Broken Promises (Stolen Truth: Book 2)

2

Rat POV

"You okay?" Wolf asked, sitting down next to me.

It had been a few days since they had decided that I should leave, no one else at the camp knew yet, I think they were trying to keep it that way.

"Don't act like you're my friend," I snapped, "I know that you wanted me to leave as well."

"Because I want you to be safe," She argued, "All anyone wants is for you to be safe."

"And what about all of you?"

"All of us... We aren't the ones in danger."

"All of us are in danger," I scoffed.

"No, I-I need to tell you something," Wolf admitted.

"What is it?" I asked, growing concerned.

"You remember when we were figuring out if you were one of us, and I got a bit shocked after what I saw?"

"Yeah?" I said, nodding along, "What did you see? Like, did you know about this whole prince thing?"

"No, I never had a clue," Wolf said, "I promise I would've told you if I had known. You know how I told you that it isn't precognition? Well, I sort of lied. It isn't that I can see the future completely and even if I could, the future is always subject to change, but I do see something, a moment in time when you have to make the most important decision of your life, I don't know what you will have to choose between or even the choice you make, I only see the moment. For some people it has already happened and for others their time may be far into the future, but whatever it is I can never work out if it's good or bad."

"What do you mean?" I asked, growing intrigued.

"For example, with Shark it had already happened. He was with his sister at first, when they were far younger, before they came here, he told her to leave and he was yelling at the guards. I always thought the decision was that he would escape, but it turns out he had made an agreement back then. Everything always falls into place eventually, but I always try not to tell people what I see."

"Why did mine shock you so much then?"

"Because everywhere around you was on fire, at first, after the battle at the camp I had assumed that had been it, you made your choice, but I'm afraid that wasn't it."

"What do you mean?" I pressed.

"When got our first lot of the blank soldiers, the ones like us, you were with me to help introduce them, just like Viper used to."

"I remember," I said, "Why is it important."

"I accidentally brushed your hand when I was 'testing' one of them, it was only for a second but I saw that very same scene again, except it was slightly different this time."

"Slightly different? What does that mean?"

"When I saw that moment for the very first time, I was scared, you were stood on some sort of hill and everywhere around you was burning, the sky was stained red and there was this huge black dragon in the sky, you had this cold look in your eyes. The second time I saw it was the same, except around you on the hill were bodies, the bodies of blanks and our own people, you were wearing a crown and there was someone behind you this time, almost like a shadow, they had this ghastly smile on their face, cut from ear to ear and silver horns atop their head, it was like a nightmare."

"No offense," I started, "But that sounds more than 'slightly' different if you ask me."

"Do you know what this means?"

"No, does it mean anything?"

"You changed something. There was something you did that altered the universe, it sent you on a different path to the same place. Sending you away isn't just to keep you safe for now, we're trying to put you back on the right path."

"Has it never occurred to you that sending me away could be catalyst for this situation."

"It doesn't work like that," Wolf shook her head, "The vision can't change for somethi9ng that will happen, only for what has been done, you will always end up in the same place but how you get there can always be changed, and the path you take will change what it looks like."

"That is so vague," I groaned, "And how do you know that it won't be worse if I run away."

"I don't know! But it will definitely be worse if you stay here and get captured by the blanks, for the second time! We can't risk that. I know you think that this will be worse for all of us and I know you feel like there's some massive duty here for you to be what they deserve, but you also have a duty to stay alive for them."

"I know," I said, "but can't they at least know what's happening?"

"No, we most certainly have another spy at the camp and they can't have any idea what's happening. If they end up reporting your disappearance back to the blanks, we want them to think you ran away."

"Fine," I relented, knowing I wasn't going to win this, "But if I have to do this them I'll do it my way."

"What do you want done?" Wolf asked.

"Louis comes with me, just me and him, if there is a spy then I don't want to go alone and I'm not bringing anyone I don't trust with me."

"Done, what else?"

"If no one else here can know then I at least want Dove to know, she doesn't deserve to worry after what happened to Bunny. Which brings me to my next request, since what happened at the old camp, I've been sort of training the other kids, they should at least know enough to defend themselves, no one that young deserves to die."

"They won't last long against blank soldiers."

"Maybe not, but they'll last long enough for someone else to come in and save them."

"Is there anything else?"

"Please don't let them think I abandoned them, I understand that you have a narrative that you need to sell but if I die I'm not going down in history as a coward."

"Nothing bad will happen to you, and nothing ill will come of them. You aren't going away out of cowardice, you're leaving because you have to, for them, if anything that's the bravest thing you could do."

"Also, I don't want to come back here to find someone else in charge, I'm not all too fond of being a prince but that doesn't mean I want anyone else completely taking over."

"No one else will ever take your place, now go tell Dove what's happening. You and Louis have to leave tomorrow night."