“At least a week. Darren would be suspicious if he came across a rebel too easily.”
“And after you return to the palace?”
“You ready your men, and you wait.”
“I have one of our own stationed in Devon.” The commander paused and her tone grew somber. “She was the one who was able to inform us the day your brother was caught. We didn’t have enough time for a rescue. The only group we had on standby were not enough…” She cleared her throat quietly. “Saba will keep watch over the palace. Should you need to reach us, visit the lower city blacksmith. I will send word you are working with us. Any communication can be sent through her. The palace envoys are watched.”
The two of us continued to talk strategy.
“Everything depends on Pythus.” The commander’s brow was furrowed. “I could send word to Horrace to contact King Joren himself, but their countries’ ties were severed after the New Alliance. Do you have a plan?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “No, and the Pythians are set to arrive in six weeks.”
“I would not trust a letter. Not even an envoy. You need to approach their ambassador in person. Duke Cassius will be traveling to oversee the warships?”
I was certain.
“Good.” Her response was terse. “And whether or not you find proof, you need to convince him to turn. That will be your only opportunity to stop the alliance. After, it will be too late.”
She wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know, but that didn’t stop the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, the anxious fear squeezing at my lungs and choking me out from the inside.
“The Pythians might not be swayed by justice.” Nyx said this as an afterthought. “Promise them whatever it takes. Give them a reason to pick us. Even in their greed, they have never sought to stage wars on their own people. Any rule is better than that of a corrupt king.”
I nodded.
“The Pythians might not be enough.” The commander placed a firm hand on my shoulder. “The Crown’s Army is twice the size of their own. Even with the rebels and Caltoth standing united, we still may lose.”
I was silent. I didn’t want to think of an outcome in which we lost… what the world would be like if we did.
“Your twin and his wife arrived at my keep a couple months back.” The commander sounded apologetic. “They made it very clear they wanted a part in my cause. I have them as part of Sir Maxon’s squad. Would you like me to send word before they arrive?”
“Yes.” My voice caught and I shook my head, shaking away the sudden emotion at the mention of my brother and best friend and the last time we had crossed paths. “Tell them everything,” I croaked. “I can’t keep sneaking away to meet like this. It will raise too much suspicion. I had to risk tonight because… because I was afraid of—”
“Of what we might attempt with a prince in our keep.” Nyx didn’t bother to shy away from the truth. “I understand. And you wouldn’t be wrong.”
“It will give them some time to prepare. For Alex to… to understand.”
“It will be hard for everyone.”
“It already is.”
I disrobed and stepped into the shadowy pool. My teeth were chattering from the cold, but I needed to wash. Paige was waiting just beyond the door.
The commander watched me. “It will only get worse, Ryiah. No matter how hard it gets, you must not tell the prince the truth.”
I started to lather my arms with soap, forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand. I didn’t want to think about Darren now. Nothing would change. I wouldn’t tell him and I would hate myself every second of it.
To do otherwise would be to put the others at risk. I trusted Darren with my life, but he also loved his brother. I couldn’t trust him not to give Blayne a chance to explain. And it was that chance I feared. Because a king had too much power in a chance.
Maybe I was making a mistake, but the stakes were too great if I wasn’t.
“I know you think the worst of me,” Nyx added, “because I was—am—willing to sacrifice those you love, but what you do not understand is that we will not be able to save everyone. For a cause such as this, no one will come away clean.” Her voice lowered. “Least of all us.”
Commander Nyx had made hard decisions all her life. She’d spent years building up a rebel army as she watched a tyrant of a king stage false battles the people didn’t need. I wondered how many people she had lost along the way. What had she been like before all of this? After she’d lost her brother, did she have anything left to feel? All these years of biding her time, waiting, knowing there was an evil plaguing the lands but she couldn’t yet strike.
For the first time, I pitied her. I only had to see this through to the end; she’d had years.
The next ten minutes passed in silence, and then, as I finished and stepped out of the cold, I brushed the hair back out of my eyes.
“Commander?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry you lost your brother.”
Her intake of breath was soft. “I am sorry you lost yours.”
4