Chapter 7
“Is thisa joke? You can’t trust him!” I urge, turning to Artemus. “He’s the prince!”
Ryder takes a step forward, drawing my attention back to him.
“Iamthe prince.” He reaches into one of the pockets on the inside of his cloak. “And youcantrust me.”
When he pulls his hand back out, there’s a folded-up piece of paper between his two fingers. I glance down at it and quickly pluck it from his hand.
“My father’s letter. How did you—”
“I grabbed it before leaving the Sector. I thought you might want it.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head.
He removes his cloak and hangs it on the back ofa chair before taking a seat.
“You don’t, but you will.” He grabs the chair next to him and pulls it out, motioning for me to take a seat. I’m beyond confused and have no idea what to think, but I sit down next to him. “The others are safe. Zane is at the Sector, and Amaya, Emeric, Elias, and Akari are all in the Shadow Lands.”
There’s only a split second of relief before I hear the last part.
“The Shadow Lands?” Panic immediately rises within me.
“It’s okay. They’re safe. The Shadow Lands aren’t what you think they are.”
“And what about their families?” I demand.
“Their families have been made aware of their whereabouts, and I have already given orders to send for them.”
My head is spinning. Nothing makes sense. Everything is backwards.
Ryder is working with the rebellion? My friends are alive? The Shadow Lands aren’t the place of nightmares I’ve been taught to believe?
“As you know, my father banished me to the Shadow Lands. Whatever you think they’re like, they were worse back then. Every day was a fight for survival, but over the five years I was there, I was able to build order throughout the lands. The one thing everyone could agree on was their hatred for my father and wanting to bring him down. It’s that common interest that united everyone.”
I’m in utter shock listening to him speak so ill of his father. All this time I had assumed he was working with him, not against him.
“Coming together was just phase one,” he continues. “Most of the people banished were there because they were deemed Lesser. If we wanted any chance of going up against my father, I needed to find a way to build an army. Thus began phase two. Unlike the Sector that sticks to a certain criteria, I created anew training program that would work to highlight people’s strengths instead of their weaknesses. Over time, units were assigned, and branches were formed.”
Artemus drops a packet of papers in front of each of us before taking a seat on the other side of the table.
“What’s this?” I ask, already flipping through the pages.
“Phase three.”
“Three months from now,” Ryder begins. “There’s going to be a celebration marking my father’s two hundredth year as king. That’s when we’ll attack.”
“Three months? That’s so far away.”
“That’s what makes it so perfect. He’ll have his guard down by then. Everything will have appeared to have gone back to normal.” Ryder turns his body to me. “You’ll learn that when it comes to war, you have to play the long game.”
“Funny, your father said the same thing about waiting until I was trained to imprison me.”
“My father is many things, including strategic, and he’s taught me how to be as well. That’s why I know he won’t see the attack coming.”
“So, what do we do until then?” I ask, fidgeting with one of the dragon figurines.
Ryder turns around and pulls a scroll out of his cloak. When he unrolls it on the table, I see an image of a scepter. The other men lean forward to get a closer look.
