Fireblood

THIRTY-EIGHT

Before morning brings the light, I wake Hadley, take her to the Rebel leader’s tent, and introduce her to Fallon and Silas. Fallon decides Hadley will help Silas monitor the Taken Outside, and I thank her for keeping my friend safe from the coming war.

As I drink a cup of stout, Rebel-brewed coffee, Silas shows her how to work the monitors. “You can pan all areas, but only watch a section at a time.” He taps a key. “Hit record for the unwatched sectors, to check later. Make sure nothing goes undetected.”

The screen slowly scans the Rebel camp, and I latch onto the corner of the table and lean in closer. I point to the screen. “Silas, stop. Who’s that?”

He hits another key, and the monitor zooms in. Cecily. She’s here in the camp, and she’s wounded.

Glancing at Hadley, I set down my mug and ask, “You brought the nobles?”

“I brought all those who wanted to escape.” She looks up at me, her mouth set in a determined line. “This courtier found me. That was when I knew my efforts had reached nearly too widely and it was time to go. I didn’t know which nobles would turn us in to the Force.”

Fallon lays her hand on Hadley’s shoulder. “You did the right thing. I believe most of the nobles are siding with the king.” She looks at the screen. “I wonder what made this one decide to leave her lavish home.”

That’s my question exactly, especially since I know Cecily still has feelings for Sebastian. Now I’m concerned Hadley’s escape was too easy, and maybe Sebastian has his own spies among us.

“I’ll be back,” I tell them, and Devlan joins my side before I duck under the tent flap.

He walks with his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Do you think she’s here for him?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.” I look up at him. “Let me talk to her alone first.”

Nodding, he moves out of sight before I walk up to her.

Cecily is seated on the pine straw, a fire crackling at her back. “Cecily,” I say, and her eyes snap to me. “Are you all right?”

She stares at me a moment longer, her eyes roaming over my black pants. Her gaze drops, and she cups her arm. “I was attacked.” Her voice breaks.

Seating myself on the ground beside her, I say, “Let me look at it.” She attempts to roll up her dress sleeve, but it’s too tattered. Grunting, she rips it the rest of the way off. “What was it?” I inspect the deep slashes—claw marks. They’re red and swollen.

“I’m not sure,” she says, her eyes on the wound. “It was big and black. It looked like a larger, scarier version of a dog.” She sniffs. “This man saved me. He killed it.”

I nod. “And he brought you? That’s how you came to be here?” I dip my head, trying to find her eyes.

She meets mine. “Nay. I was already on my way here when this happened. After Sebastian threw me out of Court”—she looks away—“I went into town, and overheard a group in a shop talking about a safe haven.” Her eyes, hard and accusing, flick to me. “How did you come to be here?”

Looking to Devlan, I find him at the treeline and motion toward her arm. He turns and goes to find antiseptic and a bandage. I release Cecily’s arm, and say simply, “I escaped.” She lowers her eyes. I’m not sure if she knew I was locked away, but she doesn’t probe. “Sebastian tossed you out of Court.”

“He’s different.” Her voice hitches. “He’s always been mischievous and mean, and I liked that.” She looks at me. “It’s strength. What a strong man should be. But this is…he is different. Something has changed in him.”

I’m not sure I agree with her claim. Not having grown up in Court around Sebastian, I can’t say whether this has always been his true nature. Whether he was simply waiting for his father to give him power so he could become the king, or whether something in him has truly given way to a darker half.

Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that Sebastian needs to be stopped. “So, how do I believe you’re not here to spy on the Rebels for him?”

Her blue eyes widen, glistening with intense pain. “I love him,” she says. “But I’m not cruel. I would never do what he did—I’d never have hung that maid. She was nice to me.” She looks down. “I’m not evil.” She bites off the word. “Whatever you may think of me.”

“I don’t think that of you, Cecily,” I say, and take her hand. “I always thought Sebastian a fool for not choosing you.”

She lifts her head, and a small smile forms on her thin mouth.

A crash sounds from across the camp, and Cecily and I jerk. Shouting echoes off the pines. My eyes follow a group hurrying toward the Rebel leader’s tent. “Time to go,” I tell her, and help her stand.

Maybe I’m a fool myself for trusting Cecily, but I believe her. I trust that her feelings for Sebastian are true, that he’s now hurt her deeply, and that she has no other place to turn. Even if she is working with him, it won’t matter for long.

We reach the disturbance, where Silas and a brute of a man are fighting in the middle of the gathered crowd. Silas swings at him; the man ducks. Fallon attempts to get between them, but they pay her no attention as they continue to fight. Silas lands a punch.

