There is a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I push away from the table and the scent of food. I’m not hungry anymore.
I think of my father, and the black armband of the Captains he wore whenever the Duskers came. Did he know the Duskers were deceiving all of us?
I search for something to say, but words stick in my throat. My eyes land on Wade’s tattoo.
“So, I take it you don’t have any Dusker God statues around here.”
I meant it as a joke, but there is a fierceness in Wade’s gaze that wasn’t there before.
“The Duskers’ promise of the darkness is nothing more than a desire to control that which should be left alone.”
I shake my head. “But the darkness gives people hope. Shouldn’t Dwellers—er, people—be able to want something better?”
“Everyone seems to forget the sun also brings life.” Wade crosses his arms over his chest. “Are you satisfied to just hide away and pretend the darkness is coming?”
I shake my head slowly.
“We’d rather live, here and now, with all the sun provides.”
The red-haired archer who brought us here passes by the table. Without her hood up, fiery curls spill in every direction and bounce with her every step.
“You’re not giving up all the Solguards’ secrets to the first pretty girl you see, are you?”
Pretty? I feel myself blush, but Wade doesn’t look the least bit shamed.
“Of course I am,” he winks at me.
If I could crawl all the way into my cloak to hide, I would.
The archer gives him a light smack on the side of his head. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” she tells me. “Wade could be happy talking to a rock. And he’s a helpless flirt.”
“I am not!” Wade gives her an affronted look. And then, after a thoughtful pause, he says, “I might be willing to concede that part about the rock, though.” His smile comes so easily I can’t help but feel lighter in his presence, too.
“Whatever you say, flirt.” She turns to go, but as she does, she leans over and whispers in Wade’s ear.
She says, “lowest day,” but I miss the rest.
She gives me a curious look, and then walks away.
“That’s Ry,” Wade says, as though no more explanation is needed. “Rylin, actually,” he amends, “but no one calls her that.”
I give him a pointed stare. “What’s happening at lowest day?”
“Hm? Oh, nothing.” Wade is concentrating on arranging the crumbs on his plate.
“If you’re worried about me telling Jadem about whatever it is, don’t be. I’ll be gone by the next low day, anyway.”
“You mean you’re not staying?” Wade stops fiddling with his spoon to look at me.
I shake my head. “I’m going to Tanguro. The Halves took—someone—from my Subterrane, and I’m going to free him.”
Wade stares hard at me, probably trying to decide whether or not I’m crazy. Finally, he asks, “You’re going to Tanguro? With Dayne Clarion?”
I nod.
To my surprise, Wade smiles. “Well in that case….” He leans across the table. His voice is so low I can barely hear him over the clink of cutlery and merry chatter.
“Jadem would have us locked up if she found out, but some of us have organized a company to attack Tanguro.”
Wade tightens his fists and looks down at the sun tattoo as though it gives him strength.
“Sal, our leader, thinks a Dusker figured out how to control the Halves and is building up an army of them at Tanguro.”
“A Dusker?”
Panic curls in my stomach. If there’s a Dusker in charge, that means there are Dusker armies guarding the prisoners, too. I hadn’t accounted for that.
Wade crosses his arms. “Didn’t you wonder why the Halves are capturing humans? They’re not smart enough to organize the guarding of prisoners, and they would have no need for it, besides. The only possibility is that a Dusker has found a way to make the Halves capture the prisoners for him.”
I suck in a breath. “But why? Why wouldn’t the Duskers just take their prisoners to Malarusk?”
“Like I said, they’re building up their army.” Wade shrugs.
The possibility sends a shiver of dread down my spine.
“Our scouts have reported there are hundreds, maybe thousands of Halves gathered in Tanguro,” Wade continues. “And more than a hundred prisoners.”
Thousands of Halves? Even with Dayne’s help, I could never defeat thousands and rescue Brice and the others.
Wade leans so close to me I can see a muscle flex in the sharp curve of his jaw. His voice is a whisper.
