Page 12 of Veiled Fate
Then we charged for the longest pier.
“Are you guys crazy?” Andi barked. “We can’t steal a ship.”
“Don’t need to,” Kiel grunted, pointing into the harbor. “Our ride is waiting for us.”
I smiled as the captain of our original escape vessel spied us and began pointing. That was all part of the plan, that “one other thing” Kiel had asked him to do.
After he was cleared of suspicion, he and his crew were to undock and prepare to make way. Once they were free of the pier, they could drop anchor and wait.
“Swim for it!” he bellowed as guards poured onto the wharf behind us.
Armoredguards.
That was the other key to the plan. We could swim. They would sink.
I leaped from the pier and dove under the water, stroking hard to keep pace with Andi, who moved like an eel. Kiel came last, but only just, and I suspected that was more to ensure both of us made it without incident than anything else.
The same rope ladder we had used to descend from the ship now came over the side, allowing us to haul ourselves onto the deck. I came over the side just as the sails were hauled tight, catching the wind and sending the ship surging forward into the open harbor waters.
“As fast as you can, please,” Kiel said as he cleared the side of the boat. “All the sail she can handle.”
“Of course,” the captain said, shouting orders to his crew. “Won’t make much difference until we get further out into the lake, though.”
“Any difference is helpful at this point,” he said. “We have to make the far side with all haste. Push her to the limits, please.”
The captain gave him a quizzical glance.
“The Nehringi will be coming for us,” Kiel said. “We want to have as much of a head start as possible.”
Cursing, the captain turned to his crew and urged them to greater speed and effort. The fishing trawler wasn’t built for speed, but I suspected that wouldn’t stop us from pushing her as hard we possible.
Moving to the ship's rear, I stood watch, staring at the city behind us. Here and there, closer to the palace, tendrils of smoke still drifted skyward. Remnants of the riot.
“… surrounded by troops. Troops that just finished putting down the riot you started. They won’t hesitate to cut you down either.”
Andi’s words echoed in my mind.
“How many did we kill?” I whispered as Kiel came up behind me, his arms sweeping me into a bone-crushing, soul-filling hug tight to his chest. My hands gripped his arms where they wrapped around me, and I snuggled my head tight to his forearm as we stood, my back to his front, looking out at Arcadia.
“None,” he said quietly. “We didn’t kill them.”
He knew I wasn’t talking about the soldiers but rather the civilians who had died by them.
“We encouraged them into it,” I said, guilt slowly settling around me.
“That’s not true. All we did was open their eyes, Jada. We showed them the truth of the world around them, and theychoseto act. Now, the others will see it. This will change everything.”
“Are you sure? Look at how fast they fled when we came for you,” I pointed out.
“It will take time,” he reassured me, leaning forward to kiss the top of my head. “You need to let go of this perpetual guilt, Jada. Not every death is caused by your hands. These other people are functioning adults. They aren’t robots. They knew it would be dangerous, that the guards were armed.”
“Maybe,” I said, unsure if I believed him. “But either way, I won’t let them have died in vain.”
“Good,” he said. “That’s a better attitude to have. One I agree with. And they haven’t died in vain.”
“How? Arcadus is still alive.”
Kiel grunted in acknowledgment. “This is true. But he’s no longer immortal. You destroyed his Fate Stone. Even if it takes decades, he’ll die now. The people will see it.”
