[Book 3 of the Grounding the Storm series] Renit's worst nightmare has come true. Roux isn't at his side, and he's banished from his throne and his crown, leaving him nameless and on the run. While trying to escape his father's cruel reign, he has t...
Those voices don't make Renit believe he's hallucinating, but they're actual voices that bounce off the walls, echoing into the room like long-lost friends. Renit jumps up, sliding into the shadow of the window to view the street below without being seen. The curtains bordering the stone are long since tattered by the winds and ruined by the rain, as have the floorboards and sheets.
"There's no harm in checking. If they saw someone, then we'll check it out," a calm voice reassures.
A click of a tongue sounds at the same time Renit's guests come into view. Intruders, rather. "I'm just saying; we have seen no one in weeks. If someone was out here, it's probably just another rebel."
Renit's excitement jumps into his throat as down the street, turning the corner, are Bren and Tesha. The female rebel kicks a rock down the street out of boredom, and Bren checks the alleys and observes the windows. What are they doing here? No one has spoken a word of the rebels since the king laid waste to them in the flower meadows. Everyone knew some, the lucky, were still alive.
Even from a sizable distance, Renit spots the three scars along Tesha's cheek and the faint remnants of exhaustion in Bren's eyes. They went through a terrible ordeal, over a month ago, yet the pain hasn't worn off. And it won't, not with permanent marks like the ones that now mar Tesha's skin.
Renit makes a quick decision as they mass, not once looking at the Aimrey home. They're aware of the secrets it holds, and the lost friendship shared between two that never got the chance to make something more. To hell with that, Renit thinks. He wouldn't give her up, not until he gets her back. Then, and only then, will he allow her to make that decision.
Carefully and quietly, he makes his way down the stairs. The nuummite bounces against his chest, matching the rhythm of his heart, beat for beat. If anyone can help him bring Roux back, it's them. She doesn't hate Bren, as far as he knows, her memories of him are still intact.
The rebels may be his only chance.
With no fear in his heart, Renit steps out onto the street, hands raised in the air to reveal his innocence. It doesn't take long, Tesha turns first and reaches for an arrow in her quiver, only to stop upon seeing him standing there. She furrows her brows as Bren turns, eyes growing wide with confusion. He looks to the prince's side as if scanning for someone that won't make an appearance.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tesha snaps. She looks Renit up and down.
"I need your help," Renit blurts. "My father has Roux, he turned her into a mindless...killing soldier." There isn't the right word for what his father did. "She killed Akeno, and it's likely they plan to kill more of you."
Bren's face drains of color.
"Akeno's...dead?" Tesha asks, her voice barely above a whisper. Tears sting her eyes and before she can stop it, her lip quivers.
Renit doesn't have time for sentiment. "The king forced Roux to kill him. I didn't—I couldn't do anything." Knowing her rage, he keeps his arms high. Tesha may kill him, simply for not bringing an alive Akeno back with him.
Her features contort themselves into rage. "I'll kill you." She reaches back for an arrow, only to have herself trapped by Bren's grip.
"You're not killing anyone," he warns.
"Akeno is dead!" Her voice cracks, and she slams her hands against her leader's chest. "He's dead because of him." A strong point is the only identification Renit receives. She won't even look at him.
Bren takes her shoulders in a light grip, and like a soothing mother, says very gently, "We'll figure this out. Don't worry, we'll avenge Akeno."
A tear streams down Tesha's cheek as she turns back to Renit. "I'll kill her, you, and the king. None of you will stand a chance." She rips herself from Bren's grasp, who gladly lets her go, and she vanishes like a black cloud of mist through an alley.
Renit finally drops his hands as Bren turns to him, sorrow filling his eyes. "You have some explaining to do." Ever the leader, the calming force of an entire group destined to raise hell. "Come with me, I have someone I want you to meet."
Renit obliges. His entire body itches with the urge to reveal to Bren that there's a chance his best friend makes it out alive, but he doesn't want to create false hope. The leader of this group of rebels has already lost so much, yet there's a chance he can lose more.
They walk in silence towards the middle of the village, past the destruction of the community kitchens, and towards a building hardly touched by destruction. But it's not the ground floor they venture to, or any of the abandoned rooms that hold rebels, guards—all that steal a glance at Renit and whisper to themselves.
No one expected to see his face. They're enemies, it's written in the royal family rules, an invisible book that holds no value other than those that have the blood. The royal family will always be enemies with the rebels. Not today.
Bren takes a lit torch and carries it down to the basement of a home, a cellar, rather. This was where they stored the food for the village, Renit realizes very quickly. There's a stench that matches the room, wafting up from the dirt floor and sinking into the stone walls.
Although the light is faint, cast only by the flaming torch, Renit's breath catches in his throat as he realizes who stands before him, a man he long believed to be dead. In a room that appears to be an office, Renit's old war commander, Alaric Coleman, turns and raises his brows.
Renit can't find the words. A commander in the war that clearly faked his death, and now, joined at the hip with the rebels. A spark of recognition flashes into Renit's head as he realizes Alaric isn't just part of the rebels—he's their leader. The true leader, one above all.
Alaric's citrine eyes flash with amusement, hiding his shock upon seeing Renit there, and says, "Hello, prince."
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