Page 62 of The Endless War

All of the warriors surrounding them shifted uneasily, this clearly a secret close to their hearts. Daria bit her lip, then said, “That’s a need-to-know. And you don’t need to know. But trust that he’ll do what it takes to get Zarrah free.”

“A task made more difficult by the fact that you lost her,” Aren finished. “She’s with this other group, led by someone called Kian?”

Several of the other prisoners spat into the dirt at the man’s name.

“Kian holds the beach camp,” Daria answered. “He knows Zarrah’s identity and has been desperate to get his hands on her from the second she stepped foot on the island. I thought it was because she was pretty and he likes his ladies, but he’s lost at least twenty men trying to steal her back from us, so I knew it had to be something else. Tried to spy it out with no success. And then bad luck coupled with mymistakes saw Zarrah racing right into his arms.”

Keris tensed, and Daria rolled her eyes. “Metaphorically, you idiot.”

“From themomentshe stepped on the island?” Aren asked. “As in, he knew who she was before she was incarcerated?”

Daria went still. “Yes.” She was quiet. “Had to be one of the guards who told him.”

“To what end?” Righting a stump, Keris sat on it, elbows resting on his knees as he considered what he’d learned. “On the surface, revealing Zarrah’s identity to the prisoners would be signing her death sentence—she’s the niece of the woman who imprisoned them.”

“Worse,” Daria said. “She personally captured a handful of them. They have a lot of reason to hate her.”

“Which means Kian and his tribe have been given incentive to keep her alive.” Keris stared blindly into the distance, then focused on Daria. “Food? Drink? Premium supplies?”

The woman gave a slow shake of her head. “That’s a promise easily broken, and Kian’s no fool. What’s more, he risked his own life to try to take her, and I don’t think he’d do that for a few extra bottles of rum.”

“Then the incentive must be freedom,” Keris said. “And there are very few people who realistically have the gold and the connections to deliver: your rebel commander—”

“The commander would not deal with Kian,” Daria snapped. “Weare his people.”

“Perhaps he believes heisdealing with his people,” Keris said. “Perhaps Kian intercepted a message intended for you.”

Or perhaps, Keris thought to himself,the commander made arrangements with both factions.

“We must consider that Petra is behind this,” Aren said. “There has always been the risk that this was a trap for you. Perhaps she’s made an agreement with Kian to double her odds of killing you. A trap within a trap.”

It made sense that Petra was behind this. Perfect fucking sense, yet something about it feltwrongto Keris. If all she cared aboutwas killing him, that could have been accomplished long ago by an assassin.

Petra’s obsession was the Endless War. She wanted glory and the accolades. To go down in the history books as the empress who’d triumphed and expanded the Empire to rule over its ancient enemy. Having Keris killed on this island by nameless prisoners would not satisfy that need.

But capturing him and publicly executing him might.

The thought made him wonder if the teeth of the trap had already closed around him and he just hadn’t realized it.

Keris rubbed at his temples, trying to think, trying to come up with a strategy, but he felt sick with fear. Not for himself. But for Zarrah. For Aren. For all of those he’d dragged into this mess with no clear plan to get them out of it.

“So you believe it’syouKian needs to deliver to get his freedom?” Daria asked. “Petra was that certain you’d come yourself?”

“She’s a monster,” he muttered, trying to steady his breathing. Trying tothink.“But a very clever monster.”

“Kian doesn’t know we’re here,” Aren reasoned. “We have time to strategize a way to get Zarrah back from him. Daria, do you have the manpower to retrieve her by force?”

The woman tensed. “We’ve got more people, but not all are fighters. And Kian has more weapons. We’d take heavy losses. If it’s freedom on the line, they’ll pursue, which means that whatever plan you have to get yourselves and Zarrah off the island better goddamn include us.”

Silence stretched, and Keris exchanged another weighted look with Aren, who said, “When does the commander plan to make his move?”

“I don’t know. Days. Weeks. Months, maybe.” Daria scowled. “Why? Because you plan to use us to get Zarrah, then leave us to war with Kian until the commander can make it here to rescue us? Half of my tribe will be dead by then. Maybe all.”

The warriors surrounding them muttered angrily, and Keris held up a hand. “We ask because we don’t have a route off the island, nor the manpower for an outright attack.”

No one spoke, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

“If you don’t have a route off, then you are no rescuers.” Daria stood. “You’re prisoners, just like us.”

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