Conquering The Unbroken

Chapter 43

Three days have passed since we rescued Silas from the castle. We're closing in on Arego, so close to arriving I can smell the salted air and faint tint of fish. I grimace at the thought of that being our only meal again; bread and cheese was something of a luxury while we had it. But no more.

Any experience with the king's soldiers has ended just as soon as it started. Only one group, no more than ten and no less than five—I didn't get an exact count—attempted attacking us on the second night. We made it out with minor wounds, mostly scrapes from branches hitting our faces while escaping. Whether through a distant call or our minds were playing tricks on us, we heard shouting in the woods once the king's men were dead in a circle around us. All from various wounds.

Running hadn't been my first choice. Silas's idea came before I could stop him, and when I whirled to explain to him that while taking our chance with speed increased the risk, we had powers to keep us from facing fatal blows; he was dashing through the trees and leaving us behind. The king's men traveled in packs, but we do too. In a way, I was glad to see him take initiative. Another part of me knew he was running so he didn't have to face his father again. The castle is a prison for all of us. Silas has faced enough, he's the least of us that wants to face the chances of being dragged back.

The woods kept our secret and when we finally stopped, collapsing on the ground, it took little effort for any of us to fall back asleep. Except Renit and Tesha; they kept watch while the rest of us warded off the exhaustion in our bones.

The two of them are a wall barricading us in and keeping others out. I would love to see the looks on their faces if I expressed to them just how alike they are. Defensive, willing to protect, and cranky to the bone. Their scowls to each other prove at least one point.

Renit still doesn't have access to my thoughts through the Grounding bond, I suppose I should be glad for that. Otherwise, I'd receive more glares than I know what to do with.

We've avoided the conversation we desperately need to have. Everyone has reached the point of overflowing, except for Silas, but the subject needs to be discussed. The rebels don't want to wait any longer than they have to. With the crown prince back on our side, we need to move. No more waiting. The next step, the goal we have strived for since the beginning, is for the king to fall.

Attacks will come from left and right; the rebels have prepared themselves for that. What they haven't anticipated is the sheer mass of those strikes and the possibility of them holding the king within the ranks. No, he wouldn't risk his head just for the sake of watching his sons and the rebels die.

We mean little to him, his blind soldiers mean less. Like handing out spare coins to the poor, he'll spend their lives while he sits on the throne and waits for reports.

It's not until midday, so close to Arego I can almost taste it, that Tesha clears her throat. Out of everyone to speak first, I expected it to be her all along. More than anyone, she has the strongest reputation for breaking through awkward tension.

I glare at her, but she purposefully avoids my eye. "Next step," she announces, clapping her hands together. She skips a rock nonchalantly. "What's the next step?"

"The next step was to take down the castle," Bren mumbles, quiet enough so Silas doesn't hear him.

The crown prince, like Renit, has been alive for over three hundred years. He has avoided his father's training for the most part, but one can only put them off for so long. Renit is the silent listener, Silas is the talker to interrupt that silence. He wouldn't be the crown prince if he couldn't pick out a quiet voice when he hears one.