Chapter 8
“Come with me.” Ryder grabs my hand and pulls me off of the couch.
I’ve barely seen him in the past two weeks, so Artemus has been training me. I’ve been able to gain a few pounds back, but I’m not sure it’s turned into muscle quite yet.
Once I found out the king was furious about my escape, new motivation sparked within me. He may have told everyone else I’m dead, but he knows the truth. The next time he sees me, I want to make sure he sees me, not the girl who was rotting away in a prison cell.
“Where are we going?” I ask as I follow him out the back door.
“I have something for you.”
“That still doesn’t answer where we’re going.”
He doesn’t respond, and I accept the fact that he’s not going to tell me. Instead, I follow behind him through the autumn forest. He stops in front of a large tree and bends down, brushing away the golden leaves on the ground in front of it.
“Yup, this is the one,” he mutters to himself.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
“You’ll see.”
He tells me to stay put while he walks around to the back of the tree.
I’m about to lose patience when the center of the tree opens up, revealing a dark hole.
I watch as Ryder walks back around to the front and sticks his arm into the trunk.
When he pulls it back out, he’s holding a thick, dusty, old book.
“There she is. Right where I left her.”
“Should I give you two some privacy?” He looks up at me and rolls his eyes.
“Be nice to me. I got this for you.” He hands me the book.
“Oh, perfect! I’ve always wanted a decaying book,” I snicker.
“That decaying book you’re having so much fun teasing me about has the answers you’ve been looking for.”
I look closer at the cover, brushing off the excess dust. My head instantly snaps up to look at Ryder.
“How did you—”
“I snagged it from the palace after you told me about not being able to translate your father’s letter. With this book, you should be able to figure out his hidden message. Some of the pages are worn, but you should still be able to translate most of it.”
“This is incredible! Why would you steal this for me?”
“Technically, it’s not stealing because I’m the prince.” He flashes me an arrogant smirk. “Don’t get all in your feelings, though. I have a theory that your father was a part of the rebellion and there’s something in his letter to you that could help us.”
I want to deny that my father was part of the rebellion, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, and I’m starting to think Ryder is right.
My mother died from an illness that could’ve been cured, but Avelion didn’t have the medicine for it.
Other realms like Strellesia and Aexetan had plenty of it, but there wasn’t enough time to get it to her.
Maybe my father blamed the king for that.
Maybe he was to blame.
I certainly don’t think my father was a traitor in the way the king would like us to believe. He was—is a good man, and if he did get involved with the rebellion, it’s only because he believed it was for a better future.
“Thank you. Even if it was for your own personal gain.” We turn and start walking back the way we came as the center of the tree closes behind us. “And by the way, I wouldn’t have gotten in my feelings about it.”
Ryder looks down at me as he walks with his hands behind his back.
“Oh, sure you would’ve. Girls like you always go weak at the knees for a grand gesture.”
I stop walking, and so does he. “First off, giving a girl a dusty-ass book doesn’t count as a grand gesture. And secondly, my knees are already weak, and it’s from starvation.”
“Touché,” he says with a dramatic bow.
I don’t wait for him to stand back up before passing by him. It’s time he follows me for a change.
Translating my father’s letter has proven to be a harder feat than I thought it would be. The book itself is nearly impossible to read. So far, it’s just been trial and error trying to piece it all together. I had hoped Ryder would be of some help, but he’s just as useless as I am.
I nearly fall out of my chair when he comes barreling through the front door. He’s barely been around the past week, so I assumed we wouldn’t see him for at least a few more days.
“What’s going on?” Artemus asks as Ryder starts frantically sifting through the different scrolls of maps. He pulls one out and spreads it across the table.
“He’s taking the wards down tonight,” Ryder answers as the rest of us gather around the table.
“The wards? Wait, like to the caves?” I ask, doing my best to follow his thoughts.
“Yes, Demetri found a way to bring them down, and he’s wasting no time. I need to be there when he gets them down.”
