Kira's pov
The air in my cell had a taste to it,stale, thick, and metallic. Like blood clinging to old steel.
I'd stopped keeping track of the days. The walls didn't change. The food tray came and went like clockwork, untouched most of the time. Sleep came only in slivers, and silence, once a comfort, had become a cruel companion.
But that morning,or maybe it was still night,the silence cracked.
Voices. Shouting. A rumble that shook the concrete beneath me.
I pushed myself off the cot and staggered to the small, grated window that overlooked the east side of the compound. The glass was smudged, scratched, and grimy, but I could see enough.
Crowds. A flood of them.
Some held signs. Others waved flags. Their chants rolled up through the air like thunder.
Traitor.
Hero.
Scapegoat.
"Murderer!"
"Free Kira!"
The words clashed in the open space like two storms colliding. My stomach clenched.
The news had leaked.
