Chapter 68 #2
When Jai broke down, sobbing into my ear as he hugged me back with fierce intensity, my chest collapsed. I fell to my knees, him with me, and we remained that way for several minutes. Kaval chatted with other members of The Kraanti, but their words were nothing but a blur.
“You smell horrible,” Jai mumbled, the first words to me since our silent ceasefire.
I barked a laugh. “You think living in the dirt has paid you any favors?”
“At least I have that as an excuse.”
We finally broke our hold. “I probably have your pungent odor to thank for tracking you down. I sniffed you out from a mile away.”
Kaval asked, “What have you eaten since you’ve returned south?”
I glanced at him with creasing eyes. “Dried meats mostly. Why?”
He exhaled, tension melting off his face. “Taja is sprinkling miraja crops with iron. Wanted to make sure you’re at full strength. The reports say The Order members left two days ago, returning to the capital, but we wanted to make sure the dust settled before we emerged.”
After living under The Order’s thumb, I didn’t find it hard to believe a leader would treat his subjects poorly. For the first time, I noticed the stockpile of dried beans and breads piled in the corner. “You were well prepared. I’m impressed.”
Kaval grinned to one side. “Thanks. Our network has expanded.” His tone became serious as he stared at me. “There’s about one hundred of us now.”
“Gods, Kaval. What the hell were you thinking? No wonder The Order received word regarding your whereabouts! Your job was to lie low,” I snapped.
“I think you know that preparing was the wiser decision. Besides, I had my big brother looking out for me. Every single time, your communications proved true, and we evaded detection.”
“You started playing with the odds. That’s a dangerous game.” I snarled, angry that he could be so flippant with his and Jai’s safety, let alone their entire group.
“You know I only ever make smart bets.” His blazing smile only stoked my anger.
“While I do appreciate all you’ve done, Dae, truly, we wouldn’t be alive today if you hadn’t remained faithful all this time.
But you’ve been away. We haven’t. We live in this kingdom, where magic is hunted, people hanged in the streets without fair trials, wielders being poisoned.
If it wasn’t The Order coming for us, it would be Windguard’s soldiers.
“Building our numbers is the most advantageous move. We haven’t been careless about it.
Excruciating consideration has been extended to every case, and it’s not like I’ve put up signs for recruits.
But non-magic folk are also sick of feeling powerless, of watching their friends and family cut down by a hateful king.
Many who have come to us have suffered loss, just as we have. ”
If there was one thing Kaval was, it was considerate. As much as it sparked a roaring fury inside of me to think he’d been out in the world conspiring against the throne, his reasoning was valid. “Well, it will definitely help, though I’m not sure it’ll be enough.”
“Enough for what?” Jai asked from beside me.
I took a steadying breath. “I think The Order is planning to strike soon. They’ve been intent on hunting The Kraanti.
I think once they acquire more elemental power, they’ll execute their plans.
I haven’t been able to figure out what their game plan is, but I suspect it’s replicating the curse on Argora Vale.
If they do, Windguardian soldiers will fall like leaves in autumn.
Even magic wielders won’t be able to stop it. ”
“What should we do?” an elderly man asked from his mat in the corner. I didn’t have to be in my tiger form to sense his fear, to see it written across some of their faces. Hell, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. The only thing keeping me going was the people I wanted to protect.
“I have connections to Highcrest now. In fact, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” My smile radiated, even in the depths of the underground.
If my body hadn’t needed rest, I would have tried to convince The Kraanti to leave with me in the night.
But over a week of pushing myself to the brink finally caught up to me.
I would have expected my sleep to be the most restful I had in years without the invisible worry over my brothers being alive or not.
Yet, it was fitful as normal. When I awoke at random intervals, I’d envision Ro’s gorgeous smile.
The way her lashes fluttered in her sleep.
The wetness of her tears against my skin.
I’d left her in her deepest sorrow, and that ate away at my soul. Rest had been required, but I anxiously awaited the dawn.
Morning came, and I admired the rigid system they’d put in place.
