Morgan Rhodes - Rebel Spring

Jonas’s hands stilled. He’d managed to destroy the king’s face completely. It was very satisfying to wipe away the smug expression. He longed to do it in real life. “Yes.”

“Let’s not join them, all right? And on that note, let’s start running.”

Jonas’s gaze whipped to the right to see that several guards were drawing closer, their swords in hand.

“Stop!” one shouted at them. “In the name of the king!”

Running was definitely a good suggestion.

“Your new king lies to you all!” Jonas yelled at the crowd as he and Brion darted past them. A girl with long dark hair and light-brown eyes studied him curiously and he directed his next words at her. “The King of Blood will pay for his crimes against Paelsia! Do you stand next to a deceitful tyrant or do you stand with me and my rebels?”

If he could change just one mind today, then it would be worth it.

The guards stayed on Jonas and Brion’s tail as they tore down cobblestone streets, along narrow alleyways, barely avoiding the carriages and horses of wealthy Hawk’s Brow residents. With each sharp turn, Jonas thought they might have lost their pursuers, but the guards were not so easily evaded.

“This way,” Brion urged, grabbing Jonas’s arm and pulling him down a side street next to a small tavern.

But there was no exit. The two came to a staggering halt at the stone wall blocking their path and turned to face the three armed guards. A hawk on the tavern’s roof took off in flight.

“Couple of troublemakers,” a guard growled. “Now we get to make an example out of the two of you.”

“You’re arresting us?” Brion asked hopefully.

“And give you a chance to escape? No. Only your heads will be making the journey back to the palace with us. The rest of you can stay right here and rot.” He smiled, showing off a broken tooth. His compatriots chuckled.

“Wait,” Brion began, “we can figure something-”

“Kill them,” the lead guard instructed, stepping back.

Jonas grappled for the jeweled dagger he kept at his waist-the very same dagger Lord Aron had used to take Jonas’s brother’s life-but it would be little use against three sharp swords. Still, if he would die today, he would take at least one of these brutes with him. He gripped the dagger tightly. Brion clutched another blade in his hand as the two guards approached, their hulking forms blocking the sunlight.

Then both guards staggered forward, their expressions registering pain and confusion. They fell forward, hitting the ground hard. Sticking out of each of their backs was a deeply embedded arrow. The third guard spun around, his sword raised. There was a sickening sound and he, too, fell to the ground, an arrow protruding from his throat.

A girl stood at the entrance to the alleyway. As she lowered her bow, Jonas realized it was the same girl he had seen in the crowd earlier, but now he noticed that she wore the tunic and trousers of a boy. Her dark hair hung in a thick braid down her back.

“You said you’re rebels. Is this true?”

Jonas just stared at her, dumbfounded. “Who are you?”

“Answer my question first and I might tell you.”

He exchanged a look with Brion, whose eyes were wide as saucers. “Yes. We’re rebels.”

“And you mentioned Paelsia. You’re Paelsian?” She swept her gaze over them. “Well, that should be obvious by how you’re dressed. Not nearly enough tailored silk between you to pass for Auranians. Tell me, though. . do you nearly get yourselves killed every day?”

“Not every day,” Brion said.

The girl checked over her shoulder. “We should move. There are plenty of guards in this city, and they will soon wonder what happened to their friends, especially when they hear of the fate of the King of Blood’s mural.” She looked at Jonas. “Nice work there. Messy, but effective.”

“I’m glad you approve. Now, who are you?”

She shoved her bow into the holder strapped to her back and pulled her cloak to cover it and her boy’s attire. “My name is Lysandra Barbas and I, too, am Paelsian. I’ve traveled across Paelsia and Auranos looking for rebels. Looks like I’ve finally found a couple.”

“Do you need our help?” Jonas asked.

She looked at him as if he might be stupid. “Clearly, you need my help. I’m joining your group. Now come on, we can’t stay here.”

Lysandra turned and began walking swiftly away from the alley, leaving the bodies of the three guards behind without another glance.

Before Jonas realized what he was doing, he was following her, Brion jogging alongside him to keep up to their fast pace.

“Lysandra,” Jonas said. “Are you sure you know what you’re saying? The life of a rebel is dangerous and uncertain. You’re very good with a bow and arrow”- amazing, actually -“but where we make camp in the Wildlands, it’s not safe or secure. They’re a dangerous place, even for us.”

She turned on him, her eyes flashing. “Is this about me being a girl? Don’t you have any female rebels?”

“A few,” Jonas admitted.

“I’ll fit in just fine, then.”

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re thankful for your interference back there-”

“Interference?” She cut him off before he’d managed to get an entire sentence out. “I saved your lives.”

She wasn’t exaggerating. Those guards would have executed both him and Brion on the spot if she hadn’t interfered. He had come to Hawk’s Brow seeking new recruits and Lysandra appeared to be full of potential. Still, there was something about her that made him hesitate.

That fire in both her eyes and her words-it wasn’t something shared by every Paelsian. Jonas’s own sister Felicia was a fighter, a warrior when necessary, but Lysandra’s passion and willingness to fight was as rare as diamonds.

Still, his gut told him-rather loudly, in fact-that Lysandra Barbas would be trouble.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Seventeen.”

Same as both Jonas and Brion. “And where is your family? Do they know you’re off seeking a life of danger?”

“My family is dead.”

The words were delivered flatly and without emotion, but they still made Jonas wince.

“King Gaius’s men came to my village to recruit everyone to work on a road he’s started to build,” she explained. “When we said no, they came back and burned my village to the ground. They butchered almost everyone who tried to run away. Those who lived were enslaved and carted off to one of the road camps. For all I know, I was the only one who managed to escape.”

King Gaius’s road-the one he’d announced during his speech a week ago. “When was this?”

“Two weeks ago. I’ve barely slept since. I’ve tried to keep moving, keep searching. Most in Paelsia are so accepting of fate-of destiny. It sickens me. Those here in Auranos are delusional, thinking King Gaius isn’t as bad as his reputation. They’re wrong-all of them. Now that I’ve found you, I can join your numbers and help to free our countrymen.”

Jonas swallowed hard, his chest tight. His feet pounded against the ground as they continued to put distance between them and the dead guards. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m here and I’m ready to fight against the King of Blood. I want to see him suffer. I want to see him lose his precious crown and have his world burn to the ground as he dies screaming. That’s what I want.”

“That’s what we all want. My rebels are ready to make a difference and we’re-”

“ Your rebels,” Lysandra said sharply. “Are you saying you’re the leader?”

“Of our group, yes.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jonas Agallon.”