35. CHAPTER 35
Miya
The Territories
Caspador
Black soil and strips of withered grass blurred out of the window of the truck.
The further south they traveled, the darker the earth became, and the more at home Miya felt, for better or worse.
Here they were, driving closer to the ground zero of a past she had spent her life running from.
The captain wanted her and Lance to build a bridge to Bale and the True Followers to kill the king of Caspador. And it might ruin her.
The truck backfired, and the smell of exhaust made her cough.
She covered her mouth with her sleeve. A miracle this old junker hadn’t caught fire.
Bale’s people never had much, but her father had done everything within his power, despite the council and their treaty, to strip the villages of what they did have.
She shared as much blame as anyone else.
Her father punished Bale for her mother’s death, and losing Miya only worsened the lust for revenge, even if that part wasn’t Bale’s fault.
Now that the Phaedra used them to force regime change without implicating himself, the innocent people in the villages would suffer the most. There was no peaceful resolution to regicide.
Miya wasn't sure how to protect them, because after all her planning, she realized the United was her only recourse.
Now that she knew the Rivens were involved and would step in if the captain failed, her options were even more limited than before.
If the United intervened, they'd arrest Bale and wouldn't stick around to help his people recover.
Her father would leave them to die, too. They'd have no one.
She considered sending everything she knew to the United now, but her word meant nothing to them, especially once they realized who she worked for. However, if she warned them about what Bale and Rafferty planned to do for the Phaedra, then the United could catch them meeting.
Was it wrong that she didn't tell them who she was? They'd believe her if they knew King Moress was her father.
Miya couldn't return home, though, and he'd never stop searching for her if he knew she was alive.
Her boss would meet with Bale very soon. There was no need for her to expose herself or Zayne to verify her intel.
Though Miya hadn't met Zayne's friend, Ashantae, yet, she did wake up one morning to a note tucked into her makeup bag with a number to call for emergencies, as well as coordinates to a secure drop box.
After returning from the True Followers' villa, she planned to deliver a letter with everything she knew and the details of the meeting between her boss and Bale.
Zayne's friend would take care of the rest.
And after the United arrested the perpetrators, Miya could disappear. They'd protect the king and the rest of the family. Her work would be done.
Well, once she destroyed the captain. That would be her parting gift on her way out.
It did comfort her that she'd get justice for the people the boss and Aiden hurt.
Not only did they plan to kill the king, but they also helped Miya infiltrate the United base to make contact with Becka Rogers.
Rafferty had incredible connections given the nature of their work and the lengths people went to in order to protect their secrets.
But her boss never crossed the United or the Phaedra. That was their most basic rule.
At least until the captain forced them into the war.
If Miya didn't get the boss arrested, he might kill her when this was through for promising to help the captain. But none of them had a choice. It was serve the Phaedra or die.
Or risk everything to fight.
Rafferty was doomed. The boss already used his connections to sneak Miya into the cleaning crew at the base, and she passed along an inhaler to Becka with a microphone hidden inside.
The woman took Zayne's message seriously.
Promised not to give up any information.
She'd begged Miya to make sure her daughter made it home safely.
It seemed like Zayne had that covered. But Miya doubted the Phaedra was willing to wait long for Becka's information. He must have been furious that she didn't speak up already.
There was too much danger. Too many factors at play.
She wanted out as soon as her family and kingdom were safe.
Lance spoke for the first time in an hour. “I don’t understand why your boss would want to make a deal with my people.”
He wasn’t meant to understand. “Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”
Lance sighed. “I remember your language being a little more colorful, but yeah… Something like that.”
It wasn't fair to take this out on Lance, but she didn't know how else to tell him to run away from her as fast as possible.
The captain wouldn’t leave witnesses, not unless they were useful to him.
As soon as this part with Bale was over, Zayne and Ashantae would help Lance get out of here.
The Territories
The True Follower's Villa, Caspador
The old junker chugged away the moment Miya and Lance climbed out of it.
They stood on a gravel road filled with potholes that ran through town.
The houses scattered throughout the villages were built by the people who lived here, the lumber taken from the surrounding woods.
Her mother had told her about how difficult trade was for the villages, and that they crafted everything they could for themselves.