“Our company is well-trained, but there aren’t many of us. Sal figures once we kill all the Halves and free the prisoners at Tanguro, we’ll have ourselves an army. We’ll be able to attack the Duskers.”
My mind races. A Solguard army would have a real chance against the Halves. If I could join them….
Wade continues, “Once we’ve overthrown the Duskers, the Banished can come back to the Subterrane territory. People won’t need to live in fear anymore.”
Wade takes a breath.
The musicians have put down their instruments to drink from silver goblets. The men and women on the dance floor go back to their tables, arm-in-arm.
“Why all the secrecy?” I ask. “This is Solis, isn’t it?”
Wade huffs. “Jadem has forbidden all attacks on the Duskers since she and Dayne got out of Malarusk. She thinks we can just hide here and keep this fortress safe forever.” His eyes flash with anger, but in a moment, he’s smiling again. “With Dayne in our company, though, it wouldn’t matter if we’re outnumbered.”
That’s why he’s telling me all of this.
“You want me to convince Dayne to go with you.”
“Having Dayne Clarion would just about secure our victory. You could come too, if you bring Dayne along,” he grins.
I swallow my annoyance. “What about Wokee?”
“You mean the kid who looks like a stiff wind would knock him over?” Wade shakes his head.
I glare across the table.
“Look,” Wade holds up his hands, “the journey will be difficult, and at its end there will be a battle where we’re outnumbered. You wouldn’t be able to keep him safe.”
A part of me knows Wade is right.
I sigh. “I’ll talk to them.”
He flashes me a smile.
“When will your company be leaving for Tanguro?”
“Two weeks. We’re almost ready.”
“Two weeks?” I demand. “The prisoners could all be dead by then.” Brice could be….
I can’t even think the word.
Instead, I tell Wade about Taniel’s warning. TNGR. Help.
Wade’s golden eyes flash. “Then we’ll have to be ready sooner.”
A dizzying mix of relief and anticipation flows through me.
Wade lowers his voice again. “Come to our meeting at lowest day. We’ll tell them what you told me and that Dayne Clarion is coming. That’ll warm the rest of the company up to you...no offense.”
“They won’t want me?”
“It’s nothing personal,” he shrugs. “Like I said, Jadem would lock us all up if she ever found out what we were doing.”
I sink deeper into the hood of my cloak. If these people don’t trust me now, what will they do if they find out what I am?
CHAPTER 21
Wade comes to get me from the snug cave Jadem assigned to me and my companions. Dayne still isn’t back from wherever he disappeared to, and Wokee said something about going to see a flesh-eating plant. I haven’t been able to tell either of them about the Solguard company.
I follow Wade up the winding stone stairs, losing count after seven-hundred.
“Why wouldn’t you build a glide that goes both ways?” I ask.
Wade laughs as I wipe the sweat off my brow and try to muffle my panting. If the Solguards think I seem weak befor
e we’ve even set out, they’ll never let me come.
Trust the Halves to give me their strength without endurance, I grumble inwardly.
Wade pulls on his cloak as the air inside the tunnel grows hotter. The buzz of insects surrounds us when we step out into the blazing sunlight. Tools clink on stone as people work in the gardens. They laugh and sing as they work.
Wade greets everyone we pass, exchanging jokes with some of them and giving vague excuses about where we’re going. I keep my gaze lowered so no one gets the idea to try and look me in the eye.
“Can anyone live here?” I ask.
“Sure,” Wade says. “As long as you’re not a Halve, and you don’t mind the Duskers reserving a special kind of hatred for you.”
I think about that. Perhaps once I’ve rescued Brice, we could live here together. I allow myself a moment to consider what it would be like if we didn’t always have to sneak around. If we could dance together, hold each other, in front of everyone….
A smile parts my lips.
It would be different if people here knew what I am, I remind myself.
“Jadem is quite the gardener,” Wade says over his shoulder, snapping me out of my fantasy. “She tends the plants herself.” He points to the red and yellow flowers that are blooming in spite of the merciless heat.
