Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

His hands balled into fists. “I want to save them, Riley. I want to save all of them. But how can we? You know what’s at stake. She knew that when she sent us here. She knew we would have to watch, even if we didn’t participate. She’s punishing us,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes glittering with hatred.

Just then, my gaze caught a familiar face in the crowd, and I raised a hand to my mouth in abject horror. Seraphina, Navan’s fiancée, was making her way toward the side exit, which led out into the gardens, close to where we were crouched. It was a wild sort of display, with gnarled trees and sparse bushes, but there was an observation deck in the center that gave the best view of the lake. With the brutal winds battering the clifftop, nobody was out there at the moment, but Seraphina seemed to be heading straight for it.

A call to action echoed in my head: I needed to warn her. Once upon a time, she had saved my life by telling Lazar about the chip in my neck—I owed it to her to return the favor. Besides, it wasn’t only her life at stake. Seeing her served as an even more painful reminder that these were real people, with lives and families and hopes of their own. If I allowed the explosives to go off, then the blood was on my hands for not stopping it when I had the power to.

I couldn’t take it any longer.

Before Navan could pull me back, I jumped up and ran toward the observation deck, ducking behind the trunk of a twisted tree and crouching down as I lay in wait for Seraphina. Across the garden, I could see Navan’s horrified face, but he stayed where he was, evidently unsure what the heck I was doing. In truth, I wasn’t sure either. I just knew I had to do this.

She appeared a moment later, her head down, her expression thoughtful.

“Seraphina,” I whispered from behind the tree trunk, catching sight of Navan’s expression as the pieces fell into place for him.

Her head snapped up, a frightened look in her eyes. “Who’s there?” she demanded, her gaze darting around the garden. Navan ducked down before she could see him, but I poked my head out from behind the tree.

“It’s me, Riley,” I hissed.

Her face morphed into a mask of shock. “What are you doing here?! If anyone finds you, they’ll take you away, and… I don’t even want to think about what they’d do to you,” she said sharply, making sure she didn’t draw too much attention to me as she faced out toward the horizon.

“You are the one in danger, Seraphina,” I urged, knowing I was running out of time.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You need to listen to me very carefully,” I replied, keeping one eye on the cliff edge for any of my fellow soldiers. “The Observatory is going to explode in less than an hour. Explosives have already been set and primed to detonate. I need you to help me evacuate this place without raising any alarms about the explosives or the soldiers who have infiltrated it,” I continued, praying she wouldn’t panic and start shouting. To my relief, she didn’t, her brow furrowed in thought.

“This is an attack by Queen Brisha?” Seraphina asked.

“It’s a retaliation for the destruction Gianne caused when she brought down Brisha’s alchemy lab,” I said quickly, feeling the weight of the task ahead on my shoulders.

For a moment, Seraphina didn’t speak, her gaze set upon the distant sky. I worried she was about to out us, or raise the alarm anyway. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did, since it was likely the quickest way to evacuate a building of this size. And then, she glanced toward me.

“I’ll figure something out, Riley,” she promised. “If anyone finds out about this counterattack, it will prompt the breakout of actual war between the sisters. We need to make the explosion look like an accident. They have been seeking a reason to shatter the treaty, but this will not be it.”

“You’re… not on Gianne’s side?” I asked, genuinely curious.

She shook her head solemnly, her glossy hair gleaming in the sunlight. “I desire peace across Vysanthe, as it was before the sisters tore it in half. My loyalty lies with neither queen. In fact, if I had my way, there would be no queen at all, but a true democracy, appointed by the people, for the people. As that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, I will be happy with a world without bloodshed instead,” she stated firmly, though there was uncertainty in her eyes. “Are you sure there is no way to stop the explosion altogether? Even if we come up with an excuse, Gianne will suspect foul play, and this is such a beautiful building. I would hate to see it crumble into the water.”

“If the explosion doesn’t happen, then Brisha will know it had something to do with Navan and me,” I explained, wishing I had a different answer for her. “She already doubts us, and has warned that if we try anything, then we will be punished. Not just us, but our loved ones too.”

She grimaced, flashing me a look of apology. “Who does she have?”

“Two of my friends, and Bashrik,” I replied, her eyes going wide in shock.

“Then we must try to protect everyone,” Seraphina said, after a short, tense pause. “If we can save the people here without raising an alarm that would result in the deaths of others, then we must do it. I will not see a drop of blood spilled, if I can help it,” she added, with a defiant nod.

I smiled inwardly, wishing more coldbloods could be like her. Unlike Navan, Seraphina seemed to understand the potential that still resided within the heart of Vysanthe. There was good to be found in this world, if people would only open their eyes to the positives, instead of scrapping over land like dogs over a meager bone. Indeed, she seemed more queenlike to me, in her diplomacy and grace, than Gianne and Brisha put together. Where they sought war, she sought peace.

“Thank you, Seraphina,” I whispered gratefully.

“Is Navan with you?” she asked, looking around.

“He’s hiding nearby,” I replied, though I’d lost sight of him after he ducked down in panic.

Seraphina smiled wryly. “It is strange that the pair of you should come here, as I have been visiting this place every day in the hopes of finding news of Navan. I have been peering over the shoulders of security officers, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that might tell me where he went, and now here you are.” She chuckled.

“Why were you looking for him?” I asked, not unkindly.

“Queen Gianne has decreed that she is willing to pardon him if he returns. I wanted to get the news to him so he might come home without fear of retribution,” she explained, a sorrowful look on her face.

I frowned, puzzled. “Why would she do that? She was pretty mad last time we saw her,” I remarked, recalling how she tried to shoot us out of the sky.

“It’s his father. Jareth told Gianne that Navan was forced into working for the rebels, and has vouched for his character. It would seem Gianne believes her most trusted advisor, since it’s not every day that someone like her offers forgiveness to apparent traitors,” Seraphina said, though I could sense she was holding something back. There was a sadness in her eyes that didn’t make sense. Nobody had died because of Navan’s indiscretions, as far as I could tell, so what was there to be so distressed about?