The Song of the Keepers

Chapter 41 Strong Feelings

"You can't be serious."
I stared at him in shock.

"Why not? Because I'm an Amir?"

"Yes! You're royal blood!"

"So I can't be a good man if I'm a royal? I have to be a hard-headed fool who hates his people and murders his enemies?"

"No, of course not. That's not what I meant."
I sputtered.

"You're a good man Ranen, I believe that. But this is a drastic step. Becoming a better ruler than your father is one thing. Changing things when you become rightfully King. But partnering with the rebels now? There no going back from that. It's a risky game."

"You said yourself the country can't wait for me to become King. My father will have torn it apart by then in his war against the Coalition. There won't be an Itova left for me to save. I have to act now."
He argued.

"You're father's a psychopath Ranen! If he were to find out, he wouldn't hesitate to imprison you, or even kill you."
My voice shook as I spoke.

Did he have any idea the danger he would be putting himself in?

"I don't doubt it. Which is why I'll have to play the game for keeps. I can't afford to lose and neither can Itova."

I should have been ecstatic at this turn of events and yet all I felt was dread.

"Even if you can undermine your father, you'll have to account for the Order. The Keepers are the real ones in power and they know it. They won't take kindly to a rebel revolution overthrowing their control."

"And what better way to stop the Keepers than to have an insider for an ally? You can help me develop a plan."
Ranen smiled at me.

"No plan is going to be perfect enough to solve every problem that will arise! Something will go wrong, and you'll pay the price for it!"
I exclaimed, jumping to my feet.

I pushed past him and leaned against the railing of the veranda, staring out at the setting sun.

"I'm good at making plans, Astrid."
He assured me in a gentle tone.

"No one's that good."
I replied bitterly.

Ranen moved to stand beside me, his arm brushing mine.

"So you'd rather see the country go to hell in a handbasket?"
He asked pointedly.

"No, I'd do anything to see our country saved. I want my sister to have a better future. I want the death and terror to stop. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I did in the Tournaments."

"The help me stop it. Help me change things."
Ranen's warm calloused hand once again took my own.

I inhaled sharply before turning to face him.

"What are you afraid of, more than seeing this country die?"
Ranen questioned, searching my face.

"Losing you."
The words slipped out before I had a chance to check them, surprising even me.

I'd worried in the past what would happen to Ranen if the Coalition won their war, but I suppose it had seemed more hypothetical then anything. I had been able to put it out of my mind, letting my worry fester instead in a dark corner of my heart. All his talk just now, however, suddenly made it feel real. The emotion gripping me wasn't something I had felt before. Fear and anger I recognized but they were mixed with something else.

Ranen was staring at me with such intensity I felt rooted in place by nothing more than his eyes. Then without warning he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, our lips pressing together in a moment of shared passion. It was different from our first kiss, the night he had punched Legato Eddington. That had been an impulsive instinct and had lasted only a couple of sweet seconds, to be followed by a good deal of embarrassment on my part. This kiss was more urgent, as though we were trying to convey every emotion we couldn't yet put into words. When we finally drew away from each other, we were both panting for breath, sucking in the cold winter air. Ranen's arm remained at my waist, sending a tingling feeling dancing up my spine.