Chapter 8 #3
“Here we are,” Hannan said, and I looked around in confusion. We’d reached a river so wide I wondered how I’d missed the sound of it. Yet, the Rebellion base was nowhere to be seen. Was it underground?
“The rest of the way is by boat,” Felix explained, pointing at a tiny wooden thing tied to a tree in the river.
My mouth fell open at the sight of the boat in question. It looked neither big nor secure enough to carry five full-grown people. Eyeing the siblings, I added another person to my calculations. Both of them were twice as broad as a normal person, muscles bulging from their shirts.
I gulped as the others stepped in, Felicity reaching up to help me down. I grabbed her hand tentatively, and she gave it a light squeeze before pulling me toward her with so much force that I bumped into Felix, who didn’t move an inch from the impact.
Grabbing my arms to steady me, he smiled brightly before seating me next to Hannan.
Felix and Felicity positioned themselves in the middle, grabbing the paddles from the belly of the boat. Daegal took the last spot at the front, turning to face the water. Fishing a small monocular from his pocket, he scanned the creek ahead of us. “Clear,” he said.
The siblings started to paddle, moving in perfect unison without muttering a word to each other.
They had to be twins. Their eyes were the same exact shade of blue, their cupid’s bows dipping at the same spot to form their full rosy lips.
Their God-like exterior mirrored those of war stories.
Then I noticed the tattoo that adorned both their left arms.
Instinctively, I covered my own inky swirls with my hand, hoping they wouldn’t ask questions about my symbol. It didn’t look exactly like theirs, but I suspected it held the same kind of magic mine did.
“There’s never been anyone out here, except for us,” Felix told me, smiling broadly at me as he rowed. “But we still always check to make sure the coast is clear.”
I nodded, sure that if I tried to speak, my voice would shake with nerves.
“So… where did you come from? Before Orken I mean,” he continued, the curiosity shining in his eyes.
Daegal sat down on the seat in the front and leaned his elbows on his knees, tilting his head slightly to the side while waiting for my answer.
“Shut up, boy,” Hannan snapped. I turned and gave him a grateful smile, trying to look like I was merely exhausted and not combusting with guilt.
Nobody spoke until we reached the other side of the massive river. Felix helped me from the boat, offering his outstretched hand to me after jumping to shore.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at him. I felt strangely comfortable with this seven-foot giant, and his six-foot, incredibly fierce-looking, and beautiful sister.
“The rebels built the base close to the river back in the day, to assure we’d never run out of fresh water,” Felix explained as we continued the rest of the journey on foot. “And for easy escapes.”
I nodded, taking in our surroundings. We were still in a forest, though the trees seemed bigger here, the shadows darker.
Hannan was the only one of the four with darkness marking his arms, running all the way up under his sleeves. Then I realized the twins couldn’t be darkcasters like I’d first anticipated, and neither could Daegal.
Felix told me that the walk would only take another hour. I tried to keep up my pace, but my feet dragged. Finally, Hannan informed me we’d be there at the next turn. I kept my gaze on the ground to keep myself from stumbling over the prominent tree roots.
“Here we are,” Felicity sung happily, and I looked up. For what felt like the tenth time today, my mouth fell open.
A big wooden wall stretched far into the sky, surrounding what I now knew to be the Rebellion base. We walked inside the gate, the four of them greeting the people we encountered.
Only it wasn’t just an army base like I’d imagined.
It was a whole town. Instead of training camps and weapons, there were people walking and chatting happily on the cobbled streets.
We’d stepped into a neighborhood. Wooden cabins stretched all along the wall, and a watchtower rose up from the top of the nearest building.
“This way,” Hannan said, and I followed, moving my head left and right to take in as much as I could of this place.
“How many are you?” I asked breathlessly, mentally counting every person we passed.
“Three hundred, give or take,” he answered. I repeated the impressive number in my head. I’d always imagined a small place with maybe a few dozen darkcasters. Instead, this place seemed to be a blend of people both darkcasters and normals. Three hundred people would make it easier to blend in.
“You’ll move into one of the smaller huts near the center for now. We don’t have many free houses,” he said apologetically.
“That’s amazing, thank you so much Hannan,” I said, meaning every word. They could put me in a small tent, and I wouldn’t care. If only they knew of the living conditions I was used to back home.
