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Unable to stand aside any longer, Sirena dropped to her knees before me. Seeing me in such deep thought must have given her some concern.
“What?” she said. “What did it say?”
The message the man had brought, the final one in the long series he’d delivered, was emblazoned at the forefront of my mind:
“Light the beacon.”
Sirena stared at me in confusion.
“But what does that mean?” she said.
I told her everything. About the mysterious letters I’d received, the secret passageway he’d used to reach my study. And as I revealed it to her, I became more certain the pieces I put together were the right ones.
Well, I didn’t tell her everything. There was one piece of the puzzle I kept to myself… She didn’t need to know about that just yet. I wanted it to be a surprise.
“It means the people are ready to fight,” I said. “But they need someone to lead them.”
“Why should you listen to the message a crazy stranger scribbled on a piece of paper?” Sirena said.
“Because he’s not a crazy stranger,” I said. “He’s someone I know. This is it. I kept the people alive because I didn’t want them to die needlessly. Eventually, they were going to have to fight. I couldn’t protect them forever.”
She took my head in her hands.
“You don’t need to do this,” she said. “You don’t need to do anything. You already made your decision. You decided not to fight. You made the right choice. You saved countless lives. Don’t go back on it now.”
There was a desperation in her voice that I recognized. She wasn’t talking about what was happening on Innel. She was thinking about what happened to her on her homeworld when she was a little girl.
“Your people fought against their oppressors because they wanted freedom,” I said. “They fought against them because the alternative was to live in a country where they couldn’t do what they wanted when they wanted. Everything they did would be monitored and watched. They would be sent to prison—or worse—because they did things they thought were right.
“Your parents died fighting for what they believed in. They died fighting for a better world for you to live in. They might have lost but they still knew they had to fight. That’s what I should have done. That’s what Titans have wanted ever since the Changelings instigated their attack.
“I let them down. But no longer. I will fight alongside them. I will lead them in battle because they want their freedom. I refuse to stand in the way any longer.”
I saw the battle on her face, the inner turmoil she suffered. Finally, she nodded her head.
“I don’t agree,” she said. “But I do understand. It’s your decision to make. You are their lord.”
I held her face in my hands and kissed her.
“And you are my lady,” I said. “There are many spies, lies, and politics going on here. I don’t know how deep the Changelings have already sunk their claws but I know in my heart there is one person I can trust above all others. You, my love.”
She looked at me with both fear and trepidation. Her eyes flicked across my face.
“I need you to do something for me,” I said. “I would do it myself but the guards follow me everywhere I go. Listen to me very carefully. Leave this room and head out into the training yard. Go to the outer wall and turn right. Work your way along it. You’ll come to a thick clutch of ivy climbing the walls.
“I want you to make sure the guards aren’t watching you. Then crouch down and you’ll find some bricks concealed by that ivy. Pull them out and you’ll find a hole just big enough for you to fit inside. Climb in and put the bricks back into position behind you.
“Then head down that passageway until you come to the end. From there, you’ll have access to the prison cells. They’re only accessible from your position. I want you to let the prisoner we just saw out of his cell. He will tell you what to do next. Whatever he says, do it. I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, but I’m not sure who else I can trust. Can you do that for me, my love?”
She took only a moment to answer.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course I can.”
I kissed her on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, and hugged her close.
“I love you,” I said, and by the Creator, I truly meant it.
“I love you too,” she said, a little quieter and more timidly than me.
