by Zaya Feli
“That's right,” Ren said, emptying his cup of tea and placing it on the table before turning back to Arlo. “You have experience?”
Arlo nodded. “I worked maintenance on the Alerian reservoir for ten years before my son was born, my lord. What do you need to know?”
“The flooding system,” Ren said. Evalyne and Anik both kept quiet, but Ren could tell they were listening closely. “If one wanted to trigger the safety without letting the water out into the city, how would they go about it?”
Arlo ran a scarred hand over his mouth. “To open the city gates?”
Ren nodded. “And the doors to the sanctuary.”
“Right,” Arlo said, brow creasing. For a moment, Ren was worried Arlo was about to say it couldn't be done. Then he continued. “You'd have to open the main outlet that lets water flow from the reservoir into the chutes, but keep the chute gates closed. The weight of the water would be enough to push the pressure plates underneath and trigger the safety mechanism.” His brow creased further and he mumbled something else.
“Is there an issue?” Evalyne asked, leaning forward with her hands on the table.
“The chute gates aren't that strong, Your Highness,” Arlo said. “They're not meant to hold under that much pressure. The inner gate is only meant to be opened all the way when the reservoir is nearly empty, to drain the remaining water so the holding tank can be scrubbed. As soon as the pressure plates are activated, you'd have to be quick to close the inner gate again. If the chute gates break and water starts pouring through all at once, the rush of water will be too strong for the reservoir outlet to be closed again. You'd need horses to turn the wheel.”
Ren looked at Anik.
“If the chute gates break, there's no way to stop the water?” Anