Impossible choices. Rush through the jungle in the dead of night and try to save my king — the man I loved — or stay here to watch over and protect his brother?
Below me, the camp slowly fell into silence. A while later, Felton reemerged from the tent with his hand bandaged, his face pale and a sheen of perspiration on his skin. Rafe walked up to him and said something too quiet for me to hear. Felton nodded and bowed, keeping his eyes lowered. And then he turned and walked away from the camp, into the darkness, back toward the palace.
My heart thudded in my chest, pushing my blood in galloping leaps through my body. Feeling as though I were being torn apart inside, I finally made my choice and sat up tall on the branch. When Felton had passed my hiding spot and disappeared into the dark depths of the jungle, I silently swung down from my perch, descending as quickly as possible.
I’d almost made it to the ground when I miscalculated where the last branch was and slipped. I tried to grab something — anything — to stop my fall, but my hands scraped along the bark without gaining purchase, and I hit the ground with a thud.
I sat there frozen for a split second, hoping no one had heard the noise of my fall.
Someone shouted in Dansiian from behind me, and I leaped to my feet, ignoring the pain in my body to rush away from the camp into the darkness without looking back. My monkey friend chattered loudly from the tree at my pursuers, and I silently said good-bye to the creature as I plunged into the inky depths of the jungle.
Just then the clouds that had been converging above me decided to unleash a deluge of water. Rain pounded down on the thick foliage, drenching me in a matter of seconds as I stumbled over roots and rocks in my desperation to catch Felton — and to escape Rafe’s men. I could hear Felton ahead of me, but I could also hear men from behind, coming for me.
Shouts reverberated through the torrent of water, the sound muted by the noise of the driving rain. Lightning lanced above the canopy, illuminating the jungle in a blinding burst of light, and then thunder tore apart the earth, so close it trembled through my body, filling my ears and head so that in the seconds following the boom, I couldn’t hear a thing except deafened silence.
My hearing returned seconds before I realized someone was directly behind me. I yanked out my sword and spun around just in time to parry a blow aimed at my shoulder. My sword collided with another in a resounding crash. I caught a small glimpse of my attacker before I twisted away and swung my sword in an arc, so fast he couldn’t block me in time, and I sliced it cleanly through his side, sending him toppling to the wet ground.
I gripped the hilt tightly, my hands made slick by the rain, and squinted into the darkness to see another man headed right for me, with three more on his tail. Lightning flashed again, not as close this time, as I charged forward, my sword an extension of my fury and desperation. I was outnumbered, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t let them stop me. I had too many people counting on me — too many I had to save — to let these nameless soldiers strike me down and leave me for dead in the middle of the jungle.
As I moved and moved again, turning and spinning, my blade colliding and striking, a surge of something filled my body. Strength — awareness — power. I spun and twisted, lunged and blocked and parried in a blur of motion. Over and over, the sound of sword hitting sword echoed through the jungle, and then sword on flesh. Again. And again. My blood surged through my body, hot with fear, with anger. I wouldn’t let them stop me — I couldn’t. I needed to get to Damian. I had to save him, before it was too late.
When the next bolt of lightning struck, it illuminated five bodies on the ground and no one else coming for me. I stood there, my sword lifted, my chest heaving, the rain pouring down my hair and face, waiting. Waiting. There were more men than this in that camp. Had Rafe remained behind with them? Was anyone else coming?
And then I heard slow clapping coming from the depths of the jungle, over the dull roar of the rain.
“I have to admit, that was even more impressive than expected, Alexa,” a voice sounded from nearby, concealed in the darkness. “I know it is you.”
“And I’ve seen what you can do,” I shouted back.
Rafe’s laughter turned my blood cold. “Then you will make the right decision, I hope, and turn yourself in to me before anyone else gets hurt.”
My sword shook in my trembling hands as I spun to face the direction of his voice, but he remained hidden. The rain continued to fall, rushing over my eyes and obscuring my vision, but I didn’t dare lift a hand to wipe my face.
“I will do it — I will turn myself in to you. But not yet.”
“Would you have me kill the boy now, then? I can make it very … interesting.”
His threat hit home — I knew he meant it. But somehow I had to figure out a way to get back to Damian first and then save Jax. If I went with Rafe now, there would be no hope for any of us. I remembered Damian asking me if it was better for one man to die than to let an entire kingdom perish. He’d been thinking of me then — I wondered what his answer would be if he knew the life in the balance was his brother’s.
“You gave Damian until dawn, a day from now, to give me up in exchange for Jax’s life.”
“I see no need to wait when you so obligingly came to me early.” His voice was closer now, and I gripped my sword more tightly, lifting it up higher in preparation for another attack.
“I didn’t come here alone,” I replied, thinking quickly. “I sent the other guard back to the palace to report on you. He’ll return here with a battalion of the army to annihilate you and bring Jax back alive to Damian.”
“How kind of you to warn me. I’ll be sure to vacate the area immediately.”
“There is nowhere you can hide that’s close enough to make the exchange where they won’t be able to find you. And then your plan will fail. You don’t know the jungle like we do,” I continued, squinting through the darkness and rain. “You will never capture me right now, and you can’t get close enough to play your mind games on me. You’d be dead before you tried.”
