37. East #3
Trygg shook his head, brows drawn together in contemplation. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it will likely only benefit a select number of people. The Council is not known for their kindness.”
I recalled Rensif Lightwing and her strained, unsettling manner.
It wasn't difficult to believe that she was capable of cruelty, but hearing it straight from Trygg was strange. He’d said he planned to disobey the Council’s directive, however impossible that might have been, and I did believe that.
But was it possible that his distrust of them was about more than just the bond between us?
The dull ache of betrayal in my chest made me hesitant to dwell on it for too long.
“Then what are we going to do?” Corbyn asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Both the Shadow and I stilled, wariness clouding my mind. “We?”
The dragons gazed at me. The array of colors in their wings sparkled in the moonlight as the clouds parted, bathing us in a soft, white glow.
Corbyn gave a slow nod. “We,” he repeated.
Heart fluttering strangely at the words, I said, “This is my fight. Vilke—Lukas and all the others—they betrayed me. ”
“And the Council manipulated us ,” he said, the anger in his tone rising again as he shot a scathing look at the prince.
“It’s all intertwined. I’m not going to roll over and allow them to control me anymore.
” He drew in a deep breath, something dangerous sparking in his eyes that I didn’t understand.
“We have a better chance of getting what we want if we work together.”
Allies. He was proposing an alliance. And though I knew I needed it, I still hesitated.
“I won’t ask you to help me.”
“You don’t have to,” Corbyn replied, his arms dropping as he turned to face me fully. “I took an oath. ‘To guard against any danger, and to protect you, even unto death.’ I haven’t forgotten.”
I shook my head, suddenly realizing that, somewhere in the chaos of the throne room, I’d lost the Erling crown. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter. But the loss ached all the same.
“Those are not the right words, Talon Arlbright,” I said.
“Yes, well…” He shrugged, glancing at the prince beside him. “Trygg was right to make that amendment. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re Queen. I will protect you , Vor. I will help you .”
I wasn’t sure what it meant, nor did I want to inspect too closely, but my pulse quickened. The Shadow rippled softly, wary intrigue coming off her.
“As will I,” Trygg added. I didn’t look at him for long either. Something too close to heartbreak for my liking hammered in my chest.
But after everything we’d been through, I felt I could trust Corbyn. I kept my voice low, staring at the ground. “Very well. We will start by returning to Kjarra and getting Lenn out of there. Gods know what they will do to him.”
“No,” Corbyn said firmly, drawing my gaze back up.
Heat flamed in my cheeks. “What do you mean, no ?”
“I mean that if we go charging back in there without a solid plan, Vilke will capture and kill you without a second thought.” The challenge in his voice riled something in me, something I didn’t want to give control to right now.
He’s right, young one, the Shadow said somberly. Vilke will not let another opportunity pass her by.
So I am to leave Lenn to his fate!
Trygg, damn him, seemed to sense my thoughts. “If Vilke is as cunning a strategist as you and Arlbright make her out to be, she won’t harm Lenn until she has you in her grasp. She’ll realize he’s the only thing that might draw you back to her. As long as she has him, Vilke will keep him alive.”
“Alive, maybe,” I conceded. “That does not mean he will go unharmed.”
“Perhaps,” Corbyn said, “but Thane Reijason made it clear to me that your safety is paramount. Right now, we need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden, so you can lay low, and we can formulate a plan.”
I let out an angry huff, tugging at my braid and the leather cord still wrapped around it. The only piece of Lenn I had left to me now.
“So I’m to run away? To hide like a coward while Vilke takes my throne and does whatever the fuck she wants to my country? There’s a monster from a children’s story out to get me, but I’m supposed to lay low !”
“I understand it’s not ideal?—”
“None of this is anything close to ideal!”
Asvoria, the Shadow chided, I know it is difficult, but please try to calm down. They are trying to help. This is what Lenn would want you to do, you know that.
Trygg’s wings ruffled lightly. “Vilke will likely send out riders at daybreak,” he said. “We need to maintain our lead on them if we’re to get away. There’s no time to waste. I promise you, Vor, we will not leave Lenn to rot there. But we must be smart about this.”
There was that word again. We . As if I hadn’t just learned the prince had been lying to me the entire time I’d known him. How could I ever place my trust in him again?
Regardless of that, my temper settled. They were right. We had to keep ahead of Vilke and hope she wouldn’t be able to track us down. And besides, I didn’t like being out in the open after dark. If there were any myrkva around, they’d find us soon. We had to leave, now.
Though I knew the surest way of getting myself and Lenn killed was storming the Citadel without a plan of action, resigning myself to slink off and hide somewhere didn’t sit well.
And more than that, the myrkva were still growing stronger, attacking more often. People would die, no matter what I did.
But what could I do? Reynar was in the North and likely didn’t know what had happened yet.
He was expecting us and would probably get the news when we didn’t show up.
He might’ve even been a part of the scheme, for all I knew.
I couldn’t count on him as an ally. If I went racing off to Weymar, I might be leading us into a different danger. There was really only one answer.
I’d go along with this plan of theirs for now, however unhappy I was about it.
“Fine,” I grumbled begrudgingly, to the Shadow’s approval, “but I’m not going to wait forever. I will not leave him longer than I have to. Understood?”
The dragons looked at each other, silently communicating. They nodded to one another and then turned back to me.
“Of course,” Trygg said.
I released a heavy breath, satisfied for the moment. “I hope you have an excellent hiding spot in mind. Vilke is ruthless as a hound on a hunt.”
Trygg seemed to be thinking about it. But a self-satisfied smirk lit up Corbyn’s face, his golden eyes flashing. “I know a place”
Both Trygg and I shot him questioning glances and the Shadow hummed in interest. Corbyn threw a look over his shoulder, across the lake and toward the eastern horizon.
His wings flared out completely, as though he was already gliding through the air.
When he spoke, there was something wistful in his voice, a pained longing that echoed through my bones, singing in my blood and filling the deepest caverns of my soul.
His voice was a whisper as he said, “I’m taking you home.”