He rolls up the scroll that I realize is a map of the caves and tucks it into a pocket inside his tailored jacket.
“What do you need from us?” Artemus asks as Ryder continues to rummage through the room.
“Keep working on Cylas. I can tell he’s starting to break. I’ll deal with him when I get back.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Ryder pauses to look at me for just a moment before continuing his search. “No, you’re not,” he dismisses.
“Yes. I am.” I walk over to him, forcing him to acknowledge me.
“We just got you away from him. I’m not putting you back on his radar.”
“I know the risk.”
“The answer is still no.” He turns away, but I grab his arm, turning him back to me.
“Please.” I hate that I’m begging, but I hate the idea of not going even more. “I know it won’t undo what I’ve done, but I need to do this.”
He stares back at me for a moment like he’s trying to understand why I’m so insistent.
“Fine,” he agrees with a sigh of defeat. “But you don’t leave my side.” The intensity in his voice is almost scary.
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Go get changed into something warmer. It’ll be colder in the caves.”
When I turn around and head down the hall to my bedroom, I hear Artemus question Ryder’s decision to let me go.
“My father took every choice away from her until she was nothing but a slave. I won’t do the same thing.”
I’m shocked by his response. I by no means trust him, but he’s proven himself to be different from his father, and I can’t ignore that.
I quickly grab a pair of wool-lined leggings from one of the drawers. In the closet, I find a black jacket that covers my neck and a pair of knee-high boots that are a half a size too small.
“Jace is going to cloak us, so we’ll be invisible to the others,” Ryder tells me when I return. “Even though they won’t be able to see us, they’ll still be able to hear us.”
“I can be quiet,” I assure.
“Good. Now, how long will we have?”
“The magic will only hold for six hours. Maybe less,” Jace warns us.
“How will we know if it’s worn off?” I ask.
“You’ll feel it. It’ll feel like an intense shiver throughout your whole body.” Jace looks to Ryder. “You guys ready?”
Ryder nods, and Jace takes off his glove. He puts his hand on Ryder’s shoulder and then mine.
“Did it work?” I ask the others once he removes his hand. I can still see everyone, including Ryder.
“Like a charm,” Artemus says, looking slightly past me.
Ryder turns and wraps his arms around my lower back. The last time he held me like this, it felt too intimate, but now it feels natural, more comfortable. He looks down at me through his long black eyelashes.
“You don’t leave my side, and if I tell you to run, you run. Got it?”
I nod, accepting his demands. I’ll give up control if it means I’ll get the chance to help.
When we reach our destination, we’re greeted by strong gusts of wind. My eyes immediately start to water from the cold air smacking my face.
“You good?” Ryder asks, removing his hands from my waist.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I look around at our surroundings in awe. “I’ve never seen the sea before.”
“Oh, this is nothing. You should see the beaches in the Southern Territories. Those put this one to shame.”
“Maybe one day I’ll get to see for myself.”
Ryder dips his head, pulling my gaze from the crashing waves. “If you help me find this scepter, I’ll make sure you do.”
“It’s a deal.”
He takes my hand and begins leading us down the rocky beach. Every step is deliberate as we make our way closer to the bottom of the cliffs. I can spot the opening to the caves up ahead, but we’re still pretty far away.
Once we’re a bit closer, Ryder pulls me into an opening in the side of the cliff that resembles a small cave.
“We’ll wait here until they’ve broken through the wards. In the meantime, you mind starting a fire?”
“Coming right up.”
I collect some of the smaller rocks scattered around and arrange them in a circle, creating a sort of firepit. Once the fire is going, it doesn’t take long for the small cave to warm.
Ryder takes off his cloak before taking a seat on one of the boulders. There’s a slightly awkward energy between us as we sit in silence.
“Do you know when they’re coming?” I finally ask.
“As soon as the sun goes down. I had a tracking spell put on Demetri, so I’ll know the moment they get to the caves.”
“Who’s Demetri?”
“He’s another one of the Circle members. My father is sending him and two others from the Royal Guard to find the scepter. Any more than that would draw too much attention.”