“I have eight more men waiting for my signal to attack,” Rafe said, amused.
“And I will kill them all. You saw what I did to the five who were unwise enough to challenge me.” I gestured to the bodies littering the ground. “I may not understand the power you wield entirely, but I can guarantee that you can’t comprehend the power I wield. Do not underestimate me. You will never succeed in taking me by force.”
There was silence for a long moment as he considered my words. My bluff. I prayed he wouldn’t hear the lie in my voice.
“What is it that you propose, then, my dear? You seem to care for this boy; as I said, I could just kill him if you don’t turn yourself in to me right now.”
“Let me go — for now. Save your men’s lives, rather than wasting them on an ill-fated attempt to bring me in by force, and I promise to turn myself in to you by dawn a day from now in exchange for Jax’s life.”
His laughter sounded again, making me shiver. “Do you think me stupid? Let you go, so that you can be at the head of the battalion you’ve already admitted is coming for me and my men? I think not.”
My mind churned, seeking a solution — an escape. Then an idea — a horrible, desperate idea — occurred to me. “Your ability, the way you can command others and tell them what to do … can anyone resist it?”
“No.” His answer was quick and firm.
“But if your demands are met, is the person free from your command?”
A pause, then musingly, “Yes. Depending on how I phrase the command.”
I stared into the jungle, where he stood somewhere, watching me. I was bargaining with a demon, and my entire body shook with fear from the offer I was about to make. But it was my only hope to save both Jax and Damian. “Use your power, then, and command Jax to die if I haven’t turned myself in by dawn a day from now — command his heart to stop if I break my oath. I love him as if he were my own brother. I won’t let him die
. You’ll have your guarantee that I’ll return. And then he will be free to go — and free of your control.”
Silence again and then: “I like the way your mind works, but that’s unfortunately the one command no one can follow. I can’t command someone’s heart to just stop. I could kill him myself, but that’s so boring. Plus I already threatened that.” He paused. “I’ll tell you what. You want me to let you walk away right now? Here’s my offer.”
The rain poured over me, rushing down my face like tears as I held my breath.
“In exchange for letting you walk away, I’m going to go back to camp right now and command Jax to kill himself if you don’t give yourself up to us.”
I gasped, horror coursing through me, but he wasn’t done.
“And, I’m going to make it even more interesting. I will also tell him to kill himself if I’m captured or harmed in any way when you return. And the same goes for if you harm or kill my sister, Vera. So you might want to rethink your little plan of rushing back there to stop her and bringing an entire battalion back with you. There’s nothing you can do to protect your king now, but by all means, if you agree to my offer, you’re welcome to try.” His voice was mocking, hinging on laughter as he finished. “My guess is that he’ll be the one to bring you to me, with Vera at his side.”
My blood ran cold, pulsing through my limbs, my torso, my heart, turning me to ice. It was one thing to let him take Jax’s life — but to force the boy to do it to himself? What had I done?
“Answer me or my offer is rescinded. Do we have a deal?”
I stared blindly into the night. Terror, as sharp and hopeless as my future, stabbed through me. But I’d left myself no choice.
“Deal,” I said, so softly my voice was barely above a whisper.
“Then you are free to go, but you’d better hurry back or else Jax will only be the first to die.”
The rain blinded me as I turned and fled, diving into the protection of the jungle. Desperation burned in my chest as I pushed bushes and trees and vines out of my way, cutting my face, my arms, and my hands. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. My life was forfeit — I was now Rafe’s.
My only hope was that I could save Damian first, before I had to turn myself in to save his brother.
I CAUGHT UP TO Felton shortly after leaving Rafe and my ill-fated promise behind. Rather than confronting him as I’d originally planned on doing, I stayed far enough behind to keep him from realizing I was following him back to the palace. I let him guide me through the dark, wet jungle. My emotions were a tangled mess. I’d bluffed my way out of immediate capture — I’d led Rafe to believe I wielded power that I didn’t. And now I had to return to him and turn myself in, or else Jax would die an even more horrible death. I’d bought myself time, and I could only hope it was enough to save Damian from Vera’s grasp.
The storm finally blew itself out just before the looming palace wall came into view. The tumultuous clouds slowly broke apart to reveal the pale light of the moon as I waited to see how Felton would reenter the palace.
He walked up to one of the smaller doors in the wall and tapped lightly on it three times with his good hand — one long, then two short beats. It took a moment, and then the door cracked open. I couldn’t hear what was said, but before I knew it, Felton was admitted back into the palace grounds, and the door was shut and locked again. I hadn’t gotten a good look, but I was pretty sure the man who had let him in was wearing the uniform of an Antionese soldier. Not one of Vera’s men, then. Did that mean she had control of the entire perimeter guard already? Or just one key person? Would she have told them to not let me in, or would I be able to reenter the palace unharmed?
