Page 59 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

Chapter twenty-six

There the Beta stood, mouth gagged and hands bound, looking a little worse for wear. Other than a bloody nose, he looked fine in any case. When he spotted me, he started talking and gesturing wildly with his hands, yet I couldn’t understand a word of it. Getting up, I snatched the gag, a rolled-up sock, out of his mouth.

“Oh, thank god, Dani, tell them they can’t kill me. If you want any hope of us working together, my death isn’t going to help things. They came out of nowhere and grabbed me, not saying a word about why,” Branko rushed, trying to get all his words out before anyone could stop him.

Looking at the two men who seemed rather pleased with themselves, I quirked a brow. “Would you care to explain why Branko is joining us against his will?”

“Happy Birthday, Little Spark. You said you needed to find a way to talk to him on neutral ground,” Victor answered. “This might not be exactly what you meant, but this way you can have your chat and not be disturbed.”

That had me frowning. “What did you do to the others?”

“We might have found one of their dart guns and put it to good use,” Lucian shared. “I feel like it's only fair play since they used it on us and should know what it’s like.”

Dropping my head into my hands, I groaned. “Remind me the next time we need to save the country that I’m a little more specific in how I want situations like this handled. Can you please untie the man? He’s not going anywhere with all six of you around.”

Lucian pulled out his knife and cut off the bindings. Branko flinched but was smart and didn’t try to run away. “Please take a seat by the fire. Make yourself comfortable. I promise that no one will try to kill you… as long as you don’t provoke them,” I added, just to be safe.

Victor and Lucian sat on either side of him as if to reinforce the don’t be stupid part of this situation. Once everyone relaxed, I briefly watched Branko as he studied the guys individually. Sorin looked like he was about to say something, but I shook my head wanting Branko to be the one who initiated things.

“They truly do get along,” Branko murmured as he met my gaze. “When you told me they chose you over their loyalty to their country and were willing to have him part of this I didn’t believe a single word of it,” he shared, jerking his thumb over at Lucian. “Then here I am as a result of those two working together in a coordinated attack that took down my whole team with just two people.”

Victor shrugged. “We could have done it earlier, but since we didn’t know where Dani was, it seemed smarter to get her out in the open.”

“The cave wasn’t rigged to blow. I had my men check since you left with her and the detonator. I couldn't risk you returning and completing the job,” Branko commented.

“All that matters is you believed us and we got our girl back,” Sorin pointed out. “We aren’t here to talk about that, though. Dani tells us that she’s mentioned what we’re trying to do but that you weren’t quite convinced. Tell me what would have you understand beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we were serious about working with the rebels to take out the General and end the war?”

Branko sat there staring into the fire as he thought while the rest of us waited for his answer. When he looked back up, I saw a determined set to his jaw that told me he’d made a decision.

“Who else is backing this?” he questioned. “If all you have is the seven of you, then there is no chance, even with the rebels assisting you.”

Two days ago, we’d gotten the call from Savo with two words making it through the awful connection we had on the satellite phone—we’re in. This was the last part we needed to show the rebels that we weren’t just a group of dreamers using wishes and rainbows to make this happen. If Oscad was willing to lend its military power to make this happen, there was more hope than ever before.

“If you’re given that information, how do we know you won’t sell us out?” Lucian challenged. “You were a spy before in my own ranks, how do I know you didn’t flip to the other side, and you’re reporting back to my father what the rebels are doing?”

Branko laughed. “What could the General possibly have on the likes of me? He’d need to know who I was and the fact I was an agent for the rebels at all. Besides, how fucked in the head would I have to be to believe anything that the North promises would come true? They have done fuck all for anyone but themselves.”

“Gotta agree with the man there,” Lucian muttered. “What about the rest of you? Do you feel it’s all right to share with him, or do we keep it to ourselves until we reach the stronghold?”

“See, that’s the thing, if you don’t tell me then I’m not going to take you there. No one can find it without a guide. It's a refugee camp hidden away from the prying eyes of the North and the flying eyes of the South,” Branko shared.

Toma leaned forward, seemingly confused. “Wait, there have been drones flying around here?”

“Not so much the past year, but yeah, there have been drones,” he assured. “We shoot them the second we spot them, although everyone knows the North doesn’t have technology like that.”

“That can’t be. A person needs to be within six miles since it needs to be operated by control. None of my people would ever be able to get this close to the mountains without us noticing missing equipment or missing people,” Toma countered.

“Look, all I can tell you is what I’ve experienced myself. And with my own two eyes, I’ve seen those damn things flying around. If we ever make it to the stronghold, I’ll show them to you. We keep whatever we can find on the off chance there’s something we can do with it or make from it. The fact that you evidently feel like you should have knowledge about this and don’t has me interested, though,” Branko mused aloud.

“Speaking of the South, I feel like it might help the situation if I introduced myself,” Sorin said, holding out a hand. “I’m Sorin Dragomire, son of President Dragomire, and heir to the South.”

Branko took the offered hand and shook it slowly, his eyes wide. “I’m sorry, did you say…”

“Dragomire, yes, that’s correct,” Sorin finished for him. “Unlike my father, I don’t particularly want to make my mark on the world in politics, but there are some duties you can’t avoid. I feel my place in the military is protecting our people and helping them that way. If we can end this war, that means everything changes for both sides. Our hope is for the best. Things won’t be easy and we need to know there are people in our corner who can show others a better way. Clearly, you rebels are doing that all on your own, fighting for freedom and living the life you’ve wanted. Now, we need your people to stand with ours to show it’s possible.”

A laugh escaped Branko. “I thought you said you didn’t want to be in the world of politics?”

Sorin grinned. “Can’t help how you were raised, but I won’t argue that learning how to be persuasive has been rather helpful.”