“So, what’s the plan exactly? Go in after them and try to find it before they do? What happens if they find it first?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“Perfect,” I say sarcastically.
“Either way, they won’t be leaving with it.”
I lie down on my side, propping myself up on my elbow.
I might as well get comfortable if it’s going to be a while.
My eyes become entranced, watching the flames of the fire bounce around.
Their shadows flicker along the cave walls, creating a sort of show.
My mind begins to drift and suddenly, I’m no longer in the cave, but back at the palace.
Guilt rushes in as I remember the look on Agatha’s face when she told me to be strong.
“What are you thinking about?”
When I look up from the fire, shadows dance across Ryder’s face, making him look even more mysterious.
“I was thinking about Agatha,” I admit, running my hand through the flames. “Do you know what your father did to her?”
“I do.” He leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. When he lifts his head, there’s a regretful look on his face.
“The first time I had met her, she told me I had a strong soul. At the time, it was exactly what I needed to hear.”
“She always knew just what to say. If it weren’t for her, I might not have made it through my first year at the Sector.”
“You trained at the Sector?” I sit up, suddenly having questions. “I assumed you had only trained in the kingdom.”
“No, I trained at the Sector just like everyone else. Of course, I was only thirteen at the time.”
“Actually thirteen?”
Ryder leans back and snickers. “Yes, actually thirteen. It’s not until fifteen that my aging slowed, remember?”
“Oh, right,” I say, recalling our conversation when I thought I had given him the truth serum.
“Everyone had it out for me my first year. I was the prince and younger than everyone. The Training Sector was the only place they knew they would be able to challenge me. For a long time, Agatha was the only person in my corner. She made sure I kept my head up and didn’t give anyone the satisfaction of breaking me. ”
I can’t stop the smile from forming, hearing him talk about her.
“Wait.” I stop him, doing the math. “How is it she was alive back then? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Oh, Agatha had royal blood. Not like mine or my father’s but very distant royal blood. I guess in a way we were family.”
“I had no idea,” I say quietly to myself. “You said everyone had it out for you your first year, what happened after that?”
“By my second year, I started coming into my own. I had a growth spurt, not only physically, but magically. It didn’t take long for the others to realize and once they did, no one dared to challenge me again.”
“Yeah, I had that same effect my second year too,” I joke, lying back down on the ground.
“Oh, yeah. I heard stories of the great Reign Calloway. No one would dare go against her.”
The two of us laugh and it’s weird how natural it feels. Just months ago, I thought this man was a threat to my life, and now we’re sitting across from one another like we’re two old friends.
All of a sudden, he stands up and looks towards the beach.
“What? Did you hear something?” I whisper.
“They’re at the caves.” He grabs his cloak and puts it back on. “Wait here.”
Time passes by too slowly as I wait for him to return.
I’m not sure how long it’s been when I decide I’ve waited long enough.
As I step back outside, the wind instantly chills my bones.
I squint, looking toward the entrance of the caves, but it’s too dark and they’re still too far away for me to see anything.
“I told you to wait.” I whirl around to find Ryder towering over me. Whatever friendly energy was shared between us before is long gone. “This isn’t going to work if you don’t follow orders.”
“I’m not one of your soldiers!” I bite back. “This isn’t going to work if you don’t start treating me as an equal.”
“You’re not my equal.”
My hand is already halfway to his face before I have a chance to register what I’m doing. He catches my wrist, stopping my hand just inches from his cheek. The expression he wears should terrify me, but I’m too enraged to care.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warns.
I rip my hand from his grip.
“When people leave me, they don’t come back.” Ryder’s demeanor slightly softens at my confession. I hate being vulnerable with him, but I need him to understand. “I just need you to tell me what you’re doing. You can’t just leave me in the dark, wondering if you’re ever coming back.”
“Are you always this stubborn?” he finally asks after a moment of silence.
I shrug. “Guess you better get used to it.”
“I guess so.”
He wraps his arms around me, taking me with him this time.