52. The Rightful King
52
THE RIGHTFUL KING
*Raven*
Mother wakes me early, her excitement and anxiety evident in her face and posture.
“He’ll be here tonight,” she breathes out, standing over my bed. “We must prepare. The soldiers will be close behind him.”
I sit up quickly, trying to process her words. “Were you able to mind-link with him?” I ask breathlessly. “Did he say anything about Kieran?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t been able to speak with him,” she tells me, her bravado faltering just a bit. Her hand goes to her heart, and she presses against her skin. “But I feel him, Raven. My mark hasn’t felt like this in years. We have much to do to prepare!”
We spend the morning in her home, preparing for Father’s arrival. It’s so endearing watching her flit back and forth across the space, worrying over if he’ll like it. I don’t tell her that anything is an upgrade from his dungeon cell. She doesn’t need that image in her mind.
After a quick lunch, she packs some things–food for the journey and clothes for Father when he arrives. She leaves nothing to chance, ready to cater to his every need. There’s also a shyness in her movements, a nervousness that I can only speculate about. I suppose if I was about to see Kieran for the first time in 21 years, I would feel a little shy too. What I do feel is relief. It won’t be long until everything and everyone is back in their rightful place.
We begin spreading word through the mind-link for the soldiers to assemble in the plaza. She wants to address them all before we begin the journey to the river. As we make our way to the meeting place, I feel the buzz of energy throughout the space. Even those who are too young or too weak to fight are humming with it. They’ll stay below, hidden and safely out of sight until they receive word that it’s safe. Then, they’ll begin rebuilding our kingdom from the ground up. From under the ground, really.
“Thank you for assembling so quickly.” Mother addresses everyone a few moments later when the plaza is brimming with soldiers. “The time has finally arrived for us to take back our kingdom. I can’t promise your safety. I can’t promise what the future will hold after we make our stand. The only thing I can promise you with absolute certainty is that we will fight together until the bitter end.”
Cheers go up, the rowdiest coming from the young men in the crowd. Many have waited their whole lives for this day. Escuro will either be free or they will die trying to make it so. The threat of death doesn’t seem to remotely dampen anyone’s spirit. Everyone is chomping at the bit to get above ground and get in our fighting position.
“May I say a few words?” I ask my mother quietly. She looks at me with such affection and admiration, I feel the tears burn in the back of my eyes. Wordlessly, she steps aside and motions that the floor is mine.
“I know that I haven’t been here long,” I say by way of greeting the crowd. “You’ve all embraced me with such kindness and warmth, and you’ll never know what that means to me.” I purposely ignore Sybil’s face as she is the exception. “The people of this kingdom deserve to live in the sun. You deserve to breathe fresh air and find your mates. You deserve the same basic human rights as the citizens of every other kingdom.”
A few people in the crowd clap while others just look at me in awe.
I continue. “Like my mother, I can’t guarantee that this will go in our favor. But I can guarantee you this: I will fight until my last breath for you. You are my heart; you are the blood in my veins. Finding my true kingdom was one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I will not fail you.”
Another cheer goes up, nearly deafening in the confined space. Mother squeezes my shoulder and nods her approval. We lead the troops out of the tunnels and begin the long journey to the river. The closer we get, the braver I feel. We’re going to win this, I just know it.
It’s late when we finally arrive and begin settling into our positions. There’s no way of knowing how long we’ll be here waiting. It could be a day or two before they arrive, though Mother is sure that Father is going to arrive at any moment.
There’s something so poetic about making our stand here, at the very river that King Gavin poisoned all those years ago. There are soldiers here now who were orphaned by his cruel act. Everyone here has lost someone because of him. It fuels our hatred toward the foreign king, and our hatred makes us braver, stronger. We’re done hiding out of fear and mere survival.
Night falls around us, and we settle in, ready to pounce at the earliest sign of trouble. It’s past midnight when one of our scouts signals to Mother that they see something coming across the river. Mother runs out of her hiding space and stands at the river’s edge, straining her eyes against the dark to see. I follow her, ready to defend her if need be.
As the object gets closer, we realize it’s a lone wolf. Mother shouts with unbridled joy, wading into the river to meet him. It’s my father! I run back to our hiding spot to grab the bag of supplies she packed earlier. Murmurs sweep through the soldiers as they try to understand what’s happening.
“King Cole has returned!” I shout, running back to the bank as I watch my father shift and embrace my mother with wild abandon.
I’m several feet away, but I watch as she tackles him, sending them both into the water, the sound of their laughter carried over the night wind. He rights them, lifting her in his arms and spinning her around. I’ve known this man my entire life, always seeing him behind prison bars.
The man in front of me is unrecognizable, though. His face is transformed by an overwhelming happiness and relief. In all the time I’ve known Mr. Blake, I’ve never seen him smile so brightly. Then he looks up at me standing there and beckons me to come over, and my feet move of their own volition. I wade into the river myself, not minding the sharp sting of the cold as I run into my parents’ embrace.
After our joyous reunion, I hand Father the clothes Mother packed for him and return to the shore to allow him his privacy to change. The entire army is assembled there, all coming out of their hiding spots to see the miraculous return of the king they’d assumed was long dead.
When he finally reaches the bank, everyone drops into low bows, and I can’t fight the sobs that rip through me. I notice the tears in his eyes as well. He’s back in his rightful place, no longer a prisoner, but the rightful King of Escuro.
I stand back with Mother, gripping her hand as we allow him to be properly greeted by the soldiers. The eldest warriors rush forward to embrace him, weeping as they do. Mother cries beside me as she watches, and I realize this is a day she’d long given up hope of every seeing.
When Father has been properly greeted by everyone, he raises his hands to quiet them, though there’s little he can do to quell the excitement of the moment. Everyone waits with rapt attention to hear what he’s going to say, Mother and myself included.
“You have no idea how good it is to be home,” he chokes out, his voice thick with emotion. “And while I’m not exactly sure what you’re all doing here, it is beyond comparison to receive such a warm welcome. I’m afraid I don’t bring happy news. Dun’s Crossing follows close behind with a large army. We must retreat! I do not want to lose you all so soon after finding you again.”
“Father,” I say, grabbing Mother’s hand and pulling her toward him. “We are here because we expect them. We’re going to fight them, and we’re going to win.”
He looks between us in shock.
“I admire your bravery, my little Raven, but you can’t possibly take on an entire army.”
“Actually,” Mother interjects. “She can.”
She tells him of my abilities and the plan to lure the soldiers to the river. His eyes are wide as he listens, often finding mine and staring in awe and pride.
“I never imagined,” he whispers. “But, of course, my darling, you are exceptional. That’s no surprise at all!”
He pulls me into a tight hug and holds me for several long minutes. We both begin crying while mother stands beside us, one hand on each of our shoulders.
“You have to know that I stayed in that awful prison for you, my love,” he whispers against my hair. “I had to make sure that Gavin kept you alive. I had to make sure you were safe. Seeing you was the only thing that kept me going for all of those years.”
I cry against his chest, overwhelmed by the love I feel for him. I’ve always loved him on some level, always somehow knew deep down in my subconscious that he was my father. Now, he’s here, and my family is almost whole.