Chapter 112: The Stolen Diamond

People were everywhere.

They crowded the streets, moving between wooden stalls overflowing with fruits, fabrics, weapons, herbs, livestock, and all sorts of things Della couldn’t even recognise. Vendors shouted over one another, customers bargained loudly, and tens of people brushed against her shoulders as they walked past in less than ten seconds.

Della’s heart hammered, and she immediately turned around. The two men who had dragged her here were gone, already blended into a crowd surrounding her.

Della twisted as much as her bound hands allowed, searching through the endless sea of bodies. There were simply too many people. Some were tall enough to block her entire view, while others moved so quickly that she couldn’t tell one person from another.

Then two women walked past her, carrying baskets that looked considerably lighter than they had probably been earlier.

"Thank the Moon, we managed to get everything before the afternoon rush became unbearable," One complained.

"Afternoon rush?" The other snorted. "Look around you. It’s already unbearable."

Della’s head turned toward them.

"At least we’re almost done," the first woman continued. "They said traders from the neighbouring towns started arriving before sunrise."

"Of course they did. It’s the biggest market day of the year. Everyone comes here for this."

Della’s stomach dropped. The biggest market day of the year?

Her gaze swept across the enormous crowd again, and it suddenly made sense why there were so many people.

And there were still several hours before sundown.

Della swallowed.

Her cloak still covered most of her body, and her hands remained tightly bound behind her back. She probably looked like nothing more than some unfortunate woman who’d gotten herself into trouble.

But where were the men?

Della turned around again.

Had they simply brought her here to dump her in the middle of...this? What could be the reason behind it?

Anyway, she was more interested in untying her hands and leaving this place before the crowd finally crushed her.

She started to move against the crowd, desperate to find her way out of this place.

She squeezed through people, brushed shoulders with countless of them and squeezed even more. Her hands weren’t letting her move quickly enough, and it was very uncomfortable, but she was managing.

Della barely made it ten steps before someone suddenly stepped directly into her path, "Hey!"

She stopped to see a broad man standing in front of her, his face already twisted with outrage like he was seconds away from shoving his claws deep into her head.

"You!" He growled again.

"Do I know you?" She looked at him, but he was still as furious as ever, "I think you’ve got the wrong person!"

He grabbed her cloak before she could move past him, and Della was jerked backwards. "Let go of me!"

"You think you can just steal from my stall and walk away?"

"What?" Della stared at him. "I didn’t steal anything!"

The man’s voice suddenly rose above the surrounding noise, "She stole from me!"

Several heads turned.

"What are you talking about?" She demanded. "I don’t know who you are and I haven’t even been near your—"

"The diamond!" The man snapped. "The large one in the silver necklace! I saw you take it!"

Della’s eyes widened, "Are you insane? I don’t have your diamond!"

"You absolutely do!"

"I don’t!"

The man’s accusation had already attracted more people. A few vendors abandoned their stalls entirely, while customers began gathering around them.

Della looked around nervously.

She hated this.

She hated having this many eyes on her.

"Hand my diamond over now, and maybe I’ll just pretend all this never happened," The man snapped again.

"I can’t hand over what I don’t have. I didn’t take your necklace, I swear!"

"Really, you wanna do this?" He suddenly moved closer to him, and she stumbled backwards again. Without her arms free, she almost fell back.

That sudden movement had the cap of her cloak falling away from her face, revealing her to the crowd.

And then someone whispered, "Wait...is that her?"

Della froze.

"That’s the Rotblood, isn’t it?"

Her blood ran cold.

The whispers multiplied almost instantly.

"That’s Della?"

"The Rotblood?"

"I heard she awakened, but her powers are gone again,"

"Thank the Moon Goddess for that! But why on earth is she still alive?"

"After everything that’s happened?"

"Why hasn’t anyone killed her yet?"

The anger in some of those voices was unmistakable. She couldn’t even begin to describe the hate and spite that poured out of every voice, and it made her feel like she was surrounded by wolves.

Wolves that were ready to bite.

The diamond merchant grabbed her cloak again, "I know what I saw!" he shouted. "She came past my stall, reached over the display, and took it!"

"I didn’t!"

"Search her, then!" Someone yelled.

"What?" She backed away again, but then she was going to bump into someone if she took another step back, "I didn’t take anything."

"If you’re telling the truth, let us search you!"

"Absolutely not!"

The man reached toward her and Della twisted away, but with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn’t shove him properly. Her shoulder slammed into someone’s chest instead.

"Don’t touch me!" The person spat, shoving her back.

"Empty your pockets!" The merchant yelled again.

"I said I don’t have anything!"

Someone from the crowd shouted, "Search her! Grab her and search her!"

Della’s breathing became ragged, "No. Get away from me!"

She tried to push through the crowd, but someone suddenly seized her from behind, "I got her!"

Della screamed and struggled violently, kicking both legs behind and around, "LET GO!"

The man holding her pinned her arms even tighter against her back while another grabbed at her cloak.

"Stop!" Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

Terror crawled up her throat till she could taste it on her tongue, and something was beginning to tell her this wouldn’t end well.

A hand plunged into one of her pockets, and then the hand emerged again, and this time it was holding something.

Della went completely still.

Something glittered between the man’s fingers.

A diamond.

Large.

Clear.

Beautiful enough to catch the sunlight and scatter it across dozens of horrified faces.

Silence swallowed the crowd, with everyone staring at it. Including Della, who was now beginning to understand the reason behind them bringing her to a marketplace.

"My diamond!" The merchant cried, "This is it! I knew she stole it!"

People immediately began murmuring.

"That’s it."

"That’s the one."

"That’s his famous diamond."

"I’ve seen it before."

"No," Della began shaking her head violently, praying the man holding her would let go, "I don’t know how that got there!"

"Liar!" Tens of people snapped at her..

Della stared at the diamond as if it had materialised from thin air. She hadn’t put it there, she knew she hadn’t. Then it must have been...

Had Beatrice’s men planted it on her?

Or had Beatrice herself done it while she’d been unconscious?

It didn’t matter to anyone. What mattered now was getting herself out of this dire situation.

"I swear by the Moon, someone put that there!!" She was shaking now, and her voice cracked.

No one moved.

No one believed her.

"Why would anyone do that?" Someone shouted.

"You’re just a rotblood and a thief!"

"Are you gonna awaken and strangle us too?"

The entire market was looking at her now.

Hundreds of faces.

Hundreds of eyes.

And they did not look like they would be letting go of her at all.