Chapter Forty-One
Callum
Sneaking out of the palace had proven easier than I expected.
Cloaked in shadows and silence, I slipped past the sentries patrolling the wall that encircled the inner sanctum of the Unseelie Kingdom.
They clung to the illusion of safety provided by the towering stone, trusting it more than their own instincts.
Tonight, that trust worked in my favor.
Beyond the gatehouse, the narrow road stretched toward the village, but it was the enticing darkness of the forest that beckoned me closer.
I headed toward the looming trees, surrendering myself to the shadows as I followed the route I had mapped the day before.
The sun would soon crest the hill, and I needed to be far from the palace when it did.
The woods seemed to embrace me as my boots sank into the soft, mossy earth, silencing my movements so as not to betray my presence. Soldiers roamed the woodlands, serving as a constant reminder that I had to remain hidden until I reached my destination.
I tugged my hood down, shrouding my face even though no one was near enough to see me.
As I pressed deeper into the tangled underbrush, the dimness lifted, and the world around me gradually brightened.
Streaks of indigo splashed across the sky, signaling that dawn would soon chase away the remnants of night.
“You’re late,” a voice said from the darkness.
I froze, my hand darting to the dagger at my hip.
“Henry?”
A large, burly figure stepped out from behind a tree, rolling his sleeves to his elbows, unveiling forearms corded with muscle and as broad as my own legs.
“Expecting someone else?” he asked, tilting his head, sizing me up as though I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. “You don’t look like much.”
A slow grin spread across my face, and I curled my palm into a fist. Vines slithered across the damp earth, weaving around his feet. He remained oblivious as they coiled higher, yanking him off the ground so fast that he had no time to scream.
“I might not seem like much,” I said, directing the vines higher. “But that means little if you can’t stay on your feet, doesn’t it?”
Henry grumbled something unintelligible, but he didn’t resist. I lowered him to the ground, and his head connected with the forest floor, a dull thud echoing in the silence.
He cursed, irritation flaring in his eyes. “You’re not one to forgive and forget, eh, lad?” he said, rubbing his head as if that might ease the sting to his pride.
“First, I’m not a lad, and second, this kingdom stole my sister from me, so forgive me if I don’t trust easily.”
“Fair enough.” He hesitated, weighing his next words. “Me and mine may be Unseelie, but we owe no loyalty to a king who turned his back on us. We’re not your enemy.”
“You might not be my enemy, but you’re not my friend. I have one purpose here: to help free my sister. So, tell me, are we doing this, or did you intend to keep wasting my time?”
Henry grinned, a spark of mischief lighting up his eyes. “I can appreciate a man who gets straight to the point.” He nodded, as if weighing his options, then gestured forward with a flick of his wrist. “Follow me.”
As we plunged deeper into the forest, the trees loomed taller, their branches intertwining overhead, blocking out all signs of the approaching dawn.
Henry moved with surprising grace for a man of his size, gliding through the underbrush, not so much as rustling a leaf beneath his feet.
I matched his pace, my senses heightened, scanning the dimly lit surroundings for any hint of danger that might signal a trap.
“How much farther?” I asked, my voice quiet and cautious.
“Just up ahead.” He tilted his chin toward a darker thicket where the shadows appeared to deepen.
The undergrowth parted like a curtain as Henry approached, revealing a hidden clearing where figures waited in the darkness. There were a dozen, maybe more. It was hard to tell as they blended into the shadows.
These men and women were no rebel army. Their mismatched armor would look comical in any other circumstance. They carried weapons that had seen far too much use, and judging by the way they held them awkwardly at their sides, they weren’t proficient.
“The plan is to make the palace believe the rebels attacked the food supplies,” I said, so only Henry could hear. “They can barely lift their blades.”
A woman stepped forward, her silver hair braided with what looked like… were those thorns? Her eyes found mine, and I felt the weight of her scrutiny like a blade against my throat.
“We may not be trained soldiers, but we had to defend ourselves from Wraith Borne attacks, and we survived. How many others can say the same?”
She lifted her chin, her defiance palpable.
Henry chuckled beside me as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Sinead has exceptional hearing. She is our tracker.”
“A little warning would have been nice.”
“And I was supposed to foresee you waltzing in here and insulting these fine people the instant your feet crossed the threshold?”
The amusement in his tone made Sinead smirk as she relished my discomfort.
I cleared my throat as I rubbed my hands together. “Well then, we should get this moving.”
“Aye.” Henry nodded, his grin fading into something more serious. “Time isn’t our friend today.”
I scanned the ragtag group again, trying to see beyond my initial judgment. A hardness in their eyes spoke of past horrors, yet that only seemed to strengthen their resolve.
With any luck, that would be enough.
“Show me your map,” I said, holding out my hand.
A thin man with a scar bisecting his left eyebrow stepped forward, unfurling worn parchment.
My finger traced the eastern trail. “This is the revised path.”
Henry furrowed his brow. “You’re sure? That’s a common trading route. I thought the palace guards were trying to remain undetected.”
A grin stretched across my face, which was impossible to suppress. Cadence’s plan was flawless. Ryker had laid a trap for the rebels, aiming to either eliminate them or expose their informant as a member of the Unseelie Council.
Despite my sister’s warning to the Crimson Enclave, we remained confident that they would show up today. If only to send a message of their own.
One written in blood.
What Ryker could never have foreseen was that both traps would be triggered simultaneously, leaving him no closer to unveiling the source of unrest within his kingdom. The fallout would be immediate, and the resulting confusion would give Cadence and me a chance to slip away unseen.
It was brilliant.
“They’ve tried that,” I said. “They’re hoping for a better outcome by hiding in plain sight.”
The grin he threw me rivaled my own. “We wouldn’t want to disappoint them now, would we?”
“No, we would not.” I rolled my shoulders before unsheathing my sword. “Let’s move out.”