Before any of us emerged in daylight, several communications had been sent between the owner of the house at the front of the property, also a member of The Kraanti, and the stationed lookouts at various positions in and surrounding Basemount.
We got the all clear and finally emerged.
Summer’s heat started early today, and Kaval insisted their men take time to eat and bathe before we left. Jai jabbed my elbow, insisting I do the same. “Especially if you don’t want to scare away your lady,” he teased.
No one dawdled, bathing by the stream efficiently.
Within the hour we were on the road, horses and a cart hauled by two donkeys aiding our journey.
The network Kaval had amassed proved entirely beneficial.
We never slept without lodgings, never hungered for more than half a day.
Silent nods and handouts passed hands throughout the several towns we passed through, all the while no hint or sign any of The Order remained.
In fact, according to Kaval’s intel, The Order had departed from Kabash after a brief stop at the castle. They returned north, fully loaded with multiple caravans of stock, including meats, fruits, herbs, imported roots, and medicinal supplies.
The Kraanti extensively tracked everything The Order had their hand in, sabotaging them and the king as often as they could.
Disruptions wouldn’t amount to absolving the threats they posed, but it kept their enemies distracted.
By stealing iron made imports from Highcrest, The Kraanti knew exactly where in the kingdom the stationed soldiers would be pulled from to monitor the port, allowing their movement to continue unimpeded.
It also gave them time to spread word to magic wielders about miraja fruit being tainted, and that most local healers had been paid generously by Taja to report accounts of iron poisoning, which he then sent The Order of Darkness to collect.
I hadn’t realized King Taja’s cooperation had been so involved.
I guess the corrupt viper saw the partnership as beneficial.
With The Order stealing magic wielding citizens, it took heat off the Windguardian Army and perception of reducing public executions painted a more benevolent ruler.
Providing The Order with medicinal products would allow them to continue magic eradication, and with our camp being so far north, Taja probably finally envisioned the magic extermination he’d always sought.
Too bad he didn’t comprehend how his own actions only strengthened the one group who already wielded the most powerful magic on Myelle.
Nothing about The Order’s camp indicated they intended remaining sequestered in the north.
When they did decide to move, they’d rain down utter destruction, possibly on the same scale as Argora Vale one hundred years ago.
Within hours, I would hold everyone dear to my heart, and we could escape this vicious place.
Part of me wanted to go ahead, to shift and run so I could return to Ro sooner.
Kaval sensed my impatience and reminded me that word of a tiger running through the more dense populous would certainly bring unwanted attention.
It might even force The Order to return for my capture.
Ro already had enough heat on her. I wouldn’t bring more.
I let my impatience transform into content excitement.
This was the last leg of our journey. In a matter of hours, she would be in my arms, and my brothers at my side.
Convincing Kaval to evacuate The Kraanti to Highcrest was sure to be a lengthy conversation, but freedom was so close I could taste it.
For the first time in years, I harbored not only hope, but love in my heart. The part of me kept locked up for too long in order to survive amongst the heartless, Ro had found. Stolen was more like it, given her skill set.
Precious little thief.
Eventually we arrived in the town I’d left her.
I sprinted to the lodgings Kasia paid for on credit.
I knocked on the door, but couldn’t wait.
The fact that it was unlocked bothered me, but in seconds I would gaze upon that gorgeous woman and introduce her to my family.
I had endless thanks and kisses I wished to bestow upon every part of her freckled skin for encouraging me to find them.
Yet, when the door opened, only Kasia sat on the bed, her face grave. She stood abruptly, facing me. “Dae.”
From the sorrowful way she said my name, a fissure ran through my chest. The bathroom door was open, revealing no one else inside. Anger and grief staked me in place. “Where is she?” The demand in my voice choked out the air out of the room.
Kasia wrung her fingers together. “We went to the castle—”
“You what?”
“Ro wanted to. We made a plan—”
“A plan for what!”
Jai’s soft laughter grew until he and Kaval approached the door. “She’s really got him wrapped around her finger. Did you see him run here?” Jai chuckled. When they stepped inside the doorframe, they were silent.
