Page 82 of If The Crown Fits
“What’s your point?” I started walking again, dodging past him.
“My point is, I found out something that I think you should know about him. About the kind of person he is.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me, regardless of whether or not I want to hear it.”
I was practically marching back to my cabin and Ray almost had to jog to keep up with me. “We talked about war. Mostly about all its gruesomeness. He started mentioning the Norrandish war against Argon some time ago.”
“Yes, Cai mentioned something about it.”
“Did he tell you how he managed to win that final battle?”
I didn’t say anything. Of course I didn’t know the answer. Hadn’t given the Norrandish war against Argon much thought. After all, the past was in the past.
Ray stepped in front of me again and held my shoulders to make me stop. “Cai was leading the army just north of the Argonian coast. It was far from the cities of Argon and mostly surrounded by woods and small villages, where the Argonian soldiers were from. They were to march on the battlefield the next morning. But Cai ordered the nearby villages to be burned and plundered, killing the wives and children of the soldiers in the hopes they wouldn’t fight the battle the following day. He murdered innocent people, Lara.”
The world had gone silent enough to hear the bucket drop onto the forest floor, water spilling beneath the grassy stems and trickling past my boots. “He did what?”
“I’m sorry. But Cai isn’t the person we thought he was. He’s no better than Lance or any of his lackeys. The royals are all the same. And if his morality might be worse than ours, I just don’t think they can be trusted. We’ve let them into our home and they have the perfect opportunity to conquer Everness.”
I pushed past Ray without a word. I could hear him calling after me, but I would not be stopped. My feet carried me past the burnt-out firepits and cabins. My eyes would not focus on any movement other than where I was going, who I was looking for.
He wasn’t in my cabin, or by the horses or the fighting ring. I stumbled past rocks and roots until my eyes finally landed on the head of blond hair. He was kneeling next to the river, washing his face.
Cai’s shirt hung on a nearby branch, but I paid this no attention as I marched towards him with brutal anger in my veins.
“How could you?” I shouted, ready to push him into the river.
Cai turned abruptly and his eyes darted to his shirt after landing upon me.
“All this time I was under the impression that you were this kind and caring person. ThatIwas the one who lied. And thatIwas the one who deceived.”
“I don’t understand — what happened?”
“What happened is that I finally found out the truth about Norrandale’s ‘perfect and charming’ prince. Who turned out to be just like the rest of them.” My voice cracked at the end, against my will.
Concern filled Cai’s eyes. “Lara, what’s going on?” He reached towards me, but I slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me! You walk around here in judgement of all of us, like you don’t carry any blood on your hands.”
His expression was that of someone who really hadn’t the slightest idea what I meant. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the final battle against Argon.”
Cai’s face fell into a look that I had never seen him show before. “Who told you?”
“It doesn’t matter who told me, it matters what you did.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“You murdered innocent women and children and you’re telling me it was because you had to do it?” My tone was one of disbelief.
“My soldiers were starved, wounded and near dead. We had been losing ground against the Argonian soldiers for weeks. My father was in Norrandale trying to gather more forces and help for our soldiers. I was leading the army alone and the next day they would march upon us in battle at full force — we would be slaughtered.”
“So you decided to slaughter their families instead?” I clenched my teeth at the pain in Cai’s eyes but grew more determined from the emotions it evoked inside me.
“I sent out scouts. I didn’t give them orders to kill any women or children.”
“How do I know that’s not another lie?”