Aunt Jadem. Those two words together are as strange as they were the first time she introduced herself to me.
We follow a narrow trail for more than an hour before low voices cut through the buzz of insects. The path curves, and the meeting place appears.
My breathing sharpens. This is a mistake. They’ll find out what I am. I should never have come here.
“Don’t worry,” Wade flashes a smile at me. “Sal is more like a father to me than my real one ever was.” His expression darkens. “Anyway,” he clears his throat, “you’ll love him. And the rest, well—” Wade shrugs. “They listen to Sal.”
“Great,” I say, stealing a nervous glance at the clearing. “That makes me feel so much better.”
There are at least fifty men and women gathered here. The well in the center is rusted, overgrown, and looking every bit unused. The Dark God statues, which guard every water source in the Subterrane territory, are nowhere in sight. A balding man with a sword slung across his hips leans against the well’s crumbling foundation.
The man steps forward when he sees us enter the clearing. His face is creased with age and speckled with dark spots from the sun. His beard is nothing more than a few white strands that hang down to his sunken chest. But even with his slight stoop, the man carries himself with all of the pride of the Solguards. He must be Sal, the company’s leader.
“Ah Wade, my boy.” The man smiles in a way that makes his entire face light up.
“Hiya, Sal.” Wade and Sal exchange a look that makes me long for my mother.
“Isn’t it a bit late to invite new ones to the company?” a short, beefy man with squinty eyes growls as soon as he catches sight of me. “She doesn’t even look like a soldier. All looks and no brains, I’ll wager.”
The way he sweeps his eyes over me makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle. I pull my hood up farther and look at the ground.
The red-haired woman—Ry, Wade called her—steps toward me. “You any good with a sword?”
“She’s killed Halves. Lots of them,” Wade tells her. “And she came here with Dayne Clarion.”
The others exchange eager looks at the mention of Dayne.
Sal raises a hand and the clearing falls silent. He fixes his gaze on me. My face feels hot. I try to yank on my hood without anyone noticing so my eyes stay hidden.
“You must forgive us for being suspicious.” His voice is kind as he addresses me. “But if Wade has brought you here, then we have every reason to trust you.” The creases around Sal’s eyes pucker as he smiles at me. I like him immediately.
Sal puts an arm around Wade’s shoulder. The two exchange a knowing look, one full of love and respect. It sends an unexpected ache through me, reminding me of the way my mother used to look at me.
I glance at Wade, who nods for me to join Sal at the front.
Don’t trip. Everyone’s watching. Don’t trip.
I’m almost by Sal’s side when my foot catches on a hidden tree root. With a muffled oof I am milliseconds away from sprawling head-first into the abandoned well. But Sal puts out a hand, steadying me. He gives me a smile as I regain my balance. But unlike the Dwellers, his smile is kind rather than mocking. I give him a grateful look before I turn to face the others.
Taking a deep breath, I say, “I was traveling to Tanguro on my own before I learned the Solguards existed.” My voice sounds small and frightened, like a child’s. I clear my throat. “The Halves killed my family, and I want the ones at Tanguro destroyed.”
I keep my black eyes focused on the ground.
“And what is your name, my dear?” Sal asks.
“Hemera.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hemera.” He takes my hand and gives it a firm shake.
He continues, “I don’t want to make a habit of inviting new soldiers to our company, but I know there isn’t one among us who wouldn’t welcome the protection of Dayne Clarion.”
There’s a murmur of agreement. At everyone’s expectant looks, I am gripped by a cold fear. What if Dayne won’t come?
“I heard a rumor,” drawls the squinty-eyed man, “that you’re Jadem’s long-lost niece.”
The corner of his fat lower lip sags in what could either be a smile or a grimace. The others turn accusing stares on me.
Ry stuffs an unruly red curl back into her hood before rounding on the man. “Why don’t you keep your rumors to yourself, Gorgoran?”
