I know it, and everyone else in this room knows it too.
I’ve held us up. The only reason we’ve stayed here for so long is because they’ve been patient with me. Slade’s been supporting me, letting me work through things at my own pace, even at the detriment of his own kingdom.
“If Manu arrives at Fourth and finds out you’re not there, it will raise questions, and they could start searching, which risks someone finding Drollard,” Ryatt states.
“We can stall him for a few days at most, but any longer and he’d grow suspicious about where you were,” Lu puts in.
I feel everyone’s attention shift to me, and I swivel my attention to Slade. “We need to go.”
It’s not a question, but he nods anyway. “Are you ready for that?”
This facet of control over my magic might be new, but I can do it. Ever since I faced the fae beast side of me, I’m not afraid. I’m not going to explode into a fit of gilded rage.
That is, not unless I want to.
All I have to do is continue to practice my control, and I’ll be able to master my magic. I will master it. Because I just got my first real taste of touch during the day, and I’m not going to give that up.
So there’s no answer other than the one that I say. “Yes. I’m ready.”
There’s a collective thrum of support that sounds in my ears, and then the group seems to launch into action.
“Right. Hojat, is Digby cleared for travel?”
“I stay with her,” Digby says stubbornly, and my lips tilt up.
“His ribs are still on the mend...” Hojat begins carefully.
“I stay with her,” Digby repeats on a gruff grunt. “Ribs are fine.”
Hojat sighs and then gives a reluctant nod. “I’ll need to bind you, and you’ll have to be buckled in carefully. As soon as you get to Fourth, you need to rest.”
Digby waves him off. “Fine.”
Slade walks further into the room, and I perch myself on the armrest of the chair while he plans with the others. “If we ride hard and high, and only take a few breaks, we can get to Fourth in four days.”
Judd shakes his head. “The timberwings are going to be frothing by that time.”
“We’ll push them, but not too hard. But if we take longer than four days...” Slade trails off.
Lu crosses her arms in front of her, her face thoughtful. “I’ll write back—make sure they know we’re on our way but that they’ll need to stall Kaila’s brother.”
Slade nods. “We’ll need food packs and to make sure all four timberwings have a quick hunt before we go. And we’ll need to update Os so he knows we’ll be at the castle when he arrives.”
“Four timberwings?” Ryatt asks. “I thought you’d be doubling up?”
“We are. The fourth timberwing is for you,” Slade replies.
Ryatt blanches. “I’m not going with you. I should stay here, make sure Drollard is safe, and help with the extra hunting to keep up our reserves.”
“I need you with me.”
Anger flushes over Ryatt’s face, making his pale cheeks dapple with color. “I’m your fucking stand-in!” Ryatt growls back. “If anything, I should go back to the army. But we all know you’re the real commander. I just have to take up the gauntlet when you’re off playing king.”
My eyes bounce between the brothers, watching as the tic in Slade’s jaw pulses. I wonder if he’s ever noticed that Ryatt does the very same thing?
“And I’ll be playing king when we get back. Which means I’ll need you by my side, and I’ll need your presence among the soldiers when they return. I can do it when I’m able, but I’ll have to be careful with Manu sniffing around. He might not have the magic his sister does, but we can’t underestimate him.”
Ryatt scoffs, rubs a hand down his bristled face. “Fine. I’ll leave Drollard. But I’m going back with the army, not to the kingdom, and I’m taking Hojat with me. Our soldiers have been without our best mender for too long and their stand-in commander. Plus, I can send a few of the soldiers here to guard the village.”
A sigh escapes Slade. “Ryatt—”
“I’m not going to the kingdom with you,” he snaps before he turns and starts stalking down the hall. “If I have to be away from here, then I’m going to be with the army, whose morale is probably real fucking low at the moment since two-thirds of its captains abandoned them, and their king and commander. I’m going to them, and I’ll be ready to leave in an hour’s time, and don’t fight me on this. I’ll come play your double at the castle when I get there with the rest of our soldiers.”
Slade’s jaw pulses. “Fine.”
Ryatt gives him a terse nod over his shoulder. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t you dare leave without saying goodbye to her.”
The door slams behind him as he storms out.
For a second, no one says anything.
Glancing around, I then clear my throat. “So...I take it he doesn’t like being Fake Rip?”
“He’s grown weary of it,” Slade replies.
Lu snorts. “That’s one way to put it.” Her dark eyes flash to me. “It never used to bother him before. He used to like it in the beginning. It was good for him too. Taught him some good things.”
“What changed?”
“He started to resent that he wasn’t himself,” Lu says with a shrug. “Can’t really blame him either.”
My eyes flick to Slade. “Why did you decide to be your own army commander? That ruse can’t be easy to maintain.”
“I became a soldier so I could better learn how to protect Drollard and to discover more about Orea. The signing bonus was a big incentive too,” he says with a shrug. “We needed the money, and Fourth was recruiting, and they didn’t care about age. But I soon realized I was good at being a soldier. Even more, I realized I liked it. I quickly worked my way up, faster than anyone else ever had, using only my physical strength. Fighting always triggered my spikes, so I let it be part of my soldier persona. It set me apart.”
“I bet it did.”
“I never used my rot magic. Never wanted to,” Slade says. “But Fourth’s king was a tyrant, and by the time I hit twenty, I realized how much dissent there was in the kingdom. The king was also doing things at the border that could’ve jeopardized Drollard’s secrecy. So, I decided to take my other form and challenge him for his crown with my rot magic. I won, and Ravinger became king, while Rip became commander. I made sure to quell any pushback by using both forms and keeping my identities separate.”
“And you still wanted to lead your army after that?”
“The army is unstoppable with Rip,” Judd chimes in. “He’s stronger, faster, and more alert. His fae instincts have helped us win more battles than I can count. And his spikes scared the shit out of people. He became notorious in his own right. The rumors of the two of them alone were enough to keep people in line.”
“Commander and king. Seems like a lot of work.”
Slade tips his head. “I had to win a lot of battles when I took position because of other kingdoms trying to test the new king’s weaknesses. But it’s not as if I could just rot the world, so I met them on a battlefield instead. Grew Commander Rip’s reputation. Once that was established and our army’s strength was realized, the challenges stopped.”
I nod, taking this all in. “And so your brother fills in for you as Rip when you need him to?”
“Yes.”
“But what does Ryatt want to do?”
All three of them look at me blankly.
I gape at them. “You’ve never asked him?”
They look a bit sheepish now.
“Alright. We’ll just...table that for now. But maybe sometime, you could...retire Rip?” I offer. “And Ryatt can either lead your army for real, as himself, or do whatever it is he actually wants to do—which you’ll find out, when you ask him,” I say pointedly to Slade.
He flashes me a smirk. “Noted.”