“Just up ahead.” He tilted his chin toward a darker thicket where the shadows appeared to deepen.
The undergrowth parted like a curtain as Henry approached, revealing a hidden clearing where figures waited in the darkness.There were a dozen, maybe more. It was hard to tell as they blended into the shadows.
These men and women were no rebel army. Their mismatched armor would look comical in any other circumstance. They carried weapons that had seen far too much use, and judging by the way they held them awkwardly at their sides, they weren’t proficient.
“The plan is to make the palace believe the rebels attacked the food supplies,” I said, so only Henry could hear. “They can barely lift their blades.”
A woman stepped forward, her silver hair braided with what looked like… were those thorns? Her eyes found mine, and I felt the weight of her scrutiny like a blade against my throat.
“We may not be trained soldiers, but we had to defend ourselves from Wraith Borne attacks, and we survived. How many others can say the same?”
She lifted her chin, her defiance palpable.
Henry chuckled beside me as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Sinead has exceptional hearing. She is our tracker.”
“A little warning would have been nice.”
“And I was supposed to foresee you waltzing in here and insulting these fine people the instant your feet crossed the threshold?”
The amusement in his tone made Sinead smirk as she relished my discomfort.
I cleared my throat as I rubbed my hands together. “Well then, we should get this moving.”
“Aye.” Henry nodded, his grin fading into something more serious. “Time isn’t our friend today.”
I scanned the ragtag group again, trying to see beyond my initial judgment. A hardness in their eyes spoke of past horrors, yet that only seemed to strengthen their resolve.
With any luck, that would be enough.
“Show me your map,” I said, holding out my hand.
A thin man with a scar bisecting his left eyebrow stepped forward, unfurling worn parchment.
My finger traced the eastern trail. “This is the revised path.”
Henry furrowed his brow. “You’re sure? That’s a common trading route. I thought the palace guards were trying to remain undetected.”
A grin stretched across my face, which was impossible to suppress. Cadence’s plan was flawless. Ryker had laid a trap for the rebels, aiming to either eliminate them or expose their informant as a member of the Unseelie Council.
Despite my sister’s warning to the Crimson Enclave, we remained confident that they would show up today. If only to send a message of their own.
One written in blood.
What Ryker could never have foreseen was that both traps would be triggered simultaneously, leaving him no closer to unveiling the source of unrest within his kingdom. The fallout would be immediate, and the resulting confusion would give Cadence and me a chance to slip away unseen.
It was brilliant.
“They’ve tried that,” I said. “They’re hoping for a better outcome by hiding in plain sight.”
The grin he threw me rivaled my own. “We wouldn’t want to disappoint them now, would we?”
“No, we would not.” I rolled my shoulders before unsheathing my sword. “Let’s move out.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Callum
The forest swallowed our group whole as we advanced in formation. What they lacked in training, they made up for in stealth. They moved through the brush as silently as wraiths,using the shadows beneath the canopy to conceal them from sight.
