Shadow and light must coexist in harmony. The blood of the panicked must be bled for the answers to be obtained.
I glance at Oak, and his hair is even more disheveled than before, and I read the last sentence.
Invisible darkness cannot fight the undetectable.
My thoughts run wild, and I lift my gaze once more, finding Oak practically falling out of his chair as the anticipation fills him. I find it hilarious, I must say. A loud bubble of nervous laughter escapes my throat, and his face turns puzzled.
“This is funny to you?” Oak sits straight up. “I’m over here about to go cross-eyed, and you are laughing?”
“I’m sorry.” I laugh again. “How the hell did we wind up here?”
I glance around the room, and the others watch me, clearly believing I’ve gone insane.
“A year ago, we would have all thought someone was insane if they told us where we would end up.”
Maines smiles. “I agree.”
“I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else, though. I’m going to fix this for us.”
Fen and Warrick walk back into the room, hearing our conversation, and Fen sits at the table beside Maines. Her face is pale, and I can tell she hasn’t slept well. The stone around her neck is distracting, but I do all I can to ignore the jewel after discovering what I think is a second stone. It’s been safe this long with her, so I’m going to let it remain that way until we knowmore. Warrick remains cold as ice, and for the first time, his face looks gaunt and tired.
Larkin shuffles in his chair. “You speak as if you are doing this alone, Briar. You aren’t alone.”
“Agreed. We are doing this together or not at all,” Silas speaks.
“You all may proceed without me, because if I endure any more of this, I’m likely to die from stress,” Oak says, clearly having regained some of his humor.
“No, you aren’t,” Fen says. “ You are stuck with us all, Hombern, whether you like it or not.”
We chuckle briefly until silence falls back over us. The page before me burns into my memory, and I take a moment to mentally prepare for what’s to come.
“I’m assuming you all know what the message means within the Rigil? I’m the only one feeling left out?” Oak asks.
“You aren’t left out, Oak,” Maines replies. “I just know that Silas and Briar already have a plan, like always.”
We exchange a quick look, and I give him the go-ahead to fill them all in.
Silas clears his throat. “Tonight, Briar will enter the Forgotten Archives. We will take the information that we have and pray that it’s enough for her to find the answers we seek. Many documents in there pertain to the Great Wiitches, and possibly what we need to destroy them, or at least save our vessels.”
Fen flinches at that word, like the link between her and Rohhit is painful.
Silas continues, “I have no idea how long Briar has in the Archives, but we will wait outside the door. Should anything go wrong, I’m prepared to enter, protected or not.”
“I’m prepared, too,” Larkin says.
“So are we,” Maines says, along with Oak.
I snap my gaze to them. “No way. If you’re not protected, then there’s no way you can come in after me.”
“Like we said,” Larkin interjects. “You aren’t alone in this, so stop trying to be.”
I smile, and a rush of gratitude fills me.
“Then it’s settled. We will prepare for tonight.” Silas stands. “Tomorrow morning, I will declare myself King of Andorwood before the entire kingdom. I will give them the option to choose their own paths or fight alongside us. Andorwood has kept the true state of this kingdom a secret all these years. However, we are still a band of rebels. Whatever happens, our plan remains unchanged.”
“I agree,” I say, standing alongside him. “We have our plans in motion and are prepared for when the ship gets closer. We will stick to the plan we established together.”
The rest of the group stands and dismisses themselves. Silas and the men move toward the sitting area to discuss the upcoming events, while Maines heads to her bedroom to gather a few healing properties we may need should things go wrong tonight. Fen remains alone, and I watch her sluggishly return to the balcony, desperate to be in a wide-open space.
