Аманда Хокинг - Ascend

“Don’t look at it like that, Wendy.” Garrett shook his head.

“She loved you, and she needed to see you. She needed to know you were alright. So she painted these. She knew how much it cost her, and she did it gladly.”

For the first time, I really realized what I had lost. I’d had a mother that loved me my entire life, and I hadn’t been able to see her. Even after I met her, I didn’t get to really know her, not until it was too late.

I began to sob, and Garrett came over to me. Somewhat awkwardly, he hugged me, letting me cry on his shoulder.

After I’d gotten it all out, he walked me back down to my room. He apologized for upsetting me, but I was glad he had. I needed to see that, to know about the paintings. I went to bed and tried not to cry myself to sleep.

In the morning, I knew I had much to do, so I rose early and went down to the kitchen to grab breakfast. I only made it as far as the stairs when I heard arguing in the main hall. I stopped and peered down over the railing to see what the fuss was about.

Thomas was talking to his wife, Annali, and their twelve-yearold daughter, Ember. That was Finn’s mom and sister, his family, but Finn wasn’t around. Thomas kept his voice hushed, but Annali was insistent. Ember kept trying to pull away, but Annali had a firm grip on her arm and wouldn’t let her go.

“Thomas, if it’s that dangerous, you and Finn should come with us,” Annali said, staring up at him. “He is my son too, and I don’t want him in harm’s way because of some misplaced sense of duty.”

“It’s not misplaced, Annali,” Thomas sighed. “This is to protect our kingdom.”

“Our kingdom?” Annali scoffed. “What has this kingdom ever done for us? They barely pay you enough to feed our children! I have to raise goats to keep a roof over our head!”

“Annali, hush.” Thomas held his hands up to her. “People will hear you.”

“I don’t care if they hear me!” Annali shouted, raising her voice.

“Let them hear me! I hope they banish us! I want them to! Then finally we can be a family instead of being ruled by this awful monarchy!”

“Mom, don’t say that.” Ember squirmed and pulled away from her mother. “I don’t want to be banished. All my friends are here.”

“You’ll make new friends, Ember, but you only have one family,” Annali said.

“Which is exactly why you need to go away,” Thomas said.

“It’s not safe here. The Vittra will be coming very soon, and you need to be hidden.”

“I will not go away without you or my son,” Annali said firmly.

“I have stood by you through much worse, and I will not lose you now.”

“I will be safe,” Thomas said. “I can fight. So can Finn. You need to protect our daughter. When this is all over, we can go away together, if that’s what you want. I promise you I will leave with you.

But right now, you need to take Ember.”

“I don’t want to go!” Ember whined. “I want to help you fight!

I’m as strong as Finn!”

“Please,” Thomas begged. “I need you safe.”

“Where do you expect us to go?” Annali asked.

“Your sister is married to a Kanin,” Thomas said. “You can stay with them. Nobody will look for you there.”

“How will I know when you’re safe?” Annali asked.

“I’ll come for you when it’s over,” Thomas said.

“What if you never come?” Annali asked.

“I will come for you,” Thomas said firmly. “Now go. I don’t want you travelling at the same time as the Vittra. They’re not something you want to mess with.”

“Where is Finn?” Annali asked. “I want to say goodbye to him.”

“He’s with the other trackers,” Thomas said. “Go home. Pack your things. I’ll send him down to talk to you.”

“Fine,” Annali said reluctantly. “But when you come for me, you better bring my son with you, alive and intact. If not, you might as well not come at all.”

“I know,” he nodded.

Annali stared up at her husband for a moment, not saying anything.

“Ember, say goodbye to your father,” Annali said. Ember started to protest, and Annali pulled at her arm. “Now, Ember.”

Ember did as she was told. She hugged Thomas, and he kissed her cheek. Annali cast one more look at Thomas over her shoulder, and then she and Ember left out the front door. Thomas stayed behind for a moment, his whole body sagging.

He’d sent his family away to protect them. He’d seen the painting the same as I had, and he knew the destruction that was set to befall the palace. It was no place for innocent bystanders.

But then something occurred to me. I had been trying to find a way to change the outcome of the painting, to do something that would alter the course of events and make it so we wouldn’t all die, and I finally figured it out.

“We take the fight to them,” I said, and I was met with five blank stares.

Thomas, Tove, Willa, Finn, and Loki stood across from me, none of them looking pleased with what I proposed. I’d called them all into the War Room to discuss things, but so far, I’d done most of the talking.

“That’s your grand idea?” Loki asked, looking vaguely bemused, and that was the most positive response I’d gotten. “Get killed there instead of here?”

“The idea is not to get killed anywhere,” I said and leaned back against the table behind me.

“Well, if this is what you want to do, Wendy, I’ll support it,” Willa said, but she sounded reluctant. “But I don’t know how much it will help. The Vittra will have home-field advantage.”

“Loki knows his way around the Vittra palace.” I gestured to Loki, who grimaced when I volunteered him to lead the way. “And we’ll surprise them. That was how Finn survived the hobgoblin attack before.”

“I barely survived that, Princess,” Finn reminded me. “And we don’t have much of an element of surprise. The Vittra are about to come here and take the kingdom. As soon as they get word of your ascension to the throne, they’ll be on their way.”

“That’s why we need to move now,” I said.

“Now?” Finn and Willa said in unison, both shocked.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I’ve arranged to have my coronation in two hours. Then I’m Queen, and as my first order as the ruling monarch, I will declare war against the Vittra. We will go to them, we will attack, and we will win.”

“You want to hit them tonight?” Tove asked.

“Yes, when they’re sleeping,” I said. “It’s the best chance we have.”

“Princess, I don’t know if that’s possible.” Thomas shook his head. “We can’t plan a full scale attack in a few hours.”

“As soon as the King finds out I’m Queen, he will be at our door with an army of hobgoblins.” I pointed toward the door to emphasize my point. “We are talking a matter of days here. What more can you do in the next two days that will be superior to getting the jump on the Vittra?”

“I don’t know,” Thomas admitted. “But it doesn’t mean we should embark on a suicide mission.”

“You’re talking suicide?” I asked. “You saw the painting. Your son is dead. Everyone in this room, except for you, is dead.” I paused, letting that sink in. “We have to do something to change that.”

“Attacking the Vittra palace will only change the location that we die,” Finn said.

“Maybe so,” I agreed. “But so what? I have read book after book of Trylle history. And you know what it says? We concede.

We wait. We avoid. We only defend. We never stand up and fight for ourselves.

“And now is the time to fight. This is our last chance. Not just ours, as in the people in this room, but our entire kingdom’s last chance to stand up and fight against the Vittra. If we don’t do this now, they will conquer us.”