Chapter 27
The Evernean Forest
Lara
“That bastard!” I flinched a little as a cup went flying past my head and hit the wall behind me, shattering into a thousand shining specks. “He’s going to ruin everything!” Uncle Arthur attempted to pull himself together, but his anger was all too evident by the undeniable flush on his cheeks.
“I don’t see how Lance getting engaged is going to ruin everything,” I said.
It had been announced that Lance was engaged to a rich heiress from a distant kingdom named Lady Maliah, which sounded perfect for Lance’s spending habits.
“King Lance cannot get married and have an eligible heir. We do not need more obstacles when it comes to the royal family.”
I still didn’t truly understand what the big problem was, but I wasn’t going to infuriate him by asking more questions.
Uncle breathed heavily in anger and Cai’s eyes slowly turned to mine. “Now what?”
“Now we rain fire and hell down on him,” he answered for me.
“All fair and well, Uncle.” I plopped down on a chair. “But how exactly do we plan on doing that? The spies you sent for the Norrandish soldiers are dead, and even if we have the alliance of the Baruk clan, our numbers still might not be enough. Plus there is no guarantee they won’t betray us later on.”
“We have plenty of people here willing to fight.”
“Farmers and blacksmiths, but few with experience. You would be sending them to their deaths against armed soldiers.”
“I can’t stop people if they are willing to die for their freedom,” he retorted and I bit my lip.
“So your plan is to storm the palace?” Cai raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t hear you giving any better suggestions, Your Highness.”
“You don’t exactly have a list of options, but if your plan is to attack, I suggest you do it strategically.”
“Need I remind you that I served in the royal army, son? I will not just have my people running like hooligans.”
“If I may interject?” I interrupted the two men, whose glares had become all the more deadly. “The main entrance of Levernia palace has steel gates, which lead to the front courtyard, followed by two heavy doors. It is heavily surrounded by guards, but the other sides of the palace less so.” I turned to face Cai. “Cai had the idea of using the gates as a distraction to gather the soldiers there, while the rest of us sneak into the palace at other smaller entrances.”
“My men know the entrance to the prison cells. They’ll free the prisoners to cause more chaos,” Cai added.
“All in, we only have to fight Lance and the royal guards, with most of the servants being replaced already by our men. What will you do with Lance, kill him?” I asked my uncle.
“Would you prefer the honour instead?” he grinned.
“I would prefer to see him rot in a cell for the rest of his life. Death would be too much of a mercy.”
“What about Princess Eloisa?” Cai asked. “She hasn’t been seen for a long time now. Not even one of my spies could track her down.”
“Then she’s probably no longer in the kingdom,” Uncle Arthur replied. I hadn’t thought about that. Hadn’t thought about the princess for quite some time. But it would make sense for Eloisa to leave temporarily with all the growing tension in the kingdom. Or for all we knew, she’d gone to visit some distant cousin or friend somewhere far away. What this could mean for us, however, I didn’t know.
“So we take over the palace, which will give us power in Levernia, and with the royal family out of the picture and the support of the council, things should fall into place?”
“Then a new era in the kingdom of Everness begins,” Uncle replied with a smile. “We give the people time to adjust. We make peace with the aristocrats. We employ a council of leaders consisting of the people. We lower the tax rate. The list goes on.”
“It seems ideal,” Cai said, almost suspiciously.
“Yes, well, that is what we are fighting for, is it not?”
We left my uncle’s cabin soon after. I was heading for my own when Cai took my wrist. “Can we go for a walk? I need to talk to you.”
I followed him until we were alone in the forest.
“I need to ask you an important question,” he said, and I looked at him queryingly. He sighed. “You said that before all this, you were going to take the necklace and leave.”
“Yes,” I said, almost hesitantly.
“If you had left, would you have been done with thieving for good?”
I thought about it. “Probably not for good. I was just going to cross the border to Norrandale and start a new life there. With the money I could have got for pieces of the necklace, I could have done more than just survive for a while. My uncle had talked about this rebellion for as long as I can remember, but it was only recently that things started falling into place, and I don’t know... I was scared of dying, scared of losing the only people I ever really knew. So I decided running would be better, even if it was the more cowardly thing to do.”
Cai stepped in front of me and we stopped walking. “I want you to leave. Tomorrow morning before first light, you’re going to cross to Norrandale.”
“Lance has the border on lockdown, and I don’t know the way.” I reminded him of the obvious.
“I’m sending Brutus and Conner with you. They’ll help you get there safely. Now listen carefully, you’re going to find my friend, Thatcher, and give him this letter with my seal.” He handed me a piece of paper. “He will make sure you stay safe.”
“What about you?”
“I made a promise that I would contribute my forces one way or another. And I don’t break my promises. Besides, it’s the best way to see how things play out. What this is going to mean for Norrandale.”
“What if the people find out? They would see this as an attack from Norrandale and not an uprising of the peasants.”
“My men and I know how to stay undetected. I’ll help your uncle where I’m needed with strategy — no more.”
I wasn’t entirely convinced.
“You’re getting your second chance, Lara. I suggest you take it.”
I found Ray on my way back to the cabin. “Don’t you think you can at least try to persuade Uncle to change his mind?”
Ray blinked slowly as if not comprehending what I had just said. “Why would I do that? Why would you even suggest I do that?”
“Ray, please, I can’t watch any of you get hurt tomorrow, or even worse, die.”
He stared at me in almost pure disbelief. “Lara, we’ve had to steal and lie and practically starve in a fight for survival for most of our lives. And we’re not the only ones. This rebellion should have happened years ago. But we finally have our chance.”
I grabbed his wrist. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning. You can come with me. We can live that life we used to talk about as children.”
He pulled his hand free. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ray, please, I don’t want to fight about this.”
He wouldn’t let me finish. “I’m sorry, Lara, I thought you were braver than this.” And then he walked away.
* * *
It was still dark the next morning when Conner, Brutus and I stood outside the horse paddock, saddling up. “Are you going to be all right?” Cai asked and I nodded. “The rest of us will meet up with you as soon as possible. I just prefer keeping an eye on what happens today, so that I know what to expect.”
“It’s better that way,” I agreed.
“Then I’ll see you soon . . .”
I turned to face him, but I didn’t know what to say. There were so many unspoken words between us.
“See you soon.” I mounted and the three of us rode off into the dark forest. I followed Conner and Brutus, though my thoughts kept drifting back to the journey that lay ahead for our clan and to the palace, knowing what was to come. I could hear steel swords clashing with each other. I could see blood spilling over the marble floor, and I became sick to my stomach all of a sudden.
Cai and his men were about to walk into what could be a bloodbath, and here I was, running away like a coward. I had betrayed Cai and he was still trying to save my life.
I stopped my horse and glanced back in the direction of Levernia, and then towards the crossing to Norrandale. All I had wanted was freedom from this life, this place, and here it was, completely within my reach. But an unpleasant thought lingered in my mind — there would be little worth in it, if Cai met his end in this rebellion.
“I’m not going with you,” I said before I could stop myself. Brutus and Conner looked back at me in confusion. “You go ahead. There is something I have to get.” And without another word, I turned my horse and started galloping towards Levernia.