Page 51 of Twins for the Barbarians

And that’s enough to break her out of her mildly catatonic state. The hard truth is never an easy pill to swallow, but I think she’s finally done it. She looks ahead at the soldiers, then gives me a sideways glance. “I cannot betray my king by saying he wasn’t within his right to do what he did,” Leela says. “It would be treason.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I mutter. “Leela, be honest with me. Do you love your husband?”

“Not right now, I don’t,” she whispers. “What an awful thing for me to say.”

“He just murdered your brother.”

Leela thinks about it for a moment, the wheels in her head turning. “I don’t know what to do.”

“There’s nothing you can do about Fallon now,” I tell her. “But maybe you could do something to help others who may try to escape. The law aside, what would happen if someone left? Now that you know the truth, now that you know the world outside isn’t a wasteland…don’t you think the king’s punishment is far too harsh?”

“It is.”

“And haven’t you wondered why he’s been lying to everyone about it? He’s even lied to his wives, might I add,” I say. “Leela, something doesn’t feel right about Opal City. You can’t tell me I’m wrong. He’s been lying to you your whole life. And now, he's killed your brother.”

Leela gives the guards one last look, then hooks her arms through Kingo’s and mine and sneaks us off down a side alley. Before I realize what’s happening, we’re running and making a series of left and right turns until we reach the city’s northernmost neighborhood. It took no time, but I’m panting, leaning against the back wall of a house while Kingo nervously looks around.

We’re so close to the base of Kaos Volcano that the air is warmer up here, much warmer than in the southern half of the city. Leela keeps turning and scanning the street, making sure we weren’t spotted or followed.

“What are we doing up here?” I ask, my breath ragged and my feet feeling heavier than usual. Dammit, the pregnancy symptoms sure love to kick in at the worst times. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

“I’m the queen,” Leela says. “And I think I’m entitled to go off on my own, at least once in a while. I have obeyed every fucking law to the letter. I’m raising two of the king’s sons. What are they going to do to me?”

“It can’t be worse than what they did to your brother,” Kingo chimes in.

The comment was brutal but remarkably effective. Leela scoffs and crosses her arms, pacing along the cobblestone as she struggles to add order to what I imagine are scattered and angry thoughts. All we can do is listen and steer her in the right direction when possible. I’m glad Kingo is here, though. He’s quick-witted and then some. He’s able to make the most of a situation, and that’s why we’re about to get Leela’s full cooperation. We cannot waste a single moment tonight.

“You know what?” The young queen asks. “You’re right. And you’re right about the king’s lies, too. I think it’s time we get to the truth here.”

“We don’t want you to put yourself in any danger, Leela,” I tell her, having learned to let people make their own decisions without my coercing them. “Please, you’ve lost enough already.”

“No, I’m angry because I’ve been lied to. From the moment we saw you, the other wives and I have been thinking, remembering moments when our king’s behavior and decisions didn’t make sense. It makes sense now, and I need the truth, Alicia. I need it almost as badly as you do.”

“What did you have in mind?” Kingo asks her.

Leela nods back at the volcano, the peculiar orange light glimmering at the very top.

That definitely isn’t lava. I’ve stared at it for nights on end. I’m starting to think it’s the fabled fire of Sunna. The color of the light…reminds me of Cynthia’s story about the orange water stream in the desert. If it were lava, the temperature down here would be infinitely higher.

“You are suspicious that the truth about the plague is somewhere up there,” Leela says, “that Kaos was ground zero for the infection, and there was at least one research lab near the top for you to look through.”

“Yes,” I reply. “We suspect the plague was made in a lab, and if we find the evidence we need on Kaos, we’ll have enough to make our case before the tribes. We may be able to end the war and bring people back together. If we succeed, there will be peace on Sunna again. And if we manage to find remnants of the first viral strain anywhere, it may be enough for my friend to finally synthesize a cure for the disease. We can kill two birds with one stone.”

A slight frown pulls furrows her slim brows as she makes her decision. “Then I shall take you up there tonight. It’ll be a while before they figure out where we’ve gone. You should have enough time to at least get a feel for the place.”

“Thank you, Leela,” I say. “It means a lot. You’re helping us get one step closer to ending the war.”

“Let’s just hope we find what we’re looking for,” Kingo mutters, nervously glancing back at the end of the road. There’s only darkness there now; the city’s lamps twinkle in the windows of every home.

“Otherwise, I’ll have disobeyed my king for nothing,” Leela scoffs.

24

Alicia

The journey up Kaos Mountain is relatively easy, although the growing temperature makes every step feel as though I’m carrying three people on my shoulders. But I trudge through it, determined to make the most of this unexpected gift of access to the volcano. I am the last person to want to take advantage of Leela’s suffering, but if Solomon had not been a tyrannical fool, I never would’ve had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“How are you feeling?” Kingo asks me as we reach Kaos Town, the oldest settlement and the closest to the volcanic cone. “You don’t feel great,” he says.

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