Daegal scoffed beside me but remained silent. I narrowed my eyes at him. He stared back with dislike. His distinction from the twins was staggering, both in appearance and personality.
Though he stood tall, he didn’t approach Felix’s 7-foot frame, and he only had a few inches on Felicity. His dark hair fell in waves across his forehead, and he had a sour expression plastered on his face. But that might’ve been because he was currently looking at me.
“Why are you still here, boy?” Hannan asked dismissively. “Go do something useful instead of sulking around.”
With a last glare at me, he walked away without a word, carelessly shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers. I clenched my fists, repressing the growing pit in my stomach.
“We’ve recently built more houses,” Felix said. “We expect to house a lot more rebels soon.”
Felicity nodded, but Hannan frowned slightly, though he didn’t say anything.
“Here,” Hannan smiled, and my anger towards Daegal vanished at his gentle tone. I couldn’t let that guy get under my skin.
I looked around at the circle of identical huts with a beautiful garden in the center, booming with flowers, berries, and other plants. He pointed at a door before opening it, revealing a minimal but cozy interior.
“Thank you so much,” I said, staring in awe at the carpet on the floor. “This is truly too much.” I gestured at the house, my eyes starting to prickle.
“No problem, dear,” he took my darkened hand in his. His eyes searched mine, brows furrowing as if he had only just realized something. “You’re as much a victim as any of us.”
My eyes flickered to my feet, face draining of color. “Do you guys mind if I lay down for a bit?” I asked, barely managing to look any of them in the eye.
“Go ahead. Dinner is at six. Here,” Hannan handed me a tiny pocket watch. I nodded in thanks, glancing at the time before stuffing the watch into my pockets.
“We’ll come by to pick you up,” Felix said, giving me a friendly wave before walking off with Felicity.
Hannan gave me a last, warm smile and then followed the twins.
I had over an hour to relax, which didn’t feel like much as I finally closed the door, dropping all pretenses.
The truth was, I was fighting the urge to give up and confess everything to Hannan. The weight of what I had to do forced me to my knees. I buried my face in my hands, heaving shallow breaths from my burning lungs. How could I possibly deceive the people who took me in without hesitation?
I remained collapsed on the ground until my knees hurt. Then I got up, slowly, taking in the tiny space, vision blurry with tears. I blinked them away.
A bed big enough for two of me was pushed against the back wall. A door leading to a small room stood ajar, revealing a glimpse of a little washroom.
Kicking my boots off, I rushed to the bed and threw myself onto it. The mattress bounced me around lightly, caressing my aching back. I definitely didn’t deserve this comfort.
I slid off the bed and onto the floor, curling into a ball on the soft carpet instead.
The slight discomfort felt merited as I wandered deeper into the darkest corners of my mind.
Sleep wouldn’t come, even as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to silence the accusing thoughts swirling around in there: You’re a fraud.
A con. Utterly unworthy. You shouldn’t be here. Not like this.
When I’d pictured this day, lying on the worn mattress back home, everything had been different. I’d imagined arriving with Lili and Archie, triumphant and victorious.
The bitter truth polluted my mind as reality unfolded around me.
A distinct knock sounded on my door, pulling me from my thoughts. I groaned. The last thing I wanted was to talk to anyone. Their unrelenting kindness drowned me in more guilt.
I got up and swung the door open, knowing I couldn’t ignore the person outside, no matter who it was. But it wasn’t Hannan or one of the twins like I’d expected.
Daegal was leaning against the doorframe, his tattooed arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“Hello?” I said questioningly. He pushed past me, settling himself on a small table that stood against the wall.
“Please come in,” I huffed, turning toward him without closing the door. His arms remained crossed as he stared at me coolly.
“What do you want?” I snapped, my patience ebbing away with each passing second I glared at him.
“How did you escape?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. At least he wasn’t beating around the bush. “No one has ever escaped.”
He gave me a falsely friendly smile, the distrust clear in his dark eyes. “You can’t control your magic, you’re not strong, you—“
“How do you know?” I cut him off, mimicking his stance and folding my arms. His unrelenting stare pierced through me, but I refused to back down.