Still hanging on to my arm, he broke the door in to a public outhouse. He went inside and kicked out the wooden base for the toilet. We couldn’t risk being seen, which meant that we couldn’t go back to the cemetery, so this would have to do.
Baltsar jumped in first, but I waited a moment longer. Konstantin put his hands on my face, forcing me to look up at him.
“You can’t save him if you’re dead,” he said roughly. “But I won’t make you come with me. This is your choice.”
He jumped down through the hole, and I looked back, as if I could somehow still see Ridley. I realized painfully that if Helge was going to kill Ridley, he would already be dead. Helge would’ve snapped his neck the second we walked away so he could go round up more of his guards.
It was either already too late, or I needed to get out of here if I wanted to come back with a rescue team. I closed the outhouse door, making it a bit more difficult for the guards to figure out where we’d gone, and I jumped down after Konstantin and ran after him through the sewers.
SIXTY-FOUR
tempest
By the time we made it back to our camp, the snow was coming fast and heavy, creating whiteout conditions. The wind had picked up, officially turning it into a late-spring blizzard. They were rare for Doldastam, but not unheard-of, and it started to feel like even the weather was against us.
My mom was waiting at the bottom of the hill for us to return. Finn and the families had arrived at camp before Konstantin, Baltsar, and I, even though we’d run most of the way back. I didn’t know if Konstantin’s leg was still bothering him, but he pushed himself on it just as fast as Baltsar and I.
Mom hugged me as soon as she saw me. But I just stood stiffly and didn’t embrace her in return. Through the thick snowflakes, I saw Konstantin and Baltsar heading toward the King’s tent, so I untangled myself from my mom and ran after them.
“If it keeps up like this, the men won’t be able to see any of us commanding them,” Ludlow was telling Mikko when I pushed my way into his tent. Snow came up behind me, forming a drift in his doorway.
Mikko stood on the opposite side of the table while his advisers, Finn and Ludlow, stood across from him. Baltsar moved up to take his place beside Ludlow, while Konstantin lingered by the entrance.
“As much as it pains me to say so, I agree,” Finn said. “We should wait until the storm dies to make our move. We can’t properly give orders or create a formation if we can’t see anything.”
“We can’t wait. We need to go in and get Ridley.” I stepped forward, but Konstantin put his arm out, blocking me and holding me back.
Mikko cast his severe gaze on me. “What’s become of Ridley Dresden?”
“Give me a minute with Bryn,” Konstantin said. “Baltsar, fill the King in.”
Baltsar cleared his throat. “The Omte surprised Ridley and Bryn as they were retreating . . .”
I didn’t hear anything he said beyond that because Konstantin had started pushing me out of the tent. When I tried to resist, he put his arm around my waist and carried me away.
“Put me down! What are you doing?” I demanded, but I didn’t really fight him. After everything that had happened that morning, I didn’t have the strength to defy him on things that weren’t life-or-death.
He set me down once we’d gotten far enough from the King’s tent and the campsite that we could have some privacy. Bright white snow swirled around us, getting caught in his raven curls and eyelashes.
“I’m saving your ass,” Konstantin said finally.
“How was that saving me?” I shot back.
“You were about to go in there and demand the King send a rescue mission after Ridley, even though you know that’s suicide. Look around!” He gestured to the growing snowstorm. “We can’t conduct our men in this, not if we want to win the war. And a rescue mission would only get us caught.
“Right now Mina only knows about me, you, Ridley, and Baltsar,” he explained. “She already knew you, me, and Ridley were working together, and she’ll likely assume that Baltsar is just someone else we picked up along the way. Even capturing Ridley, she hasn’t found out anything new.
“But this army—” He pointed back to the campsite. “That’s news to her. And if we go in with the kind of team we’d need to rescue Ridley, she’ll figure out that we have a lot more muscle behind us.”
He stepped closer to me, his gray eyes locked on mine. “Right now she has no clue what we’re really up to, and we can’t let her find out until it’s too late.”
I wanted to argue with him. I wanted to grab bigger weapons and gather all the men I could and storm the palace, tearing it apart until I found Ridley. But no matter how much the truth hurt, I knew Konstantin was right.
“I know it’s hard setting your feelings aside to do the right thing.” He smiled bitterly. “Believe me, I know better than anyone. But you can’t let your feelings for Ridley—or for anyone—cloud your judgment right now.” He paused, still looking down at me. “We need you, Bryn.”