Sara Larson - Defy

“Excellent, indeed,” he mused out loud, his dark eyes alight with what looked like excitement.

I held my sword loosely at my side, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath.

“Alexa, how would you like to train with my son and learn how to defeat a sorcerer? I presume that’s why you wanted her to come?” General Tinso looked to Damian, who nodded.

“Is it really possible?” I asked, my anger at the prince warring with my curiosity.

“It’s very difficult, but, yes, it’s possible. However, from what they say and what I’ve seen here today, I believe you have the ability necessary to be successful.”

So this was why Damian had me “brought along.” He wanted a guard who could defeat a sorcerer. But why? How did he know General Tinso — and why were we here? Especially under the guise of having been abducted? These people were responsible for his mother’s death — how could he trust them?

“I’ll do it, but only if you start answering my questions. All of them. Honestly .” I stared at Damian as I said this.

His jaw tightened. “I’ll answer as many as I can,” he said.

“That’s not good enough.”

“It has to be. It’s all I can offer. Don’t make me regret saving you, Alexa.”

I blinked, feeling like he’d struck me. Was I no more than a tool to do his bidding? I finally looked to Rylan for the first time since we’d entered this room. He met my questioning gaze gravely, but then he nodded once.

Damian watched me, his expression inscrutable, waiting.

“Alexa?” General Tinso prompted me. “I’m a very busy man. I have a very bloody, vicious war I’m trying to manage and even end, if possible. But my son and I will dedicate ourselves to your training if you agree to it, because your ability could play an integral role in overthrowing King Hector.”

“Is that what you’re hoping to do?” I forced myself to turn to Damian again, even though it hurt just to look at him. “Overthrow your father?”

He nodded curtly.

I glanced around at the four men watching me, waiting for me. How could Damian trust the Blevonese? One of their own had murdered our queen, driving King Hector to start this infernal war.

But what else did I have to lose? My family was all dead, gone forever. Antion was shriveling and dying under King Hector’s rule and the price his war was exacting on us. The only person who truly cared about me — not just my ability — was Rylan, and his nod said to go ahead. And if I was honest with myself, part of me was curious. About this side to my heritage that I knew so little of, and about what I needed to learn to be able to defeat a sorcerer. Once before I’d asked myself, if there was any way to stop this war, would I have the courage to try?

“All right,” I finally said. “I’ll do it.”

EXCELLENT.” GENERAL TINSO smiled. “I assume you are exhausted from your journey here, so we will start tomorrow. But there is no time to waste, so rest well tonight.”

He turned to Rylan and Damian. “Because we have to maintain the guise that you’re our prisoners, we’ll be keeping you in the back of the castle where there are many empty rooms and Eljin will be your personal ‘guard.’ My men won’t question you not being tied up if Eljin is nearby.”

“Why did you pretend to abduct the prince?” I asked. “Why do we have to continue to pretend? And would someone tell me why you believe I’m ‘gifted’? What does that even mean?”

General Tinso and Damian shared a meaningful look. “I’ll let you answer her questions,” the general said. “Eljin, show them to their rooms and I’ll have a servant bring you some food. I apologize if it isn’t food fit for royalty, but again, we have to keep up the guise.”

“After what we’ve been eating for the last few weeks, anything fresh will taste like a delicacy,” Damian said.

“I apologize again, but I must go. I have some top advisors from King Osgand waiting for me.” He paused, though, gazing at Damian for a long moment. “You look so much like your mother. She would be proud of you, Prince Damian. I hope you know that.”

A muscle in Damian’s jaw tightened, and he nodded once, tersely, almost as if he couldn’t speak. I stared at the general in what was probably ill-concealed shock. I couldn’t believe he dared speak of Damian’s mother — and that Damian hadn’t lashed out at him for it.

General Tinso reached out and squeezed his shoulder once, then with a nod at us, turned and walked out of the room.

We followed Eljin to a dark, dusty stairwell at the back of the castle, and then down a flight of stairs to another hallway that was equally dark and dusty. He passed a few doors, and stopped.

“You’ll be kept here, except when you’re training. The less anyone sees you, the better.” He took a key out of his pocket and opened the door with it.

Inside was a medium-sized room. A dresser with a wash basin rested in one corner next to a fireplace, a chamber pot sat in another, and three cots lined the wall.

“We’re all staying here? Together?” I asked, my voice embarrassingly high-pitched.

“It’ll be much more spacious than the tent, at least.” It was hard to tell with the mask on, but I was pretty sure Eljin was mocking me. “You’re meant to appear to be prisoners. So this is it, I’m afraid.”

He was definitely smiling beneath that infernal scrap of fabric.

“I’m glad you find it so funny,” I said crossly as I pushed him out of the way to enter my new quarters.

This time, I refused to sleep between Damian and Rylan. I took one cot and dragged it as far away from the other two as possible, then sat on it, and watched them both walk in. Eljin gave us a little, mocking salute. “Have a good night.” And he slammed the door behind him.

We sat in silence for a long time. The tension that filled the room made the air heavy enough that I could almost feel as if I were back in the jungle. Damian sat on his cot with his head in his hands, his fingers clenched in his hair. Rylan kept looking at me, then at the floor. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I didn’t care if Rylan was in the room.

“You lied to me.” I’d intended my voice to be harsh, angry. But instead I sounded betrayed, hurt. The two things I didn’t want him to realize he’d made me feel.

Damian jerked up to meet my accusing gaze, but the pain in his eyes softened my anger slightly. Very slightly. I tried to remind myself of what Rylan said about him being an exceptional actor. “Alex, you have to believe me when I tell you I didn’t want to deceive you. But we decided long before you became involved that as few people as possible could know the truth. We had to make it believable.”

“Well, you did a great job, because you had me convinced, too,” I bit out.

“That was the point.” Damian stood up and began to pace. “You had to believe it so you would act like you’d been abducted. We needed word to get back to my father and it had to be convincing. He’s already suspicious of me and my ties to Blevon.”

“What ties do you have to Blevon? And why did you think I couldn’t act? What do you think I’ve been doing for the last three years of my life?” I rose, too, hating the way he towered over me when I was seated. I was halfway tempted to stand up on the cot so I would be taller than him.

“Eljin and I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. It gave you plausible deniability, in case something went wrong. If you’d been taken back to Antion knowing it was a setup, Iker could have tortured the truth out of you.”

“You underestimate her,” Rylan cut in.