Farmers worked incredibly hard, and that was especially true in these villages. Lance must have been used to long hours and exhausting labor. Those smoke breaks out by the shed probably felt like a vacation to him.
As she walked along the homes and the yards where children played or adults hung laundry, she caught pieces of conversations, murmurings of a stranger with Lance.
A boy and a girl dashed out the front of a nearby house, the boy a head taller than the girl. He sprinted to Lance and jumped in front of him.
“I scared you!” the boy said.
“Whoa,” Lance stepped back. “You really did.”
The girl caught up, looked at Miya, and stopped dead in her tracks. Then, she darted past her and skidded to a stop behind Lance.
“Charlotte,” Lance said. “I’ve brought a new friend for you to meet.”
“Hi,” Miya said. “Can we go now?”
“Give me one minute.” He knelt and glanced between the siblings. “I have something important to do. I promise I’ll say hello when I’m done. Run along now.”
The boy sprinted away, but his sister remained, her stare unwavering.
“Why is she watching me?” Miya asked. “You shouldn’t have told her I’d be her friend.”
The little girl tugged Lance's pant leg.
“What is it, Charlotte?”
Standing on her tiptoes, she cupped her hands around Lance’s ear and whispered something to him. He chuckled when he pulled back and said, “Okay. I’ll tell her.” Lance gave Miya a serious look. “She says you’re pretty.”
Miya shifted. “Tell the child… I say she’s pretty too.”
He motioned between Miya and the girl. “The messenger thing doesn’t go both ways. You just tell her. Haven’t you ever talked to a kid before?” He spoke to Charlotte now. “She says you’re pretty. It's her first time meeting a kid, so you’ll have to be patient with her. All right?”
Charlotte squealed with laughter.
When Lance stood back to face Miya, he whispered, “She also said we look good together.”
“Don’t get carried away, big guy.”
“I can’t help what she says.” He gave that half-grin of his. “She’s usually right. Smart kid.”
Charlotte crossed her arms. “I didn’t even say that.”
These were just more people for the captain to hurt when he tied up his loose ends. Miya needed to get the kids out too. Whoever else Lance loved.
“Go find your brother.” He nudged Charlotte until she skipped down the road with her skirt balled up in her hands. “Follow me.” Lance walked ahead of Miya and cut across the center of town for the stone cathedral.
Apart from a few brick houses and a large building that Miya knew functioned for a variety of needs, from medicine to storage, nothing in the village compared to the cathedral. It screamed its importance, promising itself and Bale's power as a priority above the people.
Lance stopped at a side door to the only two-story structure in town. “Bale will call on us when he’s ready. And believe me, it won’t take too long.”
“How do you know?”
He opened the door. “Because he’s going to be very angry with me, and when he’s angry, he never waits long to make it known.”
“What did you do?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Lance, my boy!” A voice echoed up the staircase.
Miya squinted to see an elderly gentleman climb the stairs to meet them. The long braids in his white beard swayed with a different rhythm from the rest.
“Still alive, eh?” Lance slapped him on the back, his form embracing the smaller man.
“You’ve brought company.” He nudged Lance to the side and lifted his glasses to his nose. “Forgive me, my dear lady. I didn’t see you there.”
Miya tapped her foot. “I need to see Bale immediately. I’ve come with a business proposition.”
“Well, all right then.” He reached out a hand. “I’m Hakym. Welcome to our village. I understand you're a woman who doesn’t like to waste time, so let’s get to it.”
Hakym froze and studied her, despite having said that he wouldn’t waste her time.
“This is Miya,” Lance said when she didn’t respond. “We'll wait in the basement for Bale to call for us.”
Hakym stepped aside for them to descend. “Make yourself at home.”
They walked down to a dim room with bookshelves lining the walls. Miya ran her finger along the spine of a thick book and wiped away a layer of dust. This was a nice collection for a village of this size.
“Who are you exactly?” Miya asked, glancing down Hakym’s long blue robe.
“The last of my kind, I’m afraid. There used to be more like me, but they’ve all gone on to what comes next. Follow me.” So this one really bought into the True Followers deal.
He led Miya to a door on the west end of the room and into a dark hallway. Lance didn't join.