Zan #2
Jade looked at me, a little panicked at that thought. “Are you sure that’s wise, little bird? We don’t want to show our hand. That would mean we know about the face changer in Creisal.”
“You don’t think he meant for us to see through that person?
That man had no idea who my father was. He even said he barely had any time with the man.
How could Henry believe I wouldn’t see through it?
No, his plan was to get me here and witness the atrocities he inflicted on my parents.
” The rage in Cassarah’s voice grew the longer she spoke.
It was clear if she hadn’t been pissed off at the Lost King before, she was now. While weighed down by sadness, her body seemed to give off this pulse of fury I could feel brushing along my skin. Not having sight of my own was tough, but it certainly strengthened my other senses.
Jade and I wanted to comfort her, knowing her rage at losing her parents was driving this choice, but I didn’t think she’d be open to the gesture. “Is that what you really want to do?”
“Yes,” she stated. “While I won’t drop to his level, I won’t be seen as weak either.
He needs to know I’m not backing down, no matter what he throws at me.
Let the Lost King taunt me by sending a man pretending to be my father to my room and steal my family from me.
People who get desperate making rash moves like this betray the fact they think they’re losing.
Right now, it looks like the Lost King wants this to be anything but a fair fight. ”
While I couldn’t disagree with her thoughts, I didn’t like it either way.
It’s true this might never come down to a battle as we’ve seen in the days of old.
Kingdoms lining up to mow each other down, this battle could instead be heading more in the direction of how the mercenaries fight.
The Lost King has been playing by our rules more than he has anyone else’s.
It makes me wonder if he truly wants a massive war.
He came and stole Norden in the middle of the night when they least expected it.
When I think back on it, I feel it was more about the fact he wanted his father to know he stole it from him.
In his mind, he’d been tossed away, and here he was creeping in to take what should have been his.
The fact that Cassarah was there, along with Payson to help him cause diversions made it all the better.
A man who has been kept hidden away all his life was now making a splash across our whole world.
Everyone knew the name ‘Lost King’ and why he was doing this.
Did he even know or care that his father was dead and didn’t know or care about what was happening?
“If that is what the queen wants to do, then we shall see it done,” Jade said, his formal tone betraying he wasn’t in support of this but wouldn’t say no.
Cassarah turned to look him in the eye. “As your queen, I order you and Zan to help me burn this mansion down.”
Jade gave her a brisk nod, turned on his heel, and left out the garden gate. Shaking my head at how stubborn they could be and how, in many ways, Jade and Cassarah were so similar it caused them to butt heads, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and urged her to follow after him.
“You know he gets pissy when he wants to protect you, and you won’t let him,” I commented, leaning my head against hers for a moment.
“I have to agree with him on burning this place down. Do I get your anger and need to show the Lost King you’re not backing down because of this…
yes. Do I also believe it’s foolish to bring unwanted attention while there are only two of us to keep you safe?
Yeah, I do, but if you keep that order as you’ve given it, then we will do as you command,” I explained as we exited the garden.
Cassarah slumped against me. “Is it really a stupid idea?”
“Are you really asking me?” I countered.
Pausing, she looked over at Vasin, who was puffing smoke and looking highly irritated. “Vasin agrees with you. But how can I just stand back and let him do this without consequences?”
“You aren’t doing that. Just because you wait to unleash your anger at him another time doesn’t mean you’re giving him a free pass.
You are acting wisely and using that anger to fuel your efforts in taking him down for good,” I reasoned.
“Sure, an eye for an eye sounds great, but what if you could just end it all at once, instead of acting out against the individual acts?”
She took a deep breath and let it out, her head dropping with the exhale. “If you and Vasin are saying the same thing, then I clearly am not thinking straight. Let’s head back to the others. There’s more to deal with, and if we leave now, I might be able to get a few moments of sleep.”
“I think that’s the right call, my heart. It doesn’t feed your need for justice, but save that righteous anger for the right time, and it will have all the more power in it,” I said, unsure if anything I was saying helped at all.
Cassarah reached out, took my hand, and squeezed it before she headed toward Jade to tell him the change in plans. I had to hand it to the man—he could keep his thoughts off his face—but I knew he was pleased she wasn’t going to follow through on her order.
Without further ado, we mounted our dragons, allowed Jade to cloak us, and headed off into the night.
Vasin didn’t set a daunting pace for the dragons like he did on the way here, but they still flew with a sense of urgency.
When we made it back to Creisal, the sun was low, creating a bright orange glow behind the mountains.
This should give us time to catch a few hours of sleep before we had lunch with the king.