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“There’s never a perfect time!” Qale said. “No one is ever fully prepared. And when they are, it’s already too late. We have to attack now. Today. Before it’s too late.”
“So why don’t the Titans attack already?” I said.
“Because they need a leader to follow,” Qale said. “They need you. The beacon, preferably. But they need someone to follow.”
I turned away from my brother.
“I’m already doomed,” I said. “They’re going to kill me. I don’t want to lead everyone to the same fate.”
Qale looked me over.
“This has nothing to do with us or honor, does it?” he said. “It has to do with that girl. She will come back to you.”
“This has nothing to do about her,” I said.
But it did.
She had everything to do with this.
She betrayed me because she didn’t believe in me. She didn’t think I could lead my people. Who was I to argue? I didn’t think I could either.
“She’s heading back to her homeworld,” I said. “She’ll go there and I’ll rot in this cell—along with you. And nobody will come to rescue us.”
“I got a good look at your female. She’s got a stubborn look to her. She’ll return. You just watch. She’ll surprise you.”
“She’s already surprised me,” I grumbled.
At the top of the hall, a key turned in a lock and the door swung open. A team of Changeling guards entered.
Qale lay back on his cot. He spoke in a hurried whisper out the corner of his mouth so the guards couldn’t hear.
“Listen to me,” he said. “We don’t have much time. In a minute, the guards are going to take you. I don’t know where and I don’t know the exact process but I do know what it will consist of. They’ll make you admit to the people that you betrayed them. It is all a lie. They will threaten you with everything they can. You must tell them what they want to hear—but not too easily—we don’t want you to look weak. Then, when the time comes, don’t do it. No matter what they threaten you with, don’t give them what they want.”
The guards drew up outside my cell.
“What about you?” I said.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a homeless bum who means nothing to them. They’ll let me go eventually.”
Qale lay with his eyes shut as if he were asleep.
The guards entered my cell.
“You’re wanted,” the Changeling guard said.
So much for respect and honor, I thought. The guards attached the restraints to my wrists and ankles. I shuffled out and they shut the door behind me.
I couldn’t help but glance back at my brother, who vaguely raised a hand as I passed. He might be trying to act nonchalant but I could tell he was nervous.
So was I.
It took some time for me to shuffle through the long empty hallways. I wondered what happened to the servants. They’d better not have been harmed. My anger was impotent. There was nothing I could do even if they had been.
As we drew closer to the ballroom, I became aware of a low murmuring noise that sounded like a hive of bees. As I passed the main entrance, I noticed a large crowd gathering outside, just beyond a newly-erected stage. It was so new it hadn’t been painted.
I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach it wouldn’t be painted until I stepped out there and they opened my throat.
“Keep moving!” the Changeling guard ordered, and shoved me forward.
