Sig’s smile is so blood tinged, so brutal, that it suddenly occurs to me he would make an excellent Krigere warrior, unstable or not. “Tomorrow,” he says in that shaky, eager voice of his.
He gives me a mocking little bow and disappears into the hallway, his footsteps silent on the stone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As I hurry back to my own cell, my mind tosses like a ship in a storm. I am fighting so desperately to wield this power, the magic of the Valtia, but if I succeed, am I more of a Krigere . . . or more of a Kupari? If I use this magic to conquer the Kupari, am I loyal, or am I a traitor?
I know what I have always wanted. But now, I am questioning why I wanted it. You were forced to be Krigere, Thyra said. Do I love the Krigere because I truly had no choice, or is there some spark in them that has always called to me, that fits with who I really am? If I had remained a Kupari, would I have been as out of place among them as Thyra is among the Krigere, even though she was born to rule?
Apparently I was born to rule too, but not over warriors. Is it better to lead a soft, timid people or serve a fierce, strong tribe?
These questions burn inside me. I don’t know where I belong. Trying to figure it out is exhausting me.
I have just made it back to my chamber and dived onto my mattress when I hear footsteps in the hallway. Frantically, I extinguish every candle in the room and lie in the dark, feigning sleep as another cadence of footsteps, this one more rapid than the first, approaches. I let my mouth drop halfway open and breathe deep and slow as a slant of light from the hallway penetrates my eyelids. It’s only there for a moment, though—whoever looked in on me seems satisfied that I’m asleep.
“Did you deliver the message?” a man asks as soon as the door closes most of the way, leaving only a crack of torchlight. I recognize the accent and the deep timbre of the voice—it’s Efren.
“I did,” Halina whispers. “The tunnel is narrow, though, hardly big enough for me to get through. It will need widening if we expect all of them to do it. Have you seen the size of some of them?”
“But it worked.”
“Yes, it worked. It opens into one of the shelters, and I spoke to the iron-bearded one myself.”
Iron-bearded one. My blood drains from my face. She must be talking about Preben. Her resistance force hasn’t given up—they’ve dug a tunnel to get to the warriors who have stayed loyal to Thyra, and they’re planning to get them out!
“What did he say?” asks Efren.
“He was grateful for Thyra’s message, and they will be ready when the signal is given.”
Thyra didn’t give up, then. She just gave up on me. But now she has found another way to reach her warriors in exile. I clutch at the mattress beneath me.
“Good,” Efren says. “They’ll flank the guards and head for the tower. Nisse’s warriors will be completely caught by surprise. But it has to happen before the group of priests and apprentices reaches the gates. We don’t want them interfering.”
“That’s why it has to be precisely midday. I thought there would be only a few, but it seems nearly a hundred are coming! If they side with Nisse, the battle would be over too quickly.”
“So if they don’t make it into the city before the signal, do you think the girl chieftain actually stands a chance?” Efren asks.
Halina grunts. “Of course not. She’s half starved, and so are all her warriors. Old Nisse’s been giving them only subsistence rations, trying to convince them to come out and join him.”
“But they’re loyal to her. They’ll fight.”
“Oh, yes. All we have to worry about is the signal tomorrow. After that, we’ll let the Krigere destroy each other.”
And there it is. The plan laid out, so clear.
Did she want me to hear it? Or are these Vasterutians stupid enough to speak outside my door with no thought for who’s listening? They were speaking Krigere—was that deviousness or because they have been punished for speaking Vasterutian within the fortress walls?
I’m not sure it matters. One way or another, they are guilty of treachery.
Any trust or affection I ever had for Halina is gone. If what she said is true, she’s crafted a brilliant plan, using Thyra’s stubbornness and our warriors’ loyalty as a weapon against Nisse, never mind that it will result in hundreds of warrior deaths. My anger is a fire, and I wince as I feel my skin grow feverish. If I don’t control this rage, it will devour me before I can save even one life. So for once, I’ll follow Thyra’s path and not let my fury guide me.
Halina comes through the door a moment later. She has fresh bandages folded over one arm and carries a pitcher of water. She lights a candle with the one she brought from the corridor, and I make a show of sitting up and yawning. “Did you find out about my cloak?” I ask, hoping she pays more attention to my light tone than the searing heat of my breath.