𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟖// "𝐖𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭"

"The Shade King lied about having the prince and general. Fortunately, I managed to spy on their council meetings." Kayla took a deep breath and glanced at the ceiling.

It had been two days since Kayla had been dispatched as a messenger, and had now returned. She had barged into the Council room and interrupted the entire meeting, her clothes still dirty from travel, her claims of vital information hushing the protest of the Aureole lords and ladies.

"What did you find out?" King Apollo asked. Lee could hear the slightest trace of hope in his voice.

Kayla bit her lip. Gently, knowing the impact of her words, she said, " The prince and general are to be executed on the Winter Solstice."

Silence. King Apollo's face went carefully neutral, but Lee could sense the pain raging in him. Queen Naomi had gone mute, her blue eyes haunted.

"Until then, they will be interrogated for information so that after the Winter Solstice, the Shades can invade the Aureole palace and conquer us." Kayla's voice was quiet, defeated. The voice of someone who felt helpless.

The Aureole Council was quiet, glancing at each other as though looking for comfort in one another, eyes wide with fear.

"Did they say a specific date that they plan to attack?" Queen Naomi asked.

"No. They only said several weeks after the solstice. Nothing more." Kayla ran her fingers through her red-green hair restlessly. "I wish I could be of more assistance, but--"

"You have done enough," Queen Naomi said gently. "Thank you for taking the risks to attain this important intel." She turned to the rest of the council, straightening the crown on her golden-haired head. "Now," she said, placing her hands in her lap, "we must develop a plan to combat the Shades. Are there any ideas on how we should proceed?"

"Remember the meeting we are to have with the Shades concerning borders and trade?" Annabeth Jackson, wife of General Percy Jackson, scooted her chair closer, gray eyes gleaming. "We should use this meeting to our advantage. While the meeting is held, we send at least two people into the Shade dungeons to try to bust the general and prince out."

"Excellent idea," the queen said. "Who should we send?"

"I'll go," Kayla blurted.

"As will I," Lee said. At the looks of surprise thrown his way, he said, "I am only head healer; in the eyes of the Shades, I am of no importance. They won't miss me from their meeting."

"Interesting," Queen Naomi said. "All those in favor?"

The vote was unanimous.

"Wonderful," she said. She looked at Lee, then Kayla. "The meeting is only in a few days. I hope that you will be prepared by then."

"We will be," Kayla said, raising her chin.

"We will be," Lee repeated.

☀️☀️☀️

"You seriously can't think this is okay!"

"I don't, Nico," Reyna snapped back, crossing her arms as she glared at him. "Trust me, I don't."

"Then why don't you try to stop it?" Nico snarled. "Why didn't you let me try to stop it?"

"Voting against the Council's decision would've done nothing. You know this. And you're already under suspicion; King Abaddon thinks you've grown a soft spot for the Aureole prince. Voting against the decision would have only damned you further." She took a step closer to him. "I saved you back there, Nico. You should be glad."

"Glad?"

"Yes, glad, because you've made yourself look like a traitor! Any more suspicious activity from you, di Angelo, and you'll be off the council; or worse, dead!"

Nico took a deep breath, but said nothing, unable to argue any more. "We must act, General," he managed to say. "We must act. We can't just stand by."

"I agree, but I am under orders."

"And you're going to follow those orders, even if it means innocent lives are taken? General, with all due respect, you are better than this! You--"

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Reyna shouted, clenching her fist, dark eyes ablaze. "Disobey the king? Try to bust the prince and general out of the dungeons and be executed as a traitor? Tell me!"

Nico opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by a sound: a high, pure, sweet sound that echoed from above. He looked up to realize that they had been arguing under Princess Hazel's balcony. The princess herself stood there, her green dress shimmering in the torchlight spilling from her room, her inky hair kissed with gold, lips parted as she sang a lovely melody.

For a moment, Nico and Reyna were silent, staring at the princess as though she was a ghost that had risen to warn them. At last, Hazel's song ended, and with a toss of her curly hair she waltzed back into her room, her carefee laughter echoing.

Nico stared at the empty balcony for a moment more, then whispered, "She had voted against her father in the meeting."

Reyna was silent, then whispered, "She..." The general hesistated, then tried again, her words laced with caution. "She would make a better ruler than her father."

Nico's heart stopped. That statement danced along the line of treasonous.

"We must act," Reyna whispered, echoing Nico. "I don't know how, but... " She put her face in her hands and inhaled, then straightened and locked eyes with Nico. "We need to help the Aureoles escape. They don't deserve such a painful death after everything they've been through."

Nico seized Reyna and dragged her into a shadow. "How should we proceed?" he asked. His voice was trembling--with fear, with excitement.

"I don't know." General Ramirez-Arellano glared at the palace. "But one way or another, we'll do it." Her lips twitched, her fear making her laugh. "We could be caught and executed."

For a moment, golden hair and ocean eyes flashed in Nico's mind. Then he whispered, "I am willing to take that risk."