My lips kick up into a smirk. “Why is it that it’s obvious to everyone but them?”
Lachlan shrugs and loads his plate with various meats. “They’ve been that way for as long as I’ve known them.”
I glance at Tane and Mathilda before turning back to Lachlan. “And how long have you known them?”
Lachlan’s face scrunches up adorably as he thinks back. “Well, I was fifteen when Torin first brought me here, so ten years now.”
I do the math in my head. “Wow, so you were only twenty when you made captain?” How on earth did he manage to climb the ranks so quickly?
Lachlan smirks and steers us back towards the table. “Superior genetics, I guess,” he mutters.
The table is unusually quiet when we approach and take our seats. Mathilda blushes when I glance her way, but I don’t bring up their obvious attraction to each other as I begin digging into my food.
“So, what’s the plan now?” she asks, not taking her eyes off the pasta she’s wrapping around her fork.
Years of my father’s battle strategies flood my mind, and I sift through all the information. Every practice, every lecture from history to politics, and every book they forced me to read was in preparation for this place. Reading Sun Tzu at seventeen hardly seems silly now.
“We need to have a system in place for the new recruits that Elowen sends to the island. A way to make sure they’re not spies, and then another system in place for setting them up with a place to stay and a job. If we just allow anyone in, we’ll open ourselves up for an attack, and if we let too many people in at once, we’ll be too disorganized and chaotic.”
Lachlan’s mouth drops open as he stares at me in shock.
Tane and Mathilda share equal looks of surprise before looking back at me.
“What?” I ask, glancing around at everyone.
“You sounded so official,” Tane replies.
I roll my eyes and continue, “I’d like to delegate roles to each of you to help with incoming rebels while also making sure we all work together as a team. If you get overwhelmed, I want usto be able to communicate that with each other. Help pick up the slack.”
Lachlan’s face shifts into something akin to pride. “I can help with whatever ye need and move between multiple jobs.”
I nod while thinking it through. “I would like that, thank you.”
As he is the captain of the guard and my only link to all my new friends, it would be beneficial for him to be my go-between.
Mathilda pipes up next. “I would like to set up a school here for the children of the warriors who join our cause.”
I smile gratefully. “That would be excellent. If we stick with a routine for the young ones, it would lessen the stress on their parents. Great idea, Mathilda.”
She is the most maternal of the group, so it only makes sense that she would think of the children first. She smiles in response and continues eating.
Tane eyes Mathilda before looking my way. “Well, new recruits will mean more houses or, at the very least, tents. I have experience with both.”
“Perfect, thank you. I know very little about either. That just leaves Mina and Evander. When they get here tomorrow, I’ll ask what roles they feel comfortable stepping into. But at least now we have something figured out.”
Having just a few things marked off a to-do list I hadn’t even officially planned out yet settles the growing tension in my stomach.
“So now we just need to figure out how to take control of this realm, how to prevent the Great War from happening, and how to restore magic. This is doable, right?” I ask, looking around the table at my friends.
Lachlan smiles warmly. “Sure, Key.”
Mathilda gives me an unwavering smile and two thumbs up. “Very doable.”
Tane looks around at us like we’re crazy before Mathilda elbows him in the ribs. “It’s doable,” he grumbles, rubbing his side.
25
REVELATIONS
