Page 67 of The Tree of Spirits
“How do you know the Rebels were under those suits?” I countered. “No one ever saw their faces.”
“Nice try,” he said with a dry chuckle. “But there’s no talking yourself out of this one, Miss Winters. Your only chance is to confess. Confess and all will be forgiven.”
“Confess?” I stared into his cold, dark eyes. “Confess to what?”
“To working with the Rebels. To helping them get their hands on the armor they used to kidnap four Apprentices.”
“But I’m not working with the Rebels! And I didn’t help them steal any armor!”
His brows drew together. “Do you actually expect me to believe that?”
“Uh, yeah. Because it’s the truth!”
“You were present when Daykan said my courier was bringing the armor back to the Black Obelisk. And you passed that information along to the Rebels, allowing them to steal it.”
“I didn’t do anything of the sort!” I jumped to my feet.
“Sit. Down,” he said icily.
I lowered myself back into my chair. Slowly. Meeting his stare the whole way down.
“You seem to be confused, Miss Winters. Like too many other teenagers, you think magic makes you special. You think it means you’re above the rules.”
“I don’t.”
“Silence,” he hissed. He waited a few moments, and when I didn’t say anything, his lips curled up into something that might have been a smile on anyone else. But on him it was an ugly sneer. “You need to understand something, Miss Winters,and you need to understand it now. Before the spirits gave you magic, you were nothing. There was nothing remarkable or special about you. There was nothing that made you worthy of these powers. You are a liar and a cheat, and you stole magic that was never meant for you.”
I was so angry that I was half-tempted to shout out that I hadn’t stolen anything. I’d always had magic. But confessing that was a very bad idea. So I gripped the desk tightly, funneling my frustration into that single, simple action.
The General’s gaze dipped to my white knuckles and, misinterpreting my anger and the reason for it, he nodded. “Yes, the truth hurts. But if you can simply accept it, that’s your path out of this situation. I’m offering you a fresh start, all past wrongs forgiven and forgotten. All you have to do is testify that the Rebels tricked you, that they mesmerized you into helping them steal the armor. Then they used that armor to kidnap four Apprentices. Condemn their actions, Miss Winters. If you discredit the Rebels, then their fans, those fools who romanticize them, will have no choice but to see them for what they truly are: villains.”
“So that’s what this is about,” I said quietly. “You want to use me to turn everyone against the Rebels. This isn’t about the truth. And it sure isn’t about getting those four Apprentices back. It’s about politics.”
“Everything is about politics.”
“No,” I told him, shaking my head. “Being a Knight isn’t about politics. It’s not about spreading the lies that you feed me. Being a Knight is about doing the right thing, no matter the cost.”
His nostrils flared. “You won’t ever be a Knight, Miss Winters. Not if you don’t obey me.”
“Perhaps not,” I sighed. “But I’ll remain a Knight at heart.”
“You stupid girl,” he snapped, standing. “You are blinded by your admiration for the Rebels.”
“And you’re blinded by your hatred for them.” I hit him with my most defiant stare.
“You are making a mistake.” He moved toward the door, his heels clicking against the dark, soulless tiles. Just before he reached the door, he pivoted around to face me. “Sooner or later, Miss Winters, I will capture the Rebels. You have until then to decide which side you’re on.”
“I’ve already picked my side,” I told him. “I’m on the side of truth.”
The General opened the door. “You will remain in this room until you’re ready to confess.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
I waited a few minutes before I got up and tugged on the handle. Of course it was locked.
I wandered over to the window. A set of thick shutters smothered out any outside light. I wedged a finger between two strips, prying them open just wide enough to peek outside.
Far below, past the grassy lawns, beyond the gates of the Black Obelisk, swarms of happy shoppers browsed the Magic Emporium, totally unaware that I was watching them from all the way up here, at the top of the highest tower in the Fortress.
