THE HUNT

Fourteen

    "I see you've found a new brute." Armitage spits, shooting me a glare as he enters the throne room, then extends the look to the rest of the Knights of Ren, who line the walls as usual. I try to brush off the sting of his words. He has no way of knowing who I am beneath my mask. Ren instructed me to perch on the wide arm of his throne, and despite the ridiculousness of it, I obeyed.

    "Congratulations." Ren leans forward, face hard. "You have eyes."

    "Why am I here?" The General asks, clearly exasperated already.

    "Because apparently you don't have ears."

    "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about."

    "I gave you orders not to see the girl." Ren says, eyes narrowed.

    "This is about Hunter?" He asks. After a moment he shakes his head, laughing. "Don't you have better things to worry about?"

    "She's mine, Hux." He snaps, standing. My face heats underneath the mask, and he stalks towards the general. "I gave you orders."

"She had a dislocated rib, Supreme Leader." He stiffens, lifting his chin. "She couldn't breathe."

"She is not your responsibility." He growls.

    "Well if she's yours, then you're failing miserably." Hux retorts. "Your abuse is killing her."

    "I haven't touched her." Ren grits. A lie. "Her training with my Knights is none of your business." Hux blinks, obviously surprised that that's what I've been doing. "I don't have time for this." He sits back in his throne, gesturing towards the general. Immediately, Vicrul steps forward, lifting his scythe off his shoulder.

    What are you doing? I ask in my mind, hoping that he's open to what I'm saying as the general takes a few steps back.

    "You asked for safety." He replies. "I told you. He's not a good man."

    Neither are you. I think.

    "That is very true." He sits back, watching as Vicrul swings the blunt end of his weapon into the General's stomach. I flinch.

    Why are you hurting him? I avert my eyes.

    "He won't stop trying to see you until I teach him a lesson." I wince as Hux drops to his knees.

    Don't you think that's enough?

    "Vicrul." Ren's voice rings through the room, and the knight draws back, returning to his original spot. "Get up Hux." He orders. The general stands, stumbling forward a bit. "You can leave now."

    Hux glares at the Supreme Leader, but retreats from the room anyway. The door slides open, and he smooths his hair before exiting.

    "Vicrul." He turns to the Knight as all six of them step forward to return to their usual place on the stairs, shedding their helmets. "What is the status of Marinda, Massif, and Bazzra?"

    "They'll return within the next few hours." He says, grunting as he sits. "Finally."

    "Good. The mission was successful?"

    "Of course it was." Vicrul leans his head back so his face is pointed to the ceiling. "I don't think they've ever had a mission go wrong."

    "Of course their missions go wrong." Kuruk laughs crudely. "They just know how to make it look planned."

    "They do better than any of you ever have." Ren says, reaching his hand around to cup the back of my neck, causing chills to race down my spine. He deactivates my mask, revealing my face. "I'm sure Vicrul will be very excited for Marinda's return." His remark is met with chuckles from the other knights, who shove him with their shoulders. Ren removes his hand from my neck, placing it on the armrest.

    "You can leave if you want." He says quietly into my mind. "There's nothing else to do here."

    Why did you want me to see you beat him up? I ask, turning my body so I'm facing him, boots resting on his thighs, daring him to push me off. He doesn't. Do you really hate him so much?

    "Obviously." He chuckles softly. "It's also what your job will be if he ever tries to contact you again."

    Sounds fun. I flinch as the doors slide open without warning.

    Ren's hand flies to my face, forcing me to look him in the eye. He activates my mask, effectively hiding my face from view. After a moment, he lets me go, rolling his eyes as the Knights of Ren begin to laugh.

    "What have I said about masking yourselves, ladies?" He says, exasperation rich in his voice. "Just because you're force-sensitive doesn't mean it is allowed for you to hide from me."

    "Apologies, Ren." A new, heavily accented voice echoes through the room. "We only do it because we enjoy seeing the boys scramble." I turn, seeing three figures, women, I assume, standing in the doorway, one of them with long, dark grey lekku protruding from her helmet, the front of which she detaches to reveal a heavily scarred face. One of the others, with icy white braids running down her shoulders, pulls off her own helmet as she walks towards the group. Vicrul stands, meeting her in the middle of the room with a tight hug before pressing a kiss to her mouth. He says something to her quietly and she laughs.

    "What happened to a few hours, Vicrul?" Ren asks, resting his elbow on my knee.

    "Oh we lied about our ETA." The last one says, also the last one to pull off her helmet. "Thought it would be funny." She approaches us, and Ren lifts his arm off my legs. As she gets closer, she casts her gaze to me. "Who's this, Ky?" She perches on the other armrest, brow furrowed slightly.

    "It's okay, Hunter." Ren waves his hand, and I reach my fingers up to deactivate my mask. "This is our newest addition."

    "I've never seen her before." She leans forward, squinting at me. "She doesn't look like a killer." She puts her hand on Ren's shoulder, shaking her head. "Did she get a good kill?" After a moment, Ren sighs.

    "She's a special circumstance, Massif."

    "Is the circumstance that she's pretty?" She makes a face. "Because we all had to kill our parents or something to get in."

    "No, she's a spy."

    "Is she now?" The girl, Massif, raises a brow. "I don't sense the shadow in her."

    "The force, Massif." Ren rubs his temples. "And no, she is not force-sensitive."

    "Then she can't be a Knight of Ren!" She protests, shooting a glare towards the other two women who have begun to approach.

    "I think you're just jealous, muchi." The Twi'lek says, draping her arms over Massif's shoulders. "Hi, I'm Bazzra." She sticks her hand out, and I take it carefully. "This indignant brute is Massif, and the lovebird over here is Marinda." I nod wordlessly, and Ren clears his throat.

    "Bazzra, don't lean over me."

    "Right." She leans back, pulling Massif away as well. "Sorry, boss."

    "Go get freshened up." He orders, waving his hand. "All of you, go. I'm tired of your faces." His words are cruel, but he has a rare grin on his face, mimicked by the others. "I'll see you at dinner."