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“Fucking hell,” I said while running my hand through my hair. “Someone on the inside must be leaking information. We need to interrogate everyone at the tower.”
“I’m here to keep an eye on the situation,” Eva replied.
“Why didn’t my father call me? Does he not trust me?”
“Can you blame him? You’ve gone crazy for that girl. No one trusts you to think straight where she’s involved,” she replied with a teenage dramatic roll of her eyes.
I looked at the door and lowered my voice. “How is she…”
“Who?” she asked, her dark eyes twinkling.
“You know who,” I snapped.
“Oh. Lady Abernathy? She’s good, I suppose. Training with Hudson. By the way, how’d you pull that off? I’ve been begging him for years to work with me.”
I sighed. Hudson was probably beating her black and blue. It always bothered me to see her like that. Their training was brutal and vicious. I had to force myself not to kill him when I saw he’d broken her finger.
“Don’t mention her to King Augustus,” I warned.
“Duh,” she replied just as the door handle twisted, indicating that Augustus was coming back inside.
“Leo will meet us there tonight,” he said, scrolling uneasily through his phone. “He sounded pathetic. Wish he would pull himself together.”
The irony in Augustus’s statement was not lost on me. Just a few days ago, he was sobbing in a field and hugging me like his life depended on it. Between Eva, Augustus, and me, I was sure half the town knew we were there by now. “We might have to change locations again. I don’t want to sit here while rumors spread. Maybe show up to the rally later.”
“No,” Eva said, folding her arms across her chest. “You need to stay here. That’s how we’ll get to Lord Nathan. He’ll show up. People from all over are coming to this thing. Looks like a Renaissance fair outside. No one will think twice about two men staying here for the rally.”
Augustus and I looked at each other. “You’re right,” I said after a moment, my eyes meeting his in agreement. “We need to stay here. He’ll show up, we just have to be patient.”
“I hate this bloody town,” Eva murmured. “It’s been a hell-hole ever since the rebellion three years ago. I heard they had so many bodies they had to burn them in mass graves.”
I scratched my chin, searching my memories. “Wasn’t Lord Geralt involved in that?” I asked.
Eva scoffed. “My father says everyone blamed Lord Finich, but Lord Geralt led the army behind the massacre. Pretty ironic that his brother is now here pretending to save the day and offer them vengeance on a silver platter.”
Augustus and I exchanged a look. Maybe this was a weakness we could exploit later to turn his militia against him.
The next few hours were a series of back-and-forths between Eva, Augustus, and me. No one wanted to agree with any of the plans brought up. Eva was ruthless and cared nothing for me or the king. She was here for a job, casualties be damned.
Another knock landed on the door. “Must be Leo. Let’s hope he’s more help than the teenage mutant here,” Augustus scoffed.
When the king opened the door, Leo was out of breath and staring wide eyed at the room. My heart clenched when his gaze landed on me.
“Atticus, we need to talk,” he said, his words like an automatic weapon.
Augustus scowled. “You’re my guard; what could you possibly need to discuss with Atticus? We’ve been here for days while you—”
“Atticus. It’s important,” he insisted while staring at me. He had that wild look of determination and frantic worry. I looked at him and saw a man plagued with indecision. I could see the sadness, apprehension, and horror in his eyes. His hands betrayed him as they trembled at his side.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Leo?” Augustus spat.
Leo looked at his king and bowed slightly, though the respect was rushed.
“I just…I need to speak to Atticus.”
“Just spit it out already,” Augustus yelled, commanding him.
I pushed myself off the wall and stalked over to Leo, determination in every stride. I knew in my gut that something was terribly wrong. When I tried to shove past Augustus, he balled his fist and rooted his feet to the ground, stopping me.
