Page 71 of The Tree of Spirits
I did feel kind of drowsy, however. My gaze snapped to the candle Cedar had lit. It had to be some kind of sedative. The Rebels obviously didn’t want me wandering off. Like I could wander anywhere when I was tied to a post.
My head was feeling heavy. It was getting difficult to hold it up. My chin dropped to my neck. And just when I’d formed a totally unrealistic plan to get out of this mess, I dozed off.
I dreamt I was a dragon who flew to a quaint country village in search of a snack. But before I turned the whole village into a fiery oven, the sound of Conner’s voice snapped me awake.
Angel and Cedar were back in the room again, as well as another teenager, a girl with a sunny smile and a perfect pair of French braids.
And then there was Conner. I frowned when I saw he wasn’t attacking them or trying to free me. He just stood there in his shimmering dragon scale armor, shaking his head at the Rebels.
And that’s the moment everything clicked.
The secrecy.
The sneaking around everywhere while invisible.
Telling me he wasn’t supposed to be here.
Pleading with me not to tell anyone that I’d seen him.
Now I saw it all in an entirely new light.
Conner was one of them. He was a Rebel.
CHAPTER 4
TRUST
The General was right about one thing: the truth hurt. I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
“You’re not a Knight at all,” I muttered. “At least not anymore.”
Conner’s gaze flickered to me, and he sighed. Then his gaze snapped back to the other Rebels.
“Why have you kidnapped Savannah Winters?” he demanded.
And when the others cringed, a second realization hit me hard, like a building had fallen on top of me. Conner wasn’t just any Rebel. He was their leader.
“The General had her in the Black Obelisk. He was questioning her,” replied Cedar. “So Angel and I went to extract her.”
“You meankidnapher.”
Cedar pounded the wall with his fist. “Wehadto interrogate her, Conner. She could have compromised the whole Rebellion.”
“How?” Conner spread his arms. “She doesn’t know anything about the Rebellion or any of you.”
“Oh, really? Did you think we wouldn’t notice all the time you’ve been spending with her?” Cedar looked at Angel andthe other Rebel, who both nodded. That encouraged Cedar to continue. “And in all that time, you didn’t share anything about us, our hideouts, or our plans?”
“No. I did not.” Conner’s voice dipped low. Dangerously low. “Because I didn’t even tell her I was a Rebel.” He pointedly turned his face away from me when he said that.
“Well…” Cedar didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Finally, he settled for, “Better safe than sorry, right? The General was asking her about us. And for all we knew, she knew at least some of our secrets. We had to extract her from the Black Obelisk.” He forced a laugh.
“But you didn’t have to set me on fire,” I chimed in.
All four of them looked at me.
“You set her on fire?” Conner’s jaw was tight. His whole body was stiff. He looked so unlike his usual relaxed, joking self.
Cedar must have seen it too. He retreated a step. “Technically, I only threatened to set her on fire. And lit a few sparks on her ropes.”