My head ached as I crouched in my hiding spot, trying to piece together what I knew so far of Rafe and his sister, how to get to the king in time, and how to go about breaking Vera’s control over Damian. From what I’d seen, the only way to put a stop to one of their commands was to kill the person under their spell, or to fulfill the demands. But there wouldn’t be a demand in Damian’s case — not that I could think of. And there was no way I could kill him to break her control. And now I couldn’t hurt or kill her, either, without causing Jax to die as well. What was I going to do?
The memory of him holding her, kissing her, in the garden sprang back up, stabbing through my heart. Even though I was sure now that he’d been forced, it still hurt to think of Damian holding another woman — to imagine him kissing her, telling her he loved her, not me.
I stood up suddenly, forcing my fears away. I didn’t have time to waste, sitting here wallowing in self-pity. I had to go find him and do the best I could to break the spell she had cast over him, if that’s what it even was. Maybe Eljin could help us. I’d find him next, if I couldn’t figure out how to help Damian on my own.
I finally decided the only way to get to him was to take my chances with the perimeter guard. Hopefully, they hadn’t been commanded to keep anyone loyal to Antion out.
I walked up to the gate and pounded on the door and then waited for the perimeter guard to open it and peer out at me.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked when he didn’t immediately pull the door open, my stomach sinking. “Let me in!”
“No one comes or goes in the night unless you know the phrase,” the perimeter guard said gruffly. He looked about twice my age, but not particularly large. Only an inch or two taller than me.
“I’m a member of King Damian’s personal guard, and I order you to open this gate right now,” I said, reaching for my sword.
The man stiffened, and I noticed him make a small gesture behind his back. When he looked back into my eyes, the expression on his face had turned into that awful blankness that made my blood run cold. Apparently, I’d given him the wrong answer. He’d been fine — normal — until then.
“By commission of King Damian, I place you under arrest and command you to surrender your weapons at once,” the man said, pulling out his sword and lifting it up, prepared to fight me.
My heart beat harder in my chest as I pulled out my own sword. I didn’t want to fight my own men. Vera had done this — she’d somehow put this man under her spell. How much of the palace and army was already in her power? Fear for Rylan twisted my gut, but I couldn’t let myself wonder if he was all right or what might have happened to him and the other guards if Vera had control of the palace.
“You don’t want to do this,” I warned the man.
“If you resist arrest, I have been authorized to bring you to the prison by force.”
There was no way I was ever going back there, but I didn’t want to kill this man, either. He opened the door wider and charged at me, lifting his sword. I easily deflected him but was momentarily distracted by the sight of four more men standing inside the palace wall, swords raised, apparently ready to fight me if I got past the first one.
I felt him coming up on my left and spun around to parry another blow. He wasn’t aiming to kill me — yet. With a sigh, I fought back, careful not to hurt him while still trying to protect myself. Finally, I saw my opening and was able to hit him in the side of the head with the butt of my sword, knocking him out.
Once he’d collapsed, I turned to see the other four men rushing at me.
“Remember to keep her alive!” one of them shouted, just before they reached me.
One on four, when I was trying very hard not to severely injure or kill any of them, was much more difficult than one on five when I was willing to do whatever it took to save myself. I spun and twisted, trying to deflect their hits, while refusing to cut them back, but there were too many. If I wanted to avoid injury or capture, I had to fight better than this. I had to be willing to hurt them, or else they were going to succeed in taking me to the dungeons, leaving Damian and the entire palace to Vera’s control.
With a silent apology to these men, who were not in their right minds, I tightened my grip on my sword and began to attack. I was careful to land my blows on nonvital parts
of their bodies, but I was a sudden flurry of flashing blade and barely controlled fury. The men were shocked and unprepared for my ability, as if Vera’s mind control had somehow made them forget who I was and what I was capable of.
I disabled two of them in moments, slicing through their sword arms, just enough to make them unable to continue fighting me, but not so deeply that they wouldn’t heal. But as I turned to the third, angling my sword to cut through his thigh and temporarily cripple him, I momentarily lost track of the fourth man. Just as I deflected the third man’s jab and twisted my blade so that it bit into his leg, fire exploded along my back. Instinctively, I rolled away from the blow, inadvertently driving my sword deeper into the third man’s leg so that it severed his artery. He dropped to the ground with a scream, clutching his thigh, which was now bleeding uncontrollably.
I spun to face the fourth man, whose blade glistened with my blood.
“Surrender now or face the penalty,” he said, staring at me with empty eyes.
“I can’t,” I replied. “I’m sorry.”
Ignoring the pain in my back, I lifted my sword one last time. I’d noticed that he favored his right side, and I lunged at him, making him think his weakness was my target. He raised his sword to deflect me, but at the last second I twisted and caught him unprepared on the left side. I barely nicked his arm, but he reacted to the pain as I expected he would, by recoiling, and I took my opening to then knock his sword free from his right hand and hit him in the temple with the butt of my sword, knocking him out as well.
The throbbing in my back nearly took my breath away, making me wonder just how deeply he’d cut me. Then I surveyed the men on the ground: two knocked out; two wounded, their arms useless, and avoiding my eyes, probably hoping I didn’t do anything else to them; and one pale from blood loss, nearly dead already.
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