Fallon presses the loose strands of hair back toward her bun. Then she looks out over the Rebels and citizens. “How long do you think we have before the Force and the king’s knights storm this camp?”
Glancing around, I watch as some heads hang low. Others, in the back of the gathered group, slink farther away. Women wrap their arms around their children. These are not fighters. They’re citizens of a lost era, only wishing to live out their lives in peace.
“We don’t have much time to decide on a course of action before that happens,” Fallon continues. She steps to the front of the platform, her small form shaking. “Do you want King Sebastian in power? Do you want to fear his reign every day, questioning whether that day or the next will be your last? He needs to be stopped.”
A woman steps forward, her skin still dirty from the long trek to camp. “I brought my children here to see a father they haven’t laid eyes on in four years.” The crowd murmurs their understanding. “He’s sacrificed everything already, and now you ask for his life. How can we trust that the king’s army won’t destroy us all? Once we reveal ourselves, we’re all dead.”
The citizens throw heated words toward Fallon. She doesn’t respond but instead looks directly at me. I raise my brows as she points my way.
“Do you recognize her?” she asks them. Warmth splashes my face as all eyes land on me. “She’s Zara Dane. The princess once betrothed to King Sebastian.” Fallon beckons me to join her on the stage, and I shake my head lightly.
Why me?
Fallon waves me forward once more. I breathe in a shaky breath and step up to her side. “What are you doing?” I whisper.
She leans in close. “Trust me.” Turning back toward the crowd, she says, “Zara was a commoner just like you, and the king elevated her, offering her riches and every convenience the realm has to offer. Yet she is here. She has sacrificed just as much as anyone here, because she knows what has to be done.” She looks to me to say something, but my throat closes up. My mind blanks as I stare out over the crowd, taking in each wary expression.
I quickly pull Fallon to my side and whisper, “Where’s Xander?” Where is her second in command, the once-quiet Rebel who revealed his secret public speaking skills just yesterday?
“He’s busy making his own speeches.” She nods once. “This one’s yours to make.”
I swallow the forming lump, and it scrapes my too-dry throat on its way down. Pushing the sudden nausea down with it, I think of my father—the first to stand against the tyranny of King Hart—and pray for his words to speak through me.
“I fear the monsters of Outside,” I say. “I’ve seen the wasteland and its many horrors, and it scares me.” I curl my hands into fists to stop the trembling. “But Karm has its own monsters.”
Heads nod, and agreement ripples through the air. I suck in a breath. “If we don’t face down all of these monsters—the ones stalking our loved ones as well as the ones in power—then we become monsters in our own right by doing nothing. By allowing the enslavement and killing of innocents to continue. I’ve heard the plans King Sebastian has for his realm, and if he succeeds, we’ll not only lose our lives, but the very thing that makes us human.” I raise my head higher. “Our freedom.”
The Rebels and citizens cheer, and my chest relaxes, but are the citizens moved enough to fight? Fallon’s hand slips into mine, and I glance at her as she looks over the people.
A tension-filled silence settles over the crowd.
I look at the planks in the platform, and a fierce madness rises within me. I squeeze Fallon’s hand, and she grips mine back. I look up. “This is our time to stand against the darkness—of Outside and in. Refuse to live in fear. Take a stand. This is no longer a rebellion.” I breathe in. “It’s our revolution.”
The quiet breaks. Shouts sound out like strikes of lightning, cracking against the forest like a whip. The citizens pump their fists in the air right along with the Rebels.
“Will you hide in fear and hand over your lives willingly?” Fallon shouts. “Or will you be the ones to choose your fate?”
My chest blooms with renewed determination as they cheer louder. Purpose sweeps through the camp. I know we may not succeed, but we will take away something Sebastian values more than anything. His power over us.
Once Fallon and Silas have the plan mapped out, the citizens suit up in old armor they’ve scavenged over the years, cast off by the knights. Since they haven’t had the training the Rebels have, they need some kind of protection. It’s the best we can do with so little time. I feel as if I’m in the middle of one of my fantasy books, waiting for a horn to sound and the army to march off toward an open battlefield.
With resolve coursing through my blood, I slide a short-sword into my leather harness. It hangs low on my hip, and its cold metal presses against my thin clothes. I feel empowered.
Never again will I wear the dresses of a princess.
I slip on a pair of black boots and hike them up past my shins to protect against attacks to my legs. Strapping on a leather vest over my black shirt, I prepare for battle.
THIRTY-NINE
Nearly two hundred of us gather behind the castle wall. The women and men who can’t fight are at camp with the children, and all those who can wield weapons stand with us.
Lines are fired over the wall, and their grappling hooks anchor into the crevices in the stonework. A group begins to scale the wall as the flankers make sure we’re not attacked before we enter Court. I know Sebastian, though. He wants us here. He’s called us out and is expecting us. He’ll hold off his Force and army of knights until we’re fully on his turf.
Fallon sidles up beside me as she watches the first group climb. “Xander is in there,” she says, a slight tremble to her voice.
“He’s smart.” I face her. “Sebastian doesn’t suspect Xander. He’ll be all right.”
She smoothes her hair back, a nervous habit of hers.
I squint. “Why did he choose to stay in?” I ask. “After the mission was botched, I mean.”
She shrugs one of her shoulders. “He has his own reasons.” Her eyes look toward the top of the wall as the group clears it. Fallon latches her harness to a rope and then yanks. Planting her feet flat against the wall, she begins her climb. “If we survive this,” she says, looking at me over her shoulder, “I’ll tell you about it.” With a wink, she pulls herself up.
I frown, wondering what Xander’s reasons could be, and if they have anything to do with the orders from Fallon that he questioned. Devlan told me of how Xander came to be a Rebel—how he was Fallon’s first mark, but she disobeyed Micah’s orders and didn’t kill him. I feel like an important piece of that story is missing, though, a piece that only Fallon and Xander know. I hope we survive. I’d love to know Xander’s secret.
“We’ve been spotted, of course,” Devlan says, coming up beside me. “But Sebastian’s holding off his army, waiting for us. He wants a clear view of the carnage, I’m sure.” He rubs his forehead. “Once we’re over the wall, it won’t be long before we’re under full attack. We’ll have only minutes to fight our way to the control room.” His eyes search me, landing on my stomach. “I don’t think—”
I cover his mouth with mine, halting him from telling me, yet again, that I’m in no condition to fight. Before we left the camp, he dressed my wounds, wrapping both my stomach and shoulder securely so they won’t re-open. Nothing will stop me from facing this with Devlan. We’ve been together from the start, and we’ll finish this together.
As his lips caress mine, I pull him closer, knowing that this could be the last time I feel his arms around me, his lips touching mine. All too soon, the kiss ends, and I stare into his pale blue eyes.