“She wanted me to retrieve this.” Kasia bent over, pulling out a drawer from the nightstand and removed a blanket wrapped object. Delicately, she lifted the tucked corners, peeling back the cottony layers.
Aged bronze, darkened by burns, shone dimly from the glowing sun beating against the tattered curtains. Ornate details were carved into the horn, Kasia’s hand barely big enough to grip the thing.
I didn’t give a fuck about that meaningless object. “Where is Ro? Where is she?” The room began to spin. Kasia held a horn, but Ro wasn’t here. She’d gone to the castle, walked straight into the lion’s den of the man who’d blackmailed her, who slaughtered half her people.
I wondered if in her vacant rage she’d attempted to kill him. The ground swayed beneath my boots. She had to know she wouldn’t be successful. It’d be a suicide mission.
She’d been so withdrawn and forlorn for days since she’d heard the news of her camp, so maybe that was exactly why she went.
That fissure in my chest split, the widening cavern filling with immediate despair. “Where is she?” I asked again, this time through tears spilling from my eyes.
Kasia frowned. “She didn’t come out.”
My knees hit the floor with a cracking sound. I didn’t care. The pain was secondary to the breaking in my chest.
“Dae!” Jai sprinted, hand clasping my shoulder as he knelt by my side. “What’s going on?” he asked Kasia.
“Taja has Ro. She sent me in to retrieve this item, but she never met me at our meet up spot.”
“When was this?” Jai probed.
“Two days ago,” she whispered.
“Kav,” Jai snapped.
“On it.” Kaval’s steps retreated hastily.
At some point, my brothers moved me to the bed.
Ro and I barely had any time together. I hadn’t been able to take her on a proper date, hadn’t stayed up with her all night making love until we watched a peaceful sunrise.
We never cooked our favorite meals or fought over a messy house.
All the things I’d seen my parents do, all the things I’d wanted to share with her, gone like dust in the wind.
I could still see her, though, when I closed my eyes. Watched the red highlights in her hair under the midday sun as she twirled in mocking reverence of my godly name. The brightness of her smile able to eclipse that same sun. Her laugh still mingled in my memory, caressing every part.
“Dae?” Kaval’s voice barely broke through my solitary state.
I dragged my burning eyes to meet his.
“Did you hear me?”
I shook my head.
“She left with the convoy—alive.”
I blinked. “What?”
“My informants told me a woman with flaming hair was bound and gagged and forced to leave with the convoy. That’s her, isn’t it?”
I exhaled so forcefully my lungs could have flattened to the size of paper. “Yes, that’s her. She’s alive.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Jai rose from beside me, standing with all the excitement I’d expect to see if we’d told him we were going to play his favorite sport in the field. He clapped his hands together. “No time to lose.”
“Y-You’re coming with me?” I had seconds left with my brothers otherwise, because I had to go. I had to get to her.
“One, I would die of curiosity to never get a chance to meet the woman who caused my brother to run around like a lovesick puppy. Two, she sounds fucking badass. Facing the king and two-timing The Order? She’s a legend. Your reputation pales to hers.” He smiled with that familiar boyish charm.
I stood, clasping his shoulder. “Thank you.” When I looked at Kaval, I wasn’t met with the same reticence. “I don’t blame you for staying. I understand. You have people here who need you.”
Jai piped up before Kaval could. “No they don’t, Kav.
Come on, aren’t you tired of hiding in the shadows?
This is our chance to do something. Remember, it’s these bastards that have been stealing our people and draining them of magic.
Let’s show them we can beat them, and get ‘em when they least suspect it.”
Kasia remained silent, eyes darting between the three of us.
Kaval took a steadying breath. “Alright. Let’s do it.”
“Badass,” Jai replied, storming out of the room.
“You’re coming,” I ordered Kasia. “And you’re in charge of that.” Caring for that horn felt like betrayal. It was not worth whatever Ro risked to get it, and I refused to even look at the thing.
It didn’t take long for Kaval and his men to arrange for supplies and dictate orders to those remaining.
Then the four of us were off, and I silently commanded the gods to care for her until I got there.