Page 52 of Cage of Destiny
As far as she wasconcerned, it was sheer stupidity. How did these absurd traditionsstart and why? It was hard to outsmart her enemy when she didn’tunderstand them.
Rutek stopped at arelatively flat area and ordered his men to set up camp for thenight. Allyssa sat with her hands tied together and her bodytethered to a thick pine tree. Odar had been similarly situated andtied to a tree across from her about ten feet away. They hadn’tspoken a word since the village. Three soldiers left to do aperimeter run while the remaining men gathered around a smallfire.
“Tell me what you’rethinking,” Odar whispered.
She shook her head. He hadno right to ask her such a thing. Staring at him across the way,the dark shadows flickering over his face, Allyssa felt… stronger.As if her heart was mending itself. For the first time since Odarbroke their engagement, she understood they would have never beenhappy together. Their priorities were vastly different.
“I’m leaving. I have playedthis game long enough and have no intention of remaining with thesemen any longer,” Odar hissed.
She glanced over at the soldierseating, drinking, and laughing around the fire, no one paying themany heed.
“Do you want to come withme? Or do you want me to leave you here? You don’t still have faithin Kerdan and this plan of his, do you?”
She clenched her teeth,irritated by Odar’s callous feelings toward the man who hadsingle-handedly gotten them out of Russek. “I want to give him onemore day.” She had to assume everything was okay; otherwise,Nathenek would have stepped in.
“What’s happened to us?”Odar asked, his eyes intense.
Was he serious? “Yousevered our engagement.” There was nous.
“To protect you.” He triedleaning forward, but the ropes didn’t give him muchleeway.
She distinctly remembered what he saidon the balcony that night. “You said I made you weak. That youcouldn’t be with me and be an effective leader for Fren. You choseyour kingdom over me.”
“You, of all people, mustunderstand that.”
“I do.” She would alwaysput Emperion first. “What I don’t understand is why we’rediscussing it. You made your choice.”
“I didn’t expect you andKerdan would form some sort of relationship. It took me bysurprise.” His voice sounded pained, ragged.
But they had been over thisbefore, and she had no desire to trudge it up again. “Odar, youknew this when you broke up with me. I asked you how you would feelwhen I married another and shared his bed. You still severed theengagement.”
“I didn’t think it would bethis hard.”
She had no sympathy forhim. When they were in Lakeside, when she thought he was Jarvik,she’d grown to love his quick wit, strategic planning, and hisdevotion to Fren. Ever since they were kidnapped by Soma and shelearned Jarvik was Odar, there had been a shift between them. Shethought she still loved him. But he’d lied, and she’d never gottenover that she loved Jarvik, not Odar. To her, they were two verydifferent people. And while she appreciated him putting his kingdomfirst, she really wondered why he did it. Did Odar truly love Fren?Or did he break up with her because that was what his parentswanted? Or what he really wanted? She couldn’t be certain becauseshe didn’t trust him.
Even though she no longerloved Odar, that didn’t mean she automatically loved Kerdan. Shedidn’t have to be in love with a man. The fact was that Kerdan hadbeen there for her through a dark time in her life, and sheappreciated him for that. They had managed, against all odds, toform a friendship. And while she didn’t think she had romanticfeelings for Kerdan, she did care for and respect him.
“Allyssa,” Odar whispered.“Tell me what happened to you in the dungeon.”
Of all the things for himto say, she did not expect him to ask that. “I don’t want to reliveit.” He had no right to that part of her.
“Why didn’t you tell me inRussek?”
She curled her fingers intofists, feeling the edge of her nails, trying to remain grounded inthe present and not be pulled into the past. The pain she’dexperienced, what she suffered, while Odar simply strutted aroundthe Russek court and tried to bargain for their freedom. “Do youfeel guilty?” she asked.
“Yes.”
He wanted the details toappease his conscience. “I was tortured. That is all you need toknow. Now leave me alone; I’d like to go to sleep.”
“Do you want me to take youwhen I leave in a few hours?”
“No.” She would not be inleague with Odar again. She would trust her father, Kerdan, Neco,and Nathenek. “But I do wish you good luck in all your endeavors.”She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for pleasant dreams to consumeher and for the nightmares to remain at bay.
ChapterFifteen
“Princess,” someone whispered inAllyssa’s ear, startling her awake. She opened her eyes and sawLarek cutting through her bindings. When her arms came free, sheturned and observed the horrific sight beforeher.
Six Russek soldiers lay onthe ground by the dying fire, their throats slit and blood poolingaround them. Odar stood next to the tree, his bindings already cut,a mask of indifference on his face. “What happened?” she asked. Wasthis Odar’s doing? When he told her he planned to escape tonight,she didn’t think he’d do something like this. He shook his head,not answering her. She looked to Larek, waiting for him toexplain.
