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Roan sends his man down with a final jab, his opponent unable to get back up for another round. He turns in stride, facing my rocky position, only a few running strides away from where I kneel. His focus remains on Sir Crane as he closes the last few steps separating us.
“You hurt her. You die.” Roan’s husky voice betrays no emotion beyond his tenacious desire to shove his sword into Phillip Crane’s chest.
The old man doesn’t have time to return a threat before the gargling noise of death reaches my ears. Phillip Crane’s sword goes slack against me. I turn in time to see Aiden standing beside him, a dagger lodged neatly in Sir Crane’s side. He has only a few, painful minutes before his punctured kidney and lung suffocate him from the inside out.
Aiden’s fierce gaze boasts nothing of his earlier innocence. Blood trickles down his hand, more splattered across his shirt. I nod to my rescuer, the only show of gratitude I can offer as I turn my concentration back to the stage of Phillip Crane’s defeat, crawling over the grass until I can look him in the eyes.
“What did you mean earlier— the package, the money, the decade of planning, the mention of thrones?” There's an edge to my voice. A desperation to hear the truth, while also praying that my instincts are wrong. That desperation folds haphazardly into dread as I wait to hear my fears confirmed.
A dying man’s thoughts go one of two ways: relieving himself of his guilt and wrongdoings in order to pass this life with a clear conscious, or holding his secrets close in one last victory against those who wronged him.
Sir Crane picks one last defeat. “You’ll never… find her.” His whispered words are garbled with blood, but the truth that flows leaves me speechless, frozen next to him as I witness his last few breaths.
His vicious grin settles into a frigid line. Aiden stands a few paces away from me, confusion pulling at his brows as I kneel over Sir Crane’s body, staring at his now lifeless face.
I have lived the last few years of my life with nothing to lose. A life that simply lived day to day, taking care of myself, never being tied to anything more than Marg’s wishes. When did my indifference to Felshan, to its crown, turn into something more? When did tendrils of affection for this princess plant themselves inside of me? No, no. It’s not affection, just a desire for my own gain.Right?
But my heart still drops. Feeling slowly leaves my limbs, one by one, as his words sink into me. I want to scream, to release the panic building inside of me. He was somehow involved in the kidnapping. He knew something. All this time, answers were right here. I turn, finding myself alone.
The captain left when Sir Crane was incapacitated and is now standing next to Liam as they finish the last of Crane’s men. He traps the man in a firm hold, signaling Liam to take the killing shot.
“Wait!” I yell, attempting to stop their final blow.
He’s the only one left to spill their secrets. To help us discover vital information about the princess. To bring her home safely.
“Don’t kill him!” I scream, leaping to my feet and meeting them across the yard. “He knows something. He knows something about the princess.” I’m out of breath, hardly able to find my voice. I recognize his face from Sir Crane’s office. I think he called the man Tamen.
The captain’s face goes rigid, looking down at the man struggling to break free. Liam only stares at me, and I realize too late that he has no idea what I’m talking about. There’s no time or room for secrecy. The house has likely been alerted by the commotion, and who knows how many more able bodied men will come ready to fight. Someone could have already notified the Guard of our intrusion.
“Crane told me we would never find her. What did he mean? Find who? The princess?” I try not to spit at the man, but in my haste to make him talk it’s hard to keep my emotions in check. My nerves are pushing up against our last, fraying moment to find answers.
“Go to hell!” he screams back at me.
Roan twists Tamen’s arm behind him, holding it in such a way that the smallest movement will break it, the position itself causing excruciating pain. The man yelps in response, his face twisting in agony.
“The girl. The girl,” he relays through the pain. “They needed passage, undetected through Fort Lowsan. We helped them get through,” Tamen says through paining breaths.
“Who was with them?” Roan asks, understanding clicking into place.
“I don’t know. A guy. An older woman. And a younger woman.” The man squeals as the captain pulls his arm tighter. “I told you, I told you! That’s all I know!”
“Which way did they go?” Captain Montgomery asks.
“I don’t know. I swear. We just had to get them out the north gate without the Guard noticing.”
“What did they mean inside, that this takeover was almost a decade in the making?” I ask, my body feeling as if it might explode at any moment. The captain only stares at me as I relay what I overheard.
“Taking control of… of… Fort Lowsan.” Tamen's hesitation is evidence of his lie, my many years of interrogation highlighting his deception.
“Liar. Someone said taking over one throne of power was no different than another. The stepping stones were easier to lay. What did he mean?” I shout at him, no longer able to play the cool, collected interrogator.
He flinches, but is unyielding. Roan pulls his arm to its breaking point, the agony pushing at the man’s resolve. It takes all my willpower not to slap him unconscious.
He looks as if he will pass out at any moment as he begins to sway. “The throne of Turin, the whole of Felshan,” Tamen huffs out.
I step back, Roan meeting my gaze as shock and disbelief share the space between us. Liam stands to the side, his eyes going wide as the words spoken around him click into place.
More questions swarm my mind as I turn my attention back to the groaning man. Shouts ring from around the house, lights springing to action inside.Just a few more seconds.
