I raised an eyebrow. “In the middle of the night?”
Neither of them answered me. Sawyer frantically dug through Sebastian's wardrobe, gathering his armor for him.
“What's going on?”
Sebastian caught my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Draemornian soldiers just attacked a village just a few miles from here—burned it to the ground,” he stated, taking his armor from Sawyer as we rushed out of his bedchambers.
We started down the corridor, walking at such a fast pace that we may as well have just ran. Sebastian pulled his chest plate over his head, buckling the sides as we moved.
“A few miles from here?” My forehead creased. There were only a couple of villages in that range of the castle.
Sebastian and Sawyer started down the staircase, reaching the bottom before I’d even stepped foot onto it.
“Which village?” I asked, my voice cold and bleak.
They looked up at me from the bottom of the stairs, neither one speaking as they gave each other a knowing glance.
“Which. Village. Was. Attacked?” I enunciated each word through the tight barrier of my clenched jaw.
“Yours.”
Chapter
Forty-One
“Draemornian troops are closing in on the castle grounds, I would predict that within a few hours—by midday at the latest—we will be in the depths of battle. Prepare yourselves to protect what's ours.” King Hawthorne sounded terrified, but I had a hard time focusing on his words.
My family's village was gone. Burned into ash. The place where I was raised, a pile of ruins. The village where my mother and sisterlived. Destroyed.
There was no chance that they survived. Not if things really happened how Sawyer described them. And by the way the king spoke, I had no reason to doubt his claim.
My nails left indents in my sweating palms. I held back tears as my mind intruded on me, forcing me to vividly imagine their screams as they were suffocated beneath piles of rock and burning wood. I couldn’t stop myself from picturing their charred carcasses, surrounded by smoke and lying in the rubble of my childhood home—now their grave.
I wanted to vomit. Cry. Scream. But an outburst wouldn't bring them back. I needed vengeance, and I would have it.King Beaumont and his piece of shit soldiers would soon learn just how powerful a product of Blythe was.
Glancing up, I noticed Sebastian staring at me. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched me intently, waiting for me to snap. But I wouldn't break. Not yet. There was work to do.
My hearing narrowed in on the tail end of King Hawthorne’s speech. “The first years are not responsible to fight, but we need all the hands we can get, so if those in your combat groups are willing, please direct them accordingly.” He rose from his throne, stepping down the velvet steps to approach me.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I have no choice but to fight. You don't need to remind me,” I snarled at him before he got a chance to speak.
He didn't flinch at my rudeness. “I want you to flee. The Draemornians are going to be coming after you. They want to take over the kingdom, yes, but they want you more. Leave the grounds, and stay hidden.”
My neck bounced back at his words. I certainly did not expect him to want me to hide. Shaking my head side to side, I dismissed the order. “No way in hell,Your Majesty. Beaumont’s soldiers just burned my family’s fucking home to the ground, meaning my mother and sister went down with it.”
Ignoring my choice of words, Aldous said, “This is an order, soldier. Protecting your gift is more important than you getting revenge.”
“What happened to me having to fight no matter the cost? Remember your whole broken arm, fighting even if I am laboring my child speech?”
Gasps emitted from the bystanders in the room, but I ignored them.
“I have changed my mind. Now leave.”
I put my hands on my hips, scowling at the king of Caelestis. I'd had more than enough of him controlling every aspect of my life. The worst part is that I'd let him. For almosta year I had let this man dictate my every move. Not anymore.
I was done.
Straightening my posture, I leaned my face close to his. “I'm not a coward. And you don't control me.” My words spat through bared teeth.
