“Run, Fen! Run.” August screamed, shoving his weight against one of the guards in front of him. With his hands bound behind him, he could not do much except knock the man off balance.
The guard threw August off to the side. “Get her!” He called to the others. The two scrambled into the tunnel, while the Hunter swept up in one fluid motion. August briefly caught the flash of steal as he watched the man palm a dagger before racing after them. Fen’s scream rang out, but was quickly silenced. August roared in defiance, trying once more to break from the guard restraining him. With one swipe of his baton, the guard knocked August down. Shadows quickly invaded his vision as his head smacked the fountain’s edge and everything went dark.
. . . . .
August gasped, sitting up in the darkness of his bedroom. Cold sweat trailed down his spine, soaking his sheets. He rubbed his face, trying to shake off the memory of that night—the night he was caught. He had hoped Fen had gotten away and continued to believe as much. It was a daring mission, and they both knew the risks. August was foolish to believe that he was fast enough, cunning enough, to escape the royal guards. He had been a child, basking in his hatred of the Queen and his thirst for revenge for the loss of his father. Stealing had awakened the beast slumbering within him, the only thing able to shake him from the numbness of grief. It made him reckless, and that had been his downfall. It was this memory that reminded him of how naïve to the world he was and how much he had to lose when aligning himself with someone else.
His gaze darted to the window. The sky was just beginning to lighten. He had to convince Ronan to quit this mission before it was too late. Fumbling with the blankets, still clinging to his dampened skin, August threw them off and quickly dressed. He shoved his feet into a pair of boots, ignoring the ties before running to the door. He was taken aback but a young boy standing on the other side of the door, a hand held up as if he was about to knock.
The boy jumped back in surprise.
“What is it?” August demanded. He did not have time to deal with another young cadet wishing to gain help in his training.
“Um, sorry to bother you. Captain Crestwood sent me up here to relay a message. He wants you to meet him in his studies off the main room at the base of the tower.”
“Tell him I will be there in a moment. I have something to handle first.”
The boy wrung his hands in front of him, his breath coming quick. “I am really sorry, but the captain did not seem to be in the mood to wait any longer than he already has.”
August let out a frustrated huff of air. “Fine, fine. Thank you for the message, I will head right down there.” He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and gently pushed him off to the side, meaning to walk past him and continue on his own. Before he could withdraw his hand, the boy had gripped his wrist.
“The captain wanted me to escort you down to ensure you would not delay.”
August sighed, but swept his arm toward the hallway behind them. “Lead on, then.”
Within a few minutes, they reached the base of the Tower. The boy released August’s arm, but still stood at the foot of the stairs to make sure August continued onward. August’s boots tapped sharply again the stone floor as he made his way to the double doors opposite of the front entrance.
He made it halfway, when both opened outward and a flood of uniformed men walked out. Most paid no attention to August—subconsciously parting around him—with only a few glancing quick in his direction. The room was mostly clear of people, when August saw Captain Crestwood making his way toward him. As he passed by the doors, he turned and grabbed the handles, swinging them close behind him. As the doors latched, August heard Ravard’s voice roar in some incoherent way.
“What’s going on in there?” August asked, turning to Crestwood who had stopped beside him.
“It’s of no concern for a private. Come, we have mission details to go over.”
“What more is there to go over? Ravard told me everything there is to know.”
Crestwood whipped his head in August’s direction and seethed, “That senile man is barely standing on his own two legs. Anything coming from his mouth at this point should be taken as false and untrustworthy.”
“I do not want to step out of bounds, but it should be mention, Captain, that His Highness was in attendance to the meeting beforehand. He was the one the relay the information to Ravard in the first place.”
Crestwood clicked his tongue against his teeth. “The Prince is foolish to send a group on the mission to begin with. His word isn’t worth a speck of dirt.”
“Yet you volunteered to sponsor said group.”
“I pitied said group and hope that you would have all drop out of this mission by now.” Crestwood held up his hand, just as August opened his mouth to speak. “Save your breath, Private Blackwell. I already knew that you wish to retort and defend your prowess. I can guarantee you, this mission is far beyond your skill level, but continue, if you wish. See the world outside the walls, but when you reach the front lines you will see the true horrors of this war and know that you are unprepared.”
Crestwood stood, waiting for August to say something in return, but instead they stood in silence. The captain was just about to make a move toward his office with the front doors of the main room opened once more.
A red faced Ravard stalked out, stomping past both of them and out the door. General Aldrich came out of the room next, but stopped in the doorway.
“Captain,” he said, looking toward Crestwood, “do you mind stepping back in the room for a moment? It seems we have a few more things to discuss.”
Crestwood nodded and Aldrich turned back to the room. Before following, Crestwood looked once more to August. “Well, it looks like you are going to have to trust Ravard’s word, private. Hopefully, he did not lead you wrong.”
After being dismissed by Crestwood, August dashed outside, hoping to catch Ronan by the stables before the rest of his assigned team showed up. Unfortunately, as he raced down the grassy hill and rounded the corner, he was met by his entire team already there, preparing their horses. Ronan was currently packing rolled clothes into one of the saddlebags of a speckled mare. The soldier with the wild red hair and darting eyes, Finnian, was leaning against a post beside Ronan, chatting about his new crossbow while he stroked the weapon cradled in his arms.
August slowed down his pace, continuing to approach Ronan. He had almost reached the stable when Cade came around the corner, leading a chestnut horse out of the adjacent stable. His calculating gaze instantly zeroed in on August. He gave a curt nod, which caught the attention of Finnian who turned in August’s direction.
“Ah, look who finally rolled out of bed,” Finnian commented, his arms swinging down, with his crossbow coming to rest at his side. “Just because you’re our leader, don’t assume we went and prepared everything for you. You better hurry up and get your mount all packed up.”
August ignored Finnian and looked at Ronan. “I need to speak to you.”
Ronan straightened and nodded his chin. “Well, go ahead. Finnian is right, we don’t have much time.”
“I need to speak to you,” August repeated, “alone.”
He turned on his heel, meaning to walk out the barn and create some distance before trying to convince Ronan to stay here, but had to abruptly stop before running into the flank of a large horse in front of him.
Finnian snickered behind him. Recovering his balance, August turned to find Soren holding on to the reins of the horse. He thrusted the reins in August direction.
“What is this?” August asked.
“A horse,” Soren said, his voice a deep rumble. “Now stopped standing there like a wide-eyed babe. You are the leader of this team and although you seem to have no care as to how you are showcasing yourself, I went ahead and prepared it for you; I will not have you tarnish my reputation by how utterly useless you are.”
“He’s right, you know?” Ronan said, slapping a hand down on August’s shoulder. “All the other teams are preparing to leave.” With his free hand, he pointed to the opposite end of the barn where the main doors were swung open. Ever other soldier was congregated outside on the lawn, looking back toward August and his team. “Well let’s go, we can talk again whenever we reach the barracks.”
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