“Siran,please,” Sorsha begged, following the captain as he turned and strode across the tower.
Though I wasn’t surprised by Siran’s answer, it wasn’t what we’d hoped for after flying for hours in the frigid rain. My leathers were soaked, my hands were numb, and my belly churned with a gnawing hunger.
Frankly, I was not in the mood.
“If we don’t kill Semphrys, there will be nothing to stop the scourge that’s spreading across Anvalyn,” Sorsha continued.
“You and I both know the Dark King cannot be killed.”Siran’s gaze flicked to Kaden. “His kind isn’t just long-lived. They are truly immortal. Indestructible.”
“Not for a huntress with a witchwood blade,” Kaden murmured, scarcely loud enough for the captain to hear.
For the first time since we’d landed, Siran’s attention slid to me.
“Alfrigg may be in denial about the Ravaging, but even you must have noticed that the realm is dying,” Kaden continued. “My sister tells me you rotate your troops regularly between here and the mainland. Probably so they can replenish their magic, which grows weak after being stationed here for months on end. What do you think will happen if things continue as they are? Anvalyn won’t be able to sustain life if its magic weakens much more.”
Siran paled slightly, but he pursed his lips. “Be that as it may, I cannot send troops to Dorthus simply because you ask me.” His gaze flicked to Sorsha, his tone apologetic as he said, “My orders are clear.”
“Your orders fromAlfrigg, the false king,” Sorsha pressed, her eyes wide and pleading.
The captain’s expression hardened. “Do not put me in this position, Highness. You know that I, of all people, am sympathetic to your plight. But I do not condone treason.”
“Treason?” the princess cried, following him as he started toward the stairs once again. “How can you defend Alfrigg when he sent troops into Klodäsch to slaughter innocent civilians?”
Siran froze but did not turn around. “Klodäsch?” He shook his head. “You must be mistaken. There would be no reason to —”
“No reason except that the fae there are Drathen,” Sorsha spat. “Have you not been listening? The king youare so loyal to sent soldiers to a remote mountain village for the sole purpose of destroying a Drathen settlement and slaughtering innocent fae.”
The captain turned to the princess, his face ashen. When he spoke next, his voice was barely a whisper. “I would never question your integrity, Highness. But if what you are saying is true, then things are even more dangerous for you than I feared.”
Siran gripped her arm, drawing her close. I glanced up at Adriel, expecting to find him glowering at the captain, but the royal guard’s expression was devoid of emotion.
“Highness, if Alfrigg is breaking the accord struck by your mother, then you are no longer safe here. If he is so brazenly slaughtering Drathen fae, I can’t imagine he would hesitate to kill the former queen’s only legitimate heir. Especially if he were to catch wind of your . . . sympathies.”
“Sympathies?” Sorsha wrenched her arm out of his grip, looking disgusted. “How can you say that about your own people?”
Siran’s expression tightened, and he cut a quick glance at Kaden before lowering his voice even more. “They are notmypeople, Highness. Nor are they yours.”
Sorsha paled, her turquoise eyes narrowing in an icy glare. “All the fae of Anvalyn are my people,” she hissed. “Just as they were my mother’s people.”
For the first time, the captain looked sheepish. “Forgive me. I did not —” He broke off. “I only meant that these are dangerous times, politically speaking. For you in particular.”
Siran reached for her again, but the princess bared her teeth, and he seemed to think better of it. His brow furrowed. “I do not wish to see you get hurt.”
“Do not concern yourself with me,” Sorsha seethed. “Concern yourself with the wishes of your future king, even if he isDrathen.”
Siran blanched.
Kaden looked much more smug than he had any right to, standing on the battlements of an outpost under Alfrigg’s command.
“Highness,” the captain spluttered. “You know that I would doanythingfor you, but this battalion is not under the command of the demon prince. I will not send my soldiers to their deaths.”
Her nostrils flared. “Then you send me to mine.”
Siran winced. “Highness —”
“Forgive me, Captain. But I will not stand idly by as my people are slain, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. My brotherwilltake the throne. But he cannot stand against the false king until Semphrys is defeated. Until we have stopped the scourge that is killing our lands.”
Siran opened his mouth as though he might interject, but the princess rolled on. “If you will not stand with me, then you stand against me.”
