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Mavlyn took a deep breath, and then said, “The only way we can stop Nox from winning is to refuse to fight our fellow countrymen. To resist Lady Mossi and General Slaugh’s call-to-arms, and do everything we can to sabotage the war effort.”
The crowd exchanged doubtful and low murmurs at this. “You’re asking us all to become rebels?” the headman asked, incredulous. “To go against the crown?”
“There is no crown right now,” Mavlyn reminded him. “And while Lady Mossi would have you believe we are fighting to install General Slaugh as the next king, the truth is far more sinister. If we fight, it won’t be for the glory of Domhain. We’ll only be ushering in an era of darkness!”
“This is ridiculous,” one of the elders protested. “If what you’re saying is true, then why has all the shadow taint disappeared?”
“Yeah,” someone else chimed in. “Shouldn’t it be spreading even faster if this Shadow is on the loose?”
“That’s not—” Mavlyn started, but the crowd was arguing amongst themselves now, their shouts drowning her out. “Please,” she said desperately, addressing the headman. “You’ve already lost one of your sons thanks to Nox and her machinations. Are you going to allow Lady Mossi to sacrifice even more of us?”
“Lost one of my sons?” the headman barked. His face grew pale beneath his dark complexion, and his wife clutched at his arm. “What do you mean by that?”
Sweat broke out along the back of Mavlyn’s neck. It hadn’t occurred to her that news of Dune’s death hadn’t reached the village yet, or that she would have to be the one to break it to him.
“I’m sorry, Headman Terran,” she said quietly. “But Dune was killed in battle.”
A heavy silence fell upon the square, and Mavlyn wished she could make the earth swallow her whole. “Killed?” Dina, the headman’s wife, echoed. “How?”
“I…” Mavlyn swallowed hard. Radiants, how was she supposed to tell them? “Nox turned him into one of her minions and ordered him to assassinate Adara. He failed.”
“Are you saying,” the headman said in a low, deadly voice, “that Adara killed my son???”
“It was self-defense,” Mavlyn tried to say, but the crowd was shouting again, and the headman took a step toward her, his fist raised.
“You dare ask us to support Adara when she’s brought nothing but trouble to this village?” he roared, eyes bulging. He whirled to face the villagers, flinging his hand in my direction as he shouted, “This child claims Shadows have corrupted Lady Mossi and General Slaugh, yet she is the one who is addled! She is asking us to help a murderer, a bloodthirsty monster who not only assassinated our king, but killed my son in cold-blood!”
The crowd roared their agreement, and Mavlyn’s heart jumped into her throat as they surged forward. “Throw her in the gaol!” someone shouted, reaching for her arm.
“Back off!” Mavlyn’s father snarled. He jumped in front of her and shoved the male away, but the crowd kept coming, grabbing him and pulling him down to get to her. Mavlyn backpedalled, frantically searching for a way out, but the exits leading away from the square were blocked. She reached for one of her pouches, heart sinking at the thought of having to fight when that was the opposite of what she’d been preaching…
A thunderclap shook the sky, and the crowd screamed as electricity sizzled through the air. The hair on Mavlyn’s arms stood straight on end, and she look up to see Leap whizzing through the air toward her on Cirra’s back.
“Come on!” he shouted, leaning forward with an arm outstretched. The crowd tried to grab her, but he summoned a powerful gust of wind, knocking the ones closest to Mavlyn to the ground. Heart hammering, she leaped forward and grabbed his arm as he swooped in. Someone tried to grab her leg, but they were yanked away, and she looked back to see her father pulling her attacker down to the ground. His eyes blazed as they met hers, and she held them for a split second before Leap hauled her onto the cloud and whisked them away from the village.
“Are you all right?” Leap asked as she stared at the receding village. She tried to get one last glimpse of her parents, tried to see if they were okay, but tears blurred her vision, making it impossible. “What happened?”
Mavlyn shook her head, swiping angrily at her tears. “I was an idiot, that’s what happened.”
She waited for Leap to make some sarcastic quip, to tell her he’d warned her not to be dumb, but to her surprise, he gave her a sympathetic look. “We knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park,” he told her. “I had a hunch the villagers might not be receptive to you, so I decided to come check on you instead of waiting by the lake like we agreed on.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” Mavlyn said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “If you hadn’t, I’d probably be rotting in the gaol right now.” Guilt twisted like a knife in Mavlyn’s chest, and she swiped more tears from her face. “Instead, it’s my parents who are going to suffer that fate instead.”
Mavlyn told Leap what had transpired, and he shook his head when she’d finished. “It didn’t sound like the Headman was going to side with you anyway, even if you hadn’t mentioned Dune,” he said. “He was already pissed at Adara, and the news that she killed his son was just the nail in the coffin. He just doesn’t realize it’s his own casket he’s nailing shut.” Leap shrugged. “You can’t fix stupid.”
Mavlyn laughed a little at that, but her heart was still heavy as she glanced back at Fenwood. It was a mere speck in the distance now, and she felt removed from it in more ways than one. Her time in the outside world had changed her, and while she was sad that the villagers had turned against her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to fit in there anymore. For the first time, Mavlyn understood how Adara must have felt, growing up in a community where everyone made her feel like an outsider.
It only made her even angrier on Adara’s behalf.
“Were you able to track the soldiers?” Mavlyn asked, desperate to change the subject.
Leap nodded. “They went to Talamh. I was going to ask if you also wanted to go, and see if we can drum up some support there. It’ll be more dangerous… but I think we’ll find more people willing to listen in the bigger cities.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Mavlyn agreed, latching onto the idea. She couldn’t give up now—not when Quye had put her faith in them to stall the war effort for as long as possible to give Adara the chance to succeed. They would have to use disguises, or Lady Mossi would catch them, but it was better than not doing anything else. And if they couldn’t convince the people to help, maybe they could at least sabotage the troops. After all, if the soldiers couldn’t fight, that meant they couldn’t make war. Right?
13
Adara