“Easy, Ry.” Sal steps between them.
Muttering to herself, Ry steps back.
I smile at her. No one has ever defended me like that before. I open my mouth to say something to her, but then shut it before any words escape.
If she knew what I really am, she’d hate me.
“It’s not a rumor. I heard it from Jadem’s own mouth,” someone else says.
“You’re her niece? Then—” Wade’s face is a combination of surprise and betrayal, but he goes silent at a small shake of Sal’s head.
I should have told him. Why didn’t I tell him?
“It’s true.” I dig my nails into my palms to keep my voice from wavering. “But if I betrayed you, I would do more harm to myself than to anyone else. The one I love is a prisoner in Tanguro.”
The voices die down.
Sal’s stare is sharp and intelligent. “I believe you will be true to your word,” he says. “We must now put it to a vote. All for the joining of Hemera and Dayne Clarion to this company?”
After a pause during which I hold my breath, most of the soldiers in the clearing raise their hands.
“Then that settles it.” Sal puts his hand on Wade’s shoulder. “Boy, I’ll expect you to have her trained and ready to go. Hemera, you can bring Dayne to the next meeting. He, of course, won’t need any training.”
I bite my lip, wanting to speak but not knowing if I should.
“What is it, Hemera?” Wade asks, reading my indecision.
After another hesitant pause, I tell them about the message Taniel carved on his skin.
A lot of shouting and arguments ensue until Sal quiets everyone down. The rest of the meeting is taken up by a discussion of Taniel’s warning and what to do about it. After much debate, it’s decided we will set out in six low days. It feels like an eternity.
Wade chatters on our way back to the cave fortress, but I don’t hear a word he says. What if we’re too late for the prisoners? What if something happens to Brice before I can reach him?
“Take the glide to level four,” Wade interrupts my worrying when we reach the top of the black hole. “We’ll start your training next low day.”
I settle myself on the metal sheet and pull the lever. All of my
worries vanish.
The rush of air and weightlessness of my body are even more exhilarating now that I know I’ll still be alive at the end. When I reach the part of the tunnel that branches off, I’m gripped with the fear I’m moving too fast. I’ll be flung into the wrong tunnel or smash up against one of the metal partitions.
At the last moment, the metal wall thrusts me into the right tunnel. I come shooting out the bottom, waving my feet to try to keep myself airborne for another second or two. I manage to land on my feet before I fall forward and roll. My heart thuds against my ribcage as I pick myself up, rubbing my elbow where it struck the stone floor.
By the time I get back to the cave my travel companions and I share, Wokee and Vlaz are asleep. They’re curled up together on top of a feathered mattress, the thin quilt a heap on the floor. How long has it been since I last lay in a bed? My leaden eyes barely stay open as I stumble past them.
A single candle flickers in the dark room. Dayne sits on his bed. He’s holding his lute but isn’t playing.
“Where have you been?” His voice is curt.
I throw one longing glance at my empty bed, and then go to sit beside Dayne. I stifle an enormous yawn before launching into a description of everything that has happened since I met Wade.
“They want us—well you, really—but they said I could come, too. I’m not sure about Wokee yet, but I’m sure you could convince them.”
I’m breathless.
“Hemera—”
“But it’ll be perfect!” My stomach twists at the look on Dayne’s face. “We were going there anyway, and now we’ll have a whole army behind us.”
“Hemera,” his voice is soft, and he puts a hand over mine. Perhaps it’s sleeplessness, but the creases in Dayne’s face have deepened. “I can’t travel with this company of yours.”
My heart sinks. “Why not?” A thought occurs to me. “Is it because Jadem wouldn’t like it?”
Dayne’s face darkens for a moment. “I don’t follow her orders anymore.” He rests his lute on the wooden table beside his bed. “I have gotten information I must pursue.”
“Now?”
Dayne nods. “I’m afraid it’s urgent.”
I can tell it would be pointless to try to argue with him. A lump in my throat makes it difficult to swallow.
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