The land of the Gods (Complete)

Chapter 16 - Cara

Cara hated people.

Well, not exactly. She'd learnt from a young age that it was hard to trust. People lie, people cheat and people hurt you. She found it better to just not bother with building connections. She had her family, and she had her twin. That was enough. A few years ago, Cara met Thaleara. Declyn liked her immediately, but Cara had been suspicious for at least two years. It wasn't until about one year ago when Thaleara distracted the guards who were about to bust Cara at a job that she finally began to trust the thief.

Even then, Cara tried not to rely too heavily on other people. When she was fifteen she'd accidentally taken a wrong turn and ended up at the door to the temple of Knowledge at the North of the rich district. Upon entering, she found her calling. Knowledge was the better God. They valued information, facts, things with a solution. There was always an answer to the puzzle. People were more complicated, and you could never figure out their ulterior motives.

How they were going to hurt you next.

Cara had known Edan for one week, and she didn't like him. He was paying them too much, and all for what? A ring. And why did he want to be part of it? It didn't add up. But something in his face told her he wasn't lying about where the ring was.

Cara couldn't think.

There was no clear thought, nothing she could grasp onto except for that deep, thick feeling in her gut that seemed to weigh her down. Her twin. That was her twin. In the palace right now. For all she knew they had already been caught rummaging through the king's room and were being led to the dungeons now.

Cara began to pray to Knowledge, begging the God to gift her brother a little bit of common sense if they had been caught. Cara was bought out of her flying thoughts when Edan clicked his fingers in front of her face.

She jerked back, surprised at the noise and proximity, then proceeded to glare at him. How dare he? Declyn wasn't his brother. He had no personal stakes in this heist, yet he didn't seem to care that her twin was quite possibly in the dungeons right now.

Edan glowered back. "I get it, okay? Your brother is in danger. But even if they escape, you'll just be in the clutches of your indenture. If we can get the ring and escape, then, and only then, might you have the opportunity to actually be free."

He held out a hand and grinned.

"All you have to do is get the ring."

Cara hesitated. Did she trust Edan? She'd known him for less than a week. And even if they got Declyn back, they would still owe Erwin. They couldn't move their family out of the slums with that debt. Every time Cara left their undersized and cold abode, she wondered if the boards over the windows would remain or if the roof would collapse when they left. It was terrifying.

But if she got the ring first...

"Take me to the King," she breathed.

Edan grinned at her and took her arm in his own. "Then we'll get Thaleara and Declyn."

It sounded like a promise.

They weaved through the crowd, avoiding dancers and the performers. Cara was already uncomfortable. She stayed in the shadows, she didn't like to be seen. However, as Edan swept them across the courtyard, eyes danced in their direction and stayed on their backs.

Edan seemed to own the spotlight.

He was completely comfortable, flashing smiles and grins at anyone who dared meet his eye. His back was held up straight and poised in an arrogant manor, and Cara realised with a start who he'd become.