Page 50 of Heart of Defiance

Signy’s expression has shifted to something somewhere between incredulity and amusement. “Is that what you’d have said?”

Iko grins at her, his posture relaxing. “You know, when we first met, I might have said I’d rather have you all just for me. But there’s something pretty fantastic about a collaboration. I liked seeing how much you enjoyed the two of us together. Three… that could be even more spectacular.”

There’s no doubt now that Signy’s tan skin has reddened. She ducks her head in momentary embarrassment and then pushes herself to her feet. “Well, none of it matters if we’re all facing execution tomorrow.”

Her gaze slides toward the cluster of officers farther along the mountainside. “It doesn’t matter what brilliant plan we come up with if the major and the captains don’t agree.”

I give her hand a quick squeeze. “Then we’ll have to be very convincing.”

It takes even less time than I expect before our comrades begin to gather around the three of us—some of my fellow soldiers looking to me and Iko with questioning expressions, some of the ordinary citizens studying Signy.

“I heard you might have a way we can knock the Darium bastards back on their asses,” one of them says cautiously.

Before this afternoon’s massacre, I’d have expected Signy to hold her head high with a daring smile and assure them we’re heading toward another victory. Now, I’m not entirely surprised to see her hesitate, even if it pains me. My attempt at a pep talk hasn’t been enough to fully restore her confidence.

If she needs more, I can provide it. She isn’t alone anymore—and she needs to see that the people she’s broughttogether are still willing to fight for our freedom despite today’s tragedy.

“We might have an opportunity to shatter the entire Darium force,” I say. “We can’t back down now, not when we’ve made so much progress. They believe they have the upper hand again—it’s the perfect time to upset the balance.”

A few of our companions look nervous, but most draw themselves straighter with determined expressions. They’ve watched friends and neighbors die today. They’ve had a stark reminder of the brutality we’ve spent the past three centuries enduring.

To drive the point home, I gesture toward the Darium camp beyond the lake. “They want to kill all of us. I say we spill their blood instead. Every Darium soldier we take down is one fewer who can torment the rest of us in years to come.”

It’s possible none of us will survive the next day, but if we hit back hard enough, we might still carve the way to a better future. All of Velduny will be hearing about the stand we’ve taken.

All we can hope for is to weaken the Darium presence in our country as much as possible, regardless of what fate we meet.

The murmurs of anticipation that pass through the growing crowd around us seem to invigorate Signy. She tosses back her hair and sets her hands on her hips. “I started us on this path, and I’m going to keep fighting until the end. You all have to make the decisions that are right for you. But I’d be honored to have you taking on those pricks alongside me.”

As several voices call out in support, Landric hustles back to us with a dozen figures trailing behind him. His face has lit up with enthusiasm.

He’s that happy to be playing this role—to be helpingorchestrate the rebellion, to be showing Signy she isn’t beaten. Seeing it, I can’t resent his interest in her one bit.

“I think we could pull it off,” he says to us in a hushed voice. “We’ve got people skilled with rock work, construction, carving… I have a few asking around to see if there are other talents that could contribute. The hardest part might be setting off the cave-ins at the right time. We’d want the ground to hold steady enough at first for plenty of the soldiers to get into the area, right?”

Signy nods, her expression turning thoughtful. “We’ll need to create a big impact, some kind of shock to the ground. Explosives?”

She glances at Iko, whose grin turns sly. “You know I won’t pass up the chance to see what I can throw together to stir things up.”

A cleared throat brings my head snapping around.

Major Arlo and the captains have approached our expanding huddle. The major frowns at us. “What’s going on over here? If we’re going to negotiate as peaceful a surrender as possible, we can’t be agitating the Darium forces any further.”

He holds himself with an assurance I can’t help admiring. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of taking on a role like his, leading hundreds of soldiers in defense of our country. All my training tells me to stand down and follow orders.

That’s not enough, though. If I want to lead my fellow citizens on the right path, I have to start now, when it could make the most difference.

No, this plan isn’t mine. But part of me knew all the way back at twelve years old that sometimes the best leadership doesn’t come from seeing the route forward but getting everyone else on it once a visionary has pointed out the way.

Every bit of my gift is telling me that the people we’veassembled, the people I’ve believed in from the start, can tackle this final challenge.

I square my shoulders. “We’re not ready to surrender, sir.”

The major’s jaw ticks. “It’s hardly up to you. We’ve fought hard, but we’ve been overwhelmed?—”

“We can turn the tables on them again,” Signy breaks in, with so much of her old passion that my heart leaps to see it. “We’re putting together a strategy—if we get started on it right away, it could completely cripple the Darium forces.”

One of the captains steps in. “It’s our job to decide whether the risks are worth the potential gains.”

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