Page 64 of Bound By Roses

“It is decided then,” Aurelia says, leaning forward in her chair and reaching towards the map. A finger slams down on the heart of Lunae. “We must retrieve the girl.”

She makes it sound so simple. There will be no walking into Lunae and then walking out again with Arabella. It’ll be a bloodbath. We’d need an army just to get into the city, and every war leads to the death of even more innocents.

I stand, making it clear that what I’m about to say isn’t up for debate. “We do this, but on one condition.”

“You do not give conditions.” The grumble came from Erwyn. Even from across the table, I can see the thirst for vengeance in his eyes. All he wants is an excuse to bring the fight to Lunae and take retribution for the pain they caused him.

“She’s my sister. I have every right to make this call.” She may not be my sister by blood, but we were raised as siblings. Even if we were kept apart and never truly had the chance to learn to get along, she came through for me in the end. Quinn, Kaylee, and I are alive because of her.

“Then tell us,Princess. What is your condition?” That one word is all the confirmation I need to understand my inclusion here. It was never about Terranous or Quinn.

“I’m here representing Lunae, aren’t I? So I’ll represent them. I won’t have my people slaughtered.”

No one dares speak, but the sound of Erwyn’s fist smashing into the table likely would have drowned out any objections. “How dare you speak of sparing them after they attacked us? Twice!”

I’m so used to seeing his rage directed at Quinn that I’m surprised that I’m keeping control of my words. “They had nothing to do with that! Imelda and the Guardians she controlled did. The man I once called father did. Not the people. They are suffering, just as you are. There is no you versus them. There is only us—all of us—against Imelda and that monster she created. Retrieving Arabella will end in a battle, but if we’re to win this war, we need the people on our side.”

I don’t dare break my stare with Erwyn. Not even when I feel something spreading down the bond I share with Quinn. What is that, joy? No—pride.

Aurelia puts a hand on Erwyn’s, signalling that it’s her turn to speak. “And how do you expect us to get them out? Rescuing the seer is bad enough, but evacuating an entire kingdom without the use of force is impossible. And say we accomplish it. Where would we house them? How would we feed them? Marein is not in a position to take in more refugees. We cannot even support ourselves.”

All reasonable concerns, but there are reasonable solutions. “I’m no strategist. I can’t speak for how we’ll get them out, butwhenwe succeed? I can build shelters in the forest. They can hunt. I’m not saying this will be easy, but it’s what’s right. I won’t be the reason more innocent people die.”

She sighs. “We cannot protect them, and if what you say is true, they are in no condition to fight.”

“So we teach them. They’ve been oppressed for as long as you have. Do you not think they share the same fighting spirit as your people? They just need to be given the chance.”

Erwyn huffs. Apparently, it’s his turn again. “Are these not the same people who watched you brutalized in the streets? You would risk more scars for their lives?”

I can’t stop my eyes from flicking to Jade at the mention of my scars. Even that brief moment is enough to register the tightening of his brows as if he’s struggling to remember something. “Yes,” I say, standing straighter. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your people?”

“My people would not have watched.”

Movement catches my attention, and Jade is suddenly hurrying towards me. His expression has softened, but there’s something new there. Desperation. “Can I see them? Your scars. They might… They might help me remember.”

Quinn shifts uncomfortably beside me, and I don’t miss that it’s the first time. Even with Erwyn shouting at me, Quinn’s annoyingly protective side remained dormant. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I know why he’s against this, and it has nothing to do with his feelings about it. I kept my scars hidden from him once, and it took a long time for me to learn to be comfortable with him seeing them. To show them now, in a room full of people, isn’t something I would have been comfortable with a year ago.

But things have changed.Ihave changed.

“No, they should see the cruelty that’s considered normal in Lunae. The cruelty the people face in addition to their starvation. The reason they don’t fight back—and won’t fight back unless we help them.” I turn so that my back is facing those seated around the table and shift my gaze to Quinn. His are the only hands I want on me in this moment. “Will you help me?”

‘Always,’he says through the bond as he stands. Warm hands run along my back and across my shoulders before they settle on the lace ribbon that holds my bodice in place. He makes quick work of it, and then lifts the loose fabric of my ruffled white shirt up to my neck so that my entire back is visible.

I’ve never seen the scars myself, but the audible gasps from more than one person in this room are a stark reminder that they must look as bad as they felt each time I’d received them. The only difference is that now I have snaking vines and golden flowers to decorate the mangled flesh. My body has always been a bargaining tool. With it, I spared as many lives as I could because it gave value to mine. Now, perhaps, it can save my people again.

“How many were for me?” Jade’s voice is strained, the arrogance he’d entered with long gone.

I don’t look at him when I answer. “Twenty. No, Forty. Twenty when I stopped your execution, and twenty more when you became a Guardian.”

“Do you remember?” Merrick asks as Quinn lowers my shirt and refastens the bodice. He’d been so quiet until now, but there’s hope behind his words. If Jade remembers who he is, he’ll be less of a threat.

“No.”

My heart falls, just as I’m sure Merrick’s does.

After a long moment of silence, Quinn is the first to speak as he tilts my chin up so that I’m forced to meet his gaze. It hadn’t even occurred to me I’d been staring at the floor. “The people of Lunae have been through enough. We liberate them.” By the look in his eyes, I know he’s not just saying those words for me. He wants this, too.

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