by Taylor Hobbs
“He’s breathing,” Fawkes confirmed, and Charlotte let out a sigh of relief.
“How long until he wakes up?”
A low moan answered her question as Henry started to stir. He looked up in confusion at his sister’s worried face. “What happened?” he asked.
“I did what I had to do,” Charlotte said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Fawkes and Charlotte extracted enough cannon powder hidden within the forge to have destroyed half the village. A thorough sweep of the rest of the smithy revealed extra caches of explosives and oil hidden within false panels in the walls. The forge itself, though, was the real genius of Robin’s plan.
As they collected the dangerous material, Fawkes explained how Robin had rigged a slow-burn fuse underneath the top of the forge. The cannon powder had been stashed within, and then the fire was lit on the surface, gradually building the heat and pressure inside. Robin had placed a collapsible shelf underneath where the coals sat, designed to give way once the surface was hot enough. This method of delayed detonation would have given him enough time to get far away before the cannon powder ignited. The extra powder and oil hidden throughout the building was supposed to magnify the effects of the blast radius. Fawkes’ careful disarming of the forge prevented the shelf from collapsing, saving everyone.
Fawkes and Charlotte decided to leave the bodies of Belaq and Robin where they lay, miraculously the only casualties of what could have been a mass murder the size of which the Kingdom of Algonia had never seen.
“The rest of the duke’s men will be here soon,” Fawkes warned. “We need to smuggle the powder out of here and hide it until we can transport it from the village.” He turned to Henry, who still rested on the floor, and continued. “There will be a manhunt for all the rebels involved, especially once word gets out that the duke is dead.”
Henry staggered to his feet. “I have to find them. The other revolutionaries. I need to help them.”
Charlotte stared at her brother in disbelief. “You can’t be serious,” she said. “They were just about to murder hundreds of innocent people!”
“That was Robin’s plan,” Henry said. “But not everyone was for it. There are a lot of us within the faction that didn’t agree with it. They didn’t want to do it. Robin forced them.”
“Like he forced you?” Fawkes raised an eyebrow.
“No.” Henry turned bright red and looked at the floor, swaying a little. “I did it for revenge. I thought we were going to blow up the duke’s castle, not the village. Robin kept it a secret to get me to do what he wanted.”
“Henry, they are violent extremists! I’ve been trying to get you away from them for weeks. You cannot go back to them,” Charlotte said.
“But I need them, and they need me,” he said, sounding like a petulant boy. But then, under Charlotte’s frustrated gaze, Henry straightened up, giving his sister hints of the man he was becoming as vestiges of his childhood fell away. He spoke to her with renewed confidence. “I have come to believe in what the revolutionaries are fighting for, Charlotte, even if I don’t agree with how they were doing it. They showed me that there are a lot of problems in Algonia and how I can be a part of changing it. I am a part of something bigger for once in my life. I belong with them.”
“I can’t be a part of that, Henry, I just can’t.” Charlotte reached out to grab Fawkes’ hand, presenting a united front. “We can’t be a part of that.” Besides, in the political game, there is only a choice between the lesser of two evils. As it stood, Charlotte could not, in good conscience, choose either side.
“We need to leave,” Fawkes concurred. “All of Algonia will be looking for us. Not even Croantis will be safe. We do not have time to argue with him.”
Charlotte nodded sadly. She let go of Fawkes’ hand, and moved to stand in front of her brother. “I don’t understand it, nor do I think this revolution is something you want to be a part of, but you have to make your own decisions. Just do not ask me to bear witness to these choices.” Her heart ached too much to say the words—You will always be my baby brother, but I cannot follow you down this road anymore. Fawkes was her family now, and she belonged at his side.
Though Henry was right in front of her, Charlotte could not reach out to him. Her brother was the one to close the gap between them. “Thank you,” Henry told her. “For everything. I’ve lost track of how many times you’ve saved me.” His arms wrapped around her, uniting them across the divide for one last time. Tears squeezed from Charlotte’s eyes as she held him tight, and she ignored the fresh flow of blood from the wound in her side. There would be time to heal later.
Fawkes reached forward and clapped Henry on the shoulder. “Believe in what you must, but take care not to let it consume you. Do not let your past control you. Move forward.” Henry nodded seriously, and Fawkes continued. “If we get word of any more rebel violence upon civilians…” He didn’t need to complete the sentence for the implication to be understood. Charlotte hoped it would never come to that.
Henry gulped. “Take care of my sister.”
Fawkes gave Charlotte a tender look. “She has always been the one to take care of me.”
Epilogue
Charlotte stared at the horizon. The shores of her homeland shrank in the distance until she could barely see them. She felt Fawkes’ arms wrap around her waist from behind, shielding her against the sea breeze. He held her close, careful to avoid her nearly-healed scar. She allowed herself to relax against him, and the reality of their freedom set in.
With their volatile cargo currently sinking to the bottom of the sea, it no longer held the power to harm anyone. Charlotte felt a weight lift from her shoulders. They were on their way, she and Fawkes together, leaving their painful pasts behind. The ship struck out for faraway lands with names she had never heard of, places where they could find a fresh start.
“You are beautiful,” Fawkes whispered into her ear. A delighted shiver ran down her spine. It had been a long time since she had felt so at peace. They weren’t running from something for once—they were running toward something greater. The air of possibility surrounded them, whipping up their hair with the spray off the ship.
“I’m ready for our adventure,” she said, turning to land a playful kiss on his cheek. Her lips landed on the deep dimple in his smile. A green cloak graced Fawkes’ shoulders—vibrant and rich, the color of life. She rested her cheek on it with a sigh.
Wherever they ended up, they had agreed to use their abilities for those in need, for good instead of for profit. Plus, she couldn’t imagine giving up her training. It had become a part of who she was. Fawkes was well on his way to healing both on the inside and on the outside, and Charlotte was determined to help him attain redemption. Helping people was a good place to start. With this purpose in mind, they had boarded a ship to the other side of the world.
Fawkes nudged a calloused finger under her chin and raised it up gently. Butterflies tried to escape Charlotte’s stomach every time he gazed at her like that. Eyes that matched the sea and sky, encompassing Charlotte’s whole world, looked at her with such love it took her breath away. The Cloaked Shadow was forever gone, and in his place stood simply Fawkes, and he leaned in for a kiss.
A word about the author…
Taylor Hobbs writes romance novels while living aboard a sailboat with her family. To learn more about her books and adventures, please visit https://cannonstocruising.com/
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