Page 95 of If The Crown Fits
He pulled his hand free. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ray, please, I don’t want to fight about this.”
He wouldn’t let me finish. “I’m sorry, Lara, I thought you were braver than this.” And then he walked away.
* * *
It was still dark the next morning when Conner, Brutus and I stood outside the horse paddock, saddling up. “Are you going to be all right?” Cai asked and I nodded. “The rest of us will meet up with you as soon as possible. I just prefer keeping an eye on what happens today, so that I know what to expect.”
“It’s better that way,” I agreed.
“Then I’ll see you soon . . .”
I turned to face him, but I didn’t know what to say. There were so many unspoken words between us.
“See you soon.” I mounted and the three of us rode off into the dark forest. I followed Conner and Brutus, though my thoughts kept drifting back to the journey that lay ahead for our clan and to the palace, knowing what was to come. I could hear steel swords clashing with each other. I could see blood spilling over the marble floor, and I became sick to my stomach all of a sudden.
Cai and his men were about to walk into what could be a bloodbath, and here I was, running away like a coward. I had betrayed Cai and he was still trying to save my life.
I stopped my horse and glanced back in the direction of Levernia, and then towards the crossing to Norrandale. All I had wanted was freedom from this life, this place, and here it was, completely within my reach. But an unpleasant thought lingered in my mind — there would be little worth in it, if Cai met his end in this rebellion.
“I’m not going with you,” I said before I could stop myself. Brutus and Conner looked back at me in confusion. “You goahead. There is something I have to get.” And without another word, I turned my horse and started galloping towards Levernia.
Chapter 28
The Palace of Levernia
Cai
Jack grunted uncomfortably next to me as we huddled in the brush near the east wall of the palace. The guards walked in their regular places up and down on top of the wall. We were waiting for Arthur’s men to attack the front gate, leading the guards away from this wall.
“What’s taking them so long?” Alastor tossed a pebble in his hands. It was a small ritual he did before battle to calm himself down. I prayed that this wouldn’t be like the battles we had witnessed before. He looked bored, but I knew that, deep down inside, he was shivering like the rest of us. Death was no beautiful thing.
“It hasn’t been that long,” Jack said. “Every second just feels like an hour out here.” Suddenly the guards swerved and we knew they’d heard the ruckus from the front gates, where a contingent of Arthur’s men was attempting to break in. We watched them run in that direction and, knowing it was our only chance, we sprinted for the walls.
The walls in this section needed some attention, the mortar between the stone crumbling to allow for finger and toe holds. Even so, it was an arduous climb. Beads of sweat dripped down my back, and every second I expected a cry to be raised from above and arrows to rain down. But finally, my fingers gripped the top of the parapet, and I cautiously pulled myself up.
The walkway was clear. I found myself relieved at the lack of discipline in Lance’s men. My father’s guard would never have been so foolish as to leave such a large section unguarded. But Arthur’s intelligence was correct — they had been ordered to secure the front gates at all costs.
Jack, Alastor and I gave Arthur’s other men the signal, and while some of them broke through the south gate, others scaled the walls. Chaos wasn’t far away. The rebels in front of me ran across the grass towards the large windows of the ballroom. Glass shattered as they broke in. Already people were running around screaming and I could only assume that Arthur’s men had breached the front gates as well. This meant they were in the courtyard, but not inside the palace yet.
It didn’t take long for some of the guards to storm upon us with their swords. The guard who came at me went straight for my stomach and I had to jump out of the way. I didn’t plan on killing anyone today, so disarming him would take somewhat more effort. I kept my eyes on Jack and Alastor in the event they required me to have their backs, before I struck back at the guard’s swing towards me.
It didn’t take long for me to notice that he didn’t protect his shoulders, so I quickly thrust my sword into his right one, just hard enough to draw blood and make him pull away. I dodged past him, deeper into the palace. The scenes before me were enough to make my stomach turn and I had to remind myself to keep moving forwards, despite the blood and the horrible smell. I stepped over dead palace guards and palace servants, as well as some of Arthur’s rebels.
I entered the throne room and my heart stopped.
Lara stood there, in the middle of the room, dagger in hand and face as white as a sheet.
“Lara?” I called her name and she turned to face me. An expression, which I could only recognise as relief, crossed her face and she sighed. My eyes travelled to movement at the other entrance to the throne room. One of the guards raised a bow, aiming straight for her.
A picture entered my mind. In a moment I recognised the bow and Lara’s silhouette. It was the image I saw in the pond onthe day we entered Everness. The vision had been a warning. A chance for me to save her.
I ran faster than my legs had carried me before, yelling at her to watch out. She grunted in pain as I tackled her to the ground, but the arrow went flying past into a nearby pillar. My eyes searched for the guard who had tried to kill her, but Jack had already taken care of him and gave me a nod from across the room.
“What are you doing here?” She was supposed to be halfway to Norrandale now.
Lara had an odd smile on her face. “I had to come to protect you. We both know your spoiled princely behind would probably get yourself killed.”
