Page 51 of Heart of Defiance

I fold my arms over my chest. “This isn’t just an army. This is a rebellion. None of us are following the rules anymore. If the people here want to keep fighting rather than giving up, I think your options are to do whatever you can to make that work—or give your own surrender.”

The captain’s gaze sharpens into a glare, but Amalia pushes past him. “My squad leader has a point.” She takes in the people who’ve gathered around us. “Do you really want to keep going?”

This time, there’s no hesitation, no uncertainty. The voices rise up in a rush of defiance. “We have to keep fighting.”

“We’re in this until the end.”

“Let’s take as many of those assholes down as we can.”

When my captain catches my eyes, I catch a glint of pride in hers. I doubt she was ever keen on the idea of surrendering. “Then I say we hear about this plan of yours.”

I set my hand on my lover’s shoulder. “Signy saw how it could happen.”

Chapter Nineteen

Signy

Iwatch the next group of rebels depart through the night with a brief wave of farewell. As they slink along the mountainside through the darkness, heading well past the view of the Darium guards before they descend and hurry north toward Feldan, my stomach knots.

I can’t shake the feeling that I should be going with them. That I should have joined the first bunch of resistors who took most of our remaining horses to race off toward the town so they’d have as much time as possible to work their gifts.

But I don’t have any gift at all. My contribution was coming up with the plan. The best I can do now is keep everyone’s spirits up to see it through.

Jostein approaches with a rasp of his boots over the uneven rock. He stops beside me, tucking his arm around my waist in a gesture that feels so natural now it sends a quiver of giddiness through me.

We’ve known each other for a little over a week, butwe’ve spent nearly every moment of that together. And with each of those moments, no matter how fraught, he’s proven that he sees me as so much more of a true partner than any of my previous, fleeting flings did.

His thumb strokes over my back in a gentle caress. “How are you holding up?”

I let out a short guffaw. “I’m not on the front lines. I hope the stone workers and the rest we sent ahead aren’t finding the task too much.”

Jostein hums. “I didn’t ask about them. I asked about you. You’ve taken on a lot of responsibility from the beginning, and now isn’t any different.”

A lump forms in my throat at his recognition of the pressure I’m feeling. I’m not sure I’d have dared to speak this plan, let alone attempt it, if it wasn’t for the squad leader’s encouragement earlier.

I lean into his touch, accepting the comfort he’s offering. “I’m nervous, but I’m not letting it get to me. Even if this goes wrong, we’ll end things taking as many of them with us as we can.”

“Have you gotten any rest?”

I nod. “I managed to doze for a couple of hours after the first group left. No more time now—Captain Amalia said the rest of us should leave after the next bell.”

Jostein turns me toward him. “No matter what happens, this is better than waiting on a mountainside to be executed. You gave us this chance, rebel maiden.”

He dips his head to kiss me. The heat of his lips lights up my body with a tender heat that’s a balm on my frayed nerves.

At the sound of more footsteps, we ease apart. Landric is walking over to join us, with a slightly apologetic dip of his head. There’s an almost feverish brightness to his eyes that I can tell at once has nothing to do with jealousy.

“I think I can strengthen our strategy,” he says.

The intensity in his voice combined with his expression makes my heart skip a beat. “How?”

He tilts his head toward the few remaining lights of the Darium camp below the hill. “Rupert’s with the soldiers. I don’t know whether he asked to lead the guards the duke contributed or if the Darium officers insisted that Duke Berengar send his son as a sign of full commitment, but it doesn’t really matter. He knows me; he can vouch that I’ve generally been on his side.”

A chill trickles through my gut. “But you spoke to him before about joining the rebellion.”

Landric shrugs. “Only vaguely and briefly. He thinks highly of himself and his sway—he’d be happy to assume that his comments persuaded me away from any rebellious ideas. He’ll at least be able to speak up for me with the Darium force in a way he wouldn’t anyone else among us.”

“Why would he need to speak up for you?” Jostein asks in an even tone.

---