Chapter 7
“Is this a joke? You can’t trust him!” I urge, turning to Artemus. “He’s the prince!”
Ryder takes a step forward, drawing my attention back to him.
“I am the prince.” He reaches into one of the pockets on the inside of his cloak. “And you can trust me.”
When he pulls his hand back out, there’s a folded-up piece of paper between his two fingers. I glance down at it and quickly pluck it from his hand.
“My father’s letter. How did you—”
“I grabbed it before leaving the Sector. I thought you might want it.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head.
He removes his cloak and hangs it on the back of a chair before taking a seat.
“You don’t, but you will.” He grabs the chair next to him and pulls it out, motioning for me to take a seat. I’m beyond confused and have no idea what to think, but I sit down next to him. “The others are safe. Zane is at the Sector, and Amaya, Emeric, Elias, and Akari are all in the Shadow Lands.”
There’s only a split second of relief before I hear the last part.
“The Shadow Lands?” Panic immediately rises within me.
“It’s okay. They’re safe. The Shadow Lands aren’t what you think they are.”
“And what about their families?” I demand.
“Their families have been made aware of their whereabouts, and I have already given orders to send for them.”
My head is spinning. Nothing makes sense. Everything is backwards.
Ryder is working with the rebellion? My friends are alive? The Shadow Lands aren’t the place of nightmares I’ve been taught to believe?
“As you know, my father banished me to the Shadow Lands. Whatever you think they’re like, they were worse back then.
Every day was a fight for survival, but over the five years I was there, I was able to build order throughout the lands.
The one thing everyone could agree on was their hatred for my father and wanting to bring him down.
It’s that common interest that united everyone. ”
I’m in utter shock listening to him speak so ill of his father. All this time I had assumed he was working with him, not against him.
“Coming together was just phase one,” he continues.
“Most of the people banished were there because they were deemed Lesser. If we wanted any chance of going up against my father, I needed to find a way to build an army. Thus began phase two. Unlike the Sector that sticks to a certain criteria, I created a new training program that would work to highlight people’s strengths instead of their weaknesses.
Over time, units were assigned, and branches were formed. ”
Artemus drops a packet of papers in front of each of us before taking a seat on the other side of the table.
“What’s this?” I ask, already flipping through the pages.
“Phase three.”
“Three months from now,” Ryder begins. “There’s going to be a celebration marking my father’s two hundredth year as king. That’s when we’ll attack.”
“Three months? That’s so far away.”
“That’s what makes it so perfect. He’ll have his guard down by then. Everything will have appeared to have gone back to normal.” Ryder turns his body to me. “You’ll learn that when it comes to war, you have to play the long game.”
“Funny, your father said the same thing about waiting until I was trained to imprison me.”
“My father is many things, including strategic, and he’s taught me how to be as well. That’s why I know he won’t see the attack coming.”
“So, what do we do until then?” I ask, fidgeting with one of the dragon figurines.
Ryder turns around and pulls a scroll out of his cloak. When he unrolls it on the table, I see an image of a scepter. The other men lean forward to get a closer look.
“My father’s been looking for this for years.
It was forged from demon blood and wields dark magic.
The scepter has been hidden for thousands of years, though.
The only information he’s been able to find on its whereabouts is an old text that reads: The Vircilian Scepter lies with the gem of the Underworld.
He’s convinced that it’s somewhere in the Caves of Kandor because the Infinite Sea Territories are also known as the sea’s jewels.
He’s been trying to get into the caves, but they’re heavily warded. ”
I guess that explains why he’s been attacking the Infinite Sea Territories all these years. He’ll do anything to get his hands on more power.
“So, what’s the plan?” Artemus asks Ryder.
“We need to find it before he does, which means we need to find a way to break through those wards. Between that and planning our attack, three months will feel like three weeks. And you,” he says, turning to face me again, “need all the time you can to get back into fighting shape.”
I despise the insult, but he’s right. I have the body of an eighty-year-old woman right now.
The four of them dissect different areas on the map, moving pins and figurines around while I simply sit in silence, processing all of the information that’s been thrown at me.
The most important thing I learned tonight is that my friends are safe.
As long as I know they’re alive, nothing else matters.
I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to them.
“Rise and shine, Princess. Training starts out back in fifteen minutes.”
Ryder’s face is the last thing I wanted to wake up to this morning. In fact, I didn’t want to wake up at all. It’s the first night I’ve slept in a bed in over two months, and no part of me wants to leave the comfort of it.
“Don’t you have more important things to do in the kingdom?” I insist when I walk outside.
“Nope. Today, my only order of business is to whip you back into shape.”
I wince slightly at his choice of words, recalling the feeling of lashes against my skin. I instinctively reach for my back, running my fingers along the ridges of the scars as if to remind myself it was real.
Ryder’s face tenses like he’s reading my thoughts, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Where do we start?” I ask, wanting to shift the energy between us.
