In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 17: Rise to the Occasion~

"E-excuse me, you want me to take you on my ship and help you escape the country you're supposed to be ruling?" Zayn stuttered incredulously.

"Yes, that's what I said. Do I need to repeat myself or did you catch it that time?"

"I apologize for my inability to grasp this, but I fail to see how running away will benefit the resistance, or even your country for that matter," he answered quietly.

"I'm not running away!" she protested. "I have a purpose for leaving and I will be coming back. I'm bothered that you think so little of me that you believe I'd abandon my people in their hour of need."

"Well, marrying my brother would be enough to make any sane woman run for the hills," he replied darkly.

"While we're on that subject, how on earth did you and my father come to the conclusion that marriage was the best option?" she snapped. "I can understand why my father wants it; he knows nothing of the resistance, but you? You know what's going on and you still agreed to it."

"Are you done yelling at me, Princess?" Zayn asked mildly. "I'm willing to explain myself, but I am the son of a king and I've never taken kindly to people raising their voices to me."

Kalysta opened her mouth with a retort, but bit it back. "Very well," she nodded to him. "You may speak. I apologize for raising my voice to you."

"Ah, there we go," he simpered, giving her a sardonic smile, "we can be civil, can't we. We are on the same team after all."

"I'll take back the apology if you don't get on with it," she warned.

"Oh, very well, don't get your hackles up again." He paused for a moment. "I agreed with the deal for multiple reasons. The first is that your marriage to my brother is what my father wanted in the first place, a diplomatic takeover, so he'll be agreeable to this. The second reason was specifically to benefit the resistance. We need more time to get the other countries involved. A marriage proposal and treaty takes time, a lot of it. You have to travel with your parents to Mullingar to extend the treaty and that gives the resistance extra time to gain its footing. Do you understand my motives?"

"It's ironic that we are working toward the same goal, but going about it in very different ways," Kalysta laughed mirthlessly.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You are buying time by setting up the marriage, and I'm doing the same by leaving the country," she replied.

"Your big delaying plan is to just avoid the matter entirely?" he clarified. "It still sounds like you're running away."

"I am not!" she scoffed. "You had more than one reason for allowing this marriage farce to be played out as I have multiple reasons for leaving. The first is because it leaves my father at a stalemate. He can't tell anyone I'm gone, so everyone is left waiting, wondering who is making the first move and in what fashion. The second reason I'm leaving is because of what King Naseer wrote in his letter. The resistance need motivating to rise to the occasion and the only way they're going to commit is if someone is there wringing a promise from them. That will be me. They can't ignore the problem if they're faced with it directly. I won't let them. However, I can't go traveling the lands by myself. That's where you come in. You play a main role in the resistance and they'll trust you and your judgment."

He was surprised. "When you say it like that it actually makes sense. What are you going to tell your father?"

"I'm not going to tell him anything," she answered. "He is taking back command in small ways, no longer trusting me with certain matters, so it shouldn't be that difficult for him to receive the mantle back completely. If he announces that I've run away or some such nonsense then Murdoch would most likely strike, seeing as there's not much of another chance for diplomatic invasion. It ties my father down. He has to wait for me to return to start the marriage treaty and to visit Mullingar. Until then, he can announce that I am ill or something along those lines. Meanwhile, I'll be hid in your ship for several days until you leave."