how hard I hit him, it didn't heal the ache in my chest. Not only for our child, but for Karro.

Karro smiled. He grabbed a fistful of my hair. He used it to jerk my head and force my eyes to his. "You don't know anything, Naga."

He pushed me away and returned to his bed. I looked down at him, trembling and tight with too many emotions. He turned over in the bed, his back now to me.

I couldn't focus on hurting him. I was too focused on everything crumbling inside of my head.

"You think I am behind this? That is why you refuse to answer my questions." I moved my finger around, gesturing at the room.

Karro pulled his pillow atop his ear, blocking out any chance of conversation.

I turned away when my jaw began to tremble. I wish I could break his heart again. Harder.