“Hmm.” He strokes his chin in thought before a slow grin spreads across his face. “Let’s start with your favorite, shall we? Give me twenty push-ups.”
I don’t bother hiding my loathing as I drop to the ground. Of course, he only seems more pleased with himself seeing my reaction.
I couldn’t be happier when Tilly calls us in for lunch. It’s like I’m starting from scratch. Everything I do makes me feel like I’m either going to throw up or die. I don’t know how I’m going to get back into shape in only three months.
“This looks amazing,” I praise as I grab a turkey leg and set it on my plate. I can’t tell if she’s a great cook or if it’s just been so long since I’ve had anything that resembles real food.
“Eat up. We've gotta put some meat on those bones.” I roll my eyes at Ryder, but it only earns a laugh.
“Where are the others?” I ask Artemus. I should really learn their names if I’m going to be here a while.
“Jace and Roman are dealing with Cylas.”
Perfect, now that I know their names, I just need to figure out which is which.
“How’s that going?” Ryder asks.
“As well as you can expect,” Artemus answers with a shrug that makes me think it’s not going well at all.
“I’ll pay him a visit,” Ryder says before taking a bite of peas.
“Aren’t you worried it’ll blow your cover if you do that?”
The two men look at me as if I’ve told a joke. When I don’t laugh, Ryder puts down his spoon and leans forward on his elbows.
“Reign, you need to understand that this is war. I may not be cruel like my father, but there will be no mercy for those who serve him.”
“What about me then?” I push away from the table and stand up. “Some of us didn’t have a choice!”
I storm out of the house, letting the door slam behind me. Tears begin to stream down my face, and I let them. Better tears than flames. I feel my heat rising but push it back down.
“Don’t hold it in!” Ryder calls out from behind me. “Let yourself feel it. The anger. The heartbreak. The hate. The guilt. Feel it all and let it go.”
I do as he says, letting the emotions rush in one after the other. They tear through me like a raging summer storm. Images of Meeka and Agatha flash through my mind, and I release the hold on my power.
A cyclone of fire grows around me, concealing me from the rest of the world.
“Now, take all those emotions and channel them into power,” Ryder yells from the other side.
“Feel it cover you like a suit of armor. Let it settle into your body.” It takes a moment, but I eventually let my power fuse into every one of my cells.
It no longer feels like it’s coming from my heart, but as if it’s radiating from my whole being.
“Good. Now, imagine instead of a tornado of flames you have a shield in front of you. I want you to direct all of your magic into that shield.”
I focus on pulling my flames from all around me.
At first, it feels like they have the control, but I fight back, forcing them to follow my command.
Once I have a wall of ten-foot flames in front of me, I tug at them, condensing the wall into a circle of fire.
It’s exhausting controlling this much power, but I don’t quit.
I direct the flames to the center of the circle, letting them flood the open space until there is only a shield of fire in front of me.
I’m only able to hold it for a few seconds before the grip on my power slips and the shield fades away.
“Well, shit, girl! I see now what all the fuss was about,” Artemus claps from beside Ryder.
“I’ve never done that before.”
Ryder walks over, stopping just in front of me. “You don’t have to like my methods, but they work. If you’ll let me, I can teach you how to do things you never thought you could.”
“Teach her how to make a sword out of flames,” Artemus shouts from behind him.
Ryder drops his head and lets out a quiet chuckle. When he looks back up at me, his smile almost makes me forget who’s standing in front of me.
“Can you really teach me how to do that?”
He takes a step back and holds out his right hand. A second later, a sword of shadows appears.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
The two of us can’t stop ourselves from laughing.
“He’s really got a thing for swords, huh?” I ask.
“Apparently.” Ryder drops his hand, letting the sword disappear.
I look down at the ground and then back up at him. “Would you have killed me if you had been there the day I started the fire in Nazrelia?”
Artemus must take that as his cue to leave because I hear the back door open and close.
“You and Cylas are not the same.”
“How do you know?” I argue.
“For starters, he’s been serving by my father’s side for over twenty years. Not once has he ever taken pause when ordered to do something.”
“Maybe he’s just scared.”
Ryder shakes his head. “People like Cylas follow my father out of greed, not fear. In exchange for their loyalty, they get to live lavishly in the palace. They’re gifted the finest clothes, served daily feasts, given servants, and have the protection of the Royal Guard.
A man like that would rather die than live with less. ”
“Fine, but what about the rest? What of Kane and Slader? What about those in the military just following orders without all of the information? Do they deserve to die?”
“No, of course not, and I will do my best to save those I can. I believe in giving people the choice to decide for themselves. But if they choose wrong, even out of fear, there will be no saving them.” And just like that, I’m reminded of who it is I’m talking to.
“If there were another way, I would take it, but there’s not.
You need to get used to the idea that both sides will suffer great loss no matter what. ”
With that, I walk away and grab a pair of daggers. When the first one lands in the target’s chest, I imagine it’s the king’s black heart I’m hitting.
Maybe one day soon it will be.