“You’ll be happy to know thatI’veactually thought this one through.” Bending to open her bag, she revealed the almandine arrows Eyden had gotten. “And there’s more where that came from.”
“Where did you get this many arrows?” Jaspen asked, a strand of his unruly hair escaping his low ponytail.
Elyssa grinned at him, not even trying to hide her arrogance. Eyden and Ilario had been trying hard to get their hands on as many arrows as possible through the black market. “You’d be surprised what you can accomplish when you aren’t so goddamn close-minded.” She thought she caught a few snickers from the crowd, but the wind made it hard to make out.
“Do you have a point, or are you just here to waste my time?” Jaspen asked.
Elyssa crossed her arms, her grin widening. “Oh, I always have a point. And this is my most magnificent one yet.” She let her gaze wander over the crowd, looking at each of them. “Tomorrow, Karwyn is holding a speech in town. He’ll be out in the open, and with your help, he won’t make it back home. Instead of returning to the palace, tucked into his bed, he will end up right where we want him.”
“And then what?” Wylliam asked, a middle-aged man Elyssa had known since she was a child.
“Leave the rest up to us. We have a plan. There are powerful witches involved who know what they’re doing. Tomorrow, the kingwillfall. All we need is a big enough distraction to cause utter, delicious mayhem during Karwyn’s speech.” Elyssa pointed to the almandine arrows. “With these, we’ll have an advantage.”
Turning her head, she took in the faces staring back at her. Most were sceptical, some scared, some determined. “I won’t force you into anything. It’syourchoice. It’s your goddamn risk to take. But this is the best chance we’ve ever had at forging the future we all dream of. We’ve always talked about making a difference. This is fucking it.”
It was quiet for a moment. She hoped they would see the chance she was presenting them. There was strength in numbers, and they needed to cause enough chaos to give Rhay the chance to whisk Karwyn away, into their trap.
Wylliam stepped forward first. “I’m game. We haven’t accomplished anything lately. Let’s show those fuckers what we humans are made of.” A few grunts of approval sounded around her, and then, one after the other, everyone stepped forward. The grin on Elyssa’s face widened, her teeth showing.
The only ones who hadn’t moved were Ian and Jaspen. Ian glanced at Jaspen, before taking a tiny step forward. He lowered his head as Jaspen glared at him.
“Fine,” Jaspen said, his tone biting. “We will join your crazy mission.” As if he had any say in the matter when everyone else had already agreed. “But no one comes crying to me when the fae turn on us. I warned you all.”
Elyssa bit back her reply and instead said, “Marvellous. It’s decided, then. My tent is still as I’ve left it, I assume?” Her sickly sweet smile was directed at Jaspen.
“No one else needed it so far,” Jaspen replied, stone-faced.
“I’ll stay here tonight. We need to go over every detail and prepare as much as we can. We don’t have much time and we need to make it count.” Elyssa pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. “This is a sketch of the plaza. Let’s start with dividing ourselves into groups and assigning everyone a section.”
She looked at the faces staring back at her. So familiar, yet a new purpose lit up their eyes. Elyssa realised she’d missed this more than she had let herself admit. And judging from the expressions of most rebels gathering close, they might have realised how little truth lay behind Jaspen’s claims.
A part of her belonged here. She had grown up at the other camp, the one that had been discovered and brutally destroyed, but this was the last place her parents had lived before they’d died.
If Elyssa focused hard enough, she could picture her parents in the crowd, watching her proudly. She imagined her mother smiling, knowing Elyssa didn’t see defeat as an option, knowing she was fighting for what she believed in.
She fucking had this.
Chapter62
Lora
Hours later, after a very cold shower by herself, Lora was dressed and ready for dinner. Or as ready as she could be. Seeing Karwyn again without blasting fire in his face would be difficult.
Her gaze went to the bathroom door, her mind turning to the phone she had stashed there. Lora had spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what to say to her family, but she kept coming up empty. Time had passed so quickly that she ended up chickening out, afraid someone might come pick her up early from her room. She felt guilty and relieved at the same time.
Before she could dwell on it any longer, a sharp knock on her door made her turn away from the bathroom. She shut her eyes for a split second, trying to calm her breathing. It was no use.
Sighing, Lora went to open the door, expecting a guard or maybe even Layken. Instead, her cousin stood before her. There was no trace left of the damage Eyden’s fists had done to his face. His golden hair was swept from his face, not hiding anything.
“Little cousin,” he said sharply. “I hope you enjoyed your solitude and had time to lick your wounds.”
Rage almost made her snap back at him. Her fingers tightened on her doorknob so much that it hurt.
“Saydren saw to it that my stomach wound healed quickly, thank you for inquiring,” Lora bit out.
Karwyn’s gaze moved from her face to her neck, where the faintest bruises were still present. With the fae’s sharp eyesight, it was noticeable enough if one paid attention. “Why is your neck not healed? Did the guard not give you the salve Saydren made?”
Lora put a smile on her face as she replied, “Oh, he did. Very thoughtful ofhimto rememberdaysafter it happened.” She traced her fingers over the affected skin. “I got used to it. It’s kind of a look, isn’t it? Doesn’t it scream ‘I survived my psychotic cousin?’”