Fallon jumps on a makeshift platform and yells, “Enough!”

The two finally break apart, and two other men pull Silas and the guy toward the front of the crowd.

How can we fight a war when we’re near destroying ourselves?

Fallon presses the loose strands of hair back toward her bun. Then she looks out over the Rebels and citizens. “How long do you think we have before the Force and the king’s knights storm this camp?”

Glancing around, I watch as some heads hang low. Others, in the back of the gathered group, slink farther away. Women wrap their arms around their children. These are not fighters. They’re citizens of a lost era, only wishing to live out their lives in peace.

“We don’t have much time to decide on a course of action before that happens,” Fallon continues. She steps to the front of the platform, her small form shaking. “Do you want King Sebastian in power? Do you want to fear his reign every day, questioning whether that day or the next will be your last? He needs to be stopped.”

A woman steps forward, her skin still dirty from the long trek to camp. “I brought my children here to see a father they haven’t laid eyes on in four years.” The crowd murmurs their understanding. “He’s sacrificed everything already, and now you ask for his life. How can we trust that the king’s army won’t destroy us all? Once we reveal ourselves, we’re all dead.”

The citizens throw heated words toward Fallon. She doesn’t respond but instead looks directly at me. I raise my brows as she points my way.

“Do you recognize her?” she asks them. Warmth splashes my face as all eyes land on me. “She’s Zara Dane. The princess once betrothed to King Sebastian.” Fallon beckons me to join her on the stage, and I shake my head lightly.

Why me?

Fallon waves me forward once more. I breathe in a shaky breath and step up to her side. “What are you doing?” I whisper.

She leans in close. “Trust me.” Turning back toward the crowd, she says, “Zara was a commoner just like you, and the king elevated her, offering her riches and every convenience the realm has to offer. Yet she is here. She has sacrificed just as much as anyone here, because she knows what has to be done.” She looks to me to say something, but my throat closes up. My mind blanks as I stare out over the crowd, taking in each wary expression.

I quickly pull Fallon to my side and whisper, “Where’s Xander?” Where is her second in command, the once-quiet Rebel who revealed his secret public speaking skills just yesterday?

“He’s busy making his own speeches.” She nods once. “This one’s yours to make.”

I swallow the forming lump, and it scrapes my too-dry throat on its way down. Pushing the sudden nausea down with it, I think of my father—the first to stand against the tyranny of King Hart—and pray for his words to speak through me.

“I fear the monsters of Outside,” I say. “I’ve seen the wasteland and its many horrors, and it scares me.” I curl my hands into fists to stop the trembling. “But Karm has its own monsters.”

Heads nod, and agreement ripples through the air. I suck in a breath. “If we don’t face down all of these monsters—the ones stalking our loved ones as well as the ones in power—then we become monsters in our own right by doing nothing. By allowing the enslavement and killing of innocents to continue. I’ve heard the plans King Sebastian has for his realm, and if he succeeds, we’ll not only lose our lives, but the very thing that makes us human.” I raise my head higher. “Our freedom.”

The Rebels and citizens cheer, and my chest relaxes, but are the citizens moved enough to fight? Fallon’s hand slips into mine, and I glance at her as she looks over the people.

A tension-filled silence settles over the crowd.

I look at the planks in the platform, and a fierce madness rises within me. I squeeze Fallon’s hand, and she grips mine back. I look up. “This is our time to stand against the darkness—of Outside and in. Refuse to live in fear. Take a stand. This is no longer a rebellion.” I breathe in. “It’s our revolution.”

The quiet breaks. Shouts sound out like strikes of lightning, cracking against the forest like a whip. The citizens pump their fists in the air right along with the Rebels.

“Will you hide in fear and hand over your lives willingly?” Fallon shouts. “Or will you be the ones to choose your fate?”

My chest blooms with renewed determination as they cheer louder. Purpose sweeps through the camp. I know we may not succeed, but we will take away something Sebastian values more than anything. His power over us.

Once Fallon and Silas have the plan mapped out, the citizens suit up in old armor they’ve scavenged over the years, cast off by the knights. Since they haven’t had the training the Rebels have, they need some kind of protection. It’s the best we can do with so little time. I feel as if I’m in the middle of one of my fantasy books, waiting for a horn to sound and the army to march off toward an open battlefield.

With resolve coursing through my blood, I slide a short-sword into my leather harness. It hangs low on my hip, and its cold metal presses against my thin clothes. I feel empowered.

Never again will I wear the dresses of a princess.

I slip on a pair of black boots and hike them up past my shins to protect against attacks to my legs. Strapping on a leather vest over my black shirt, I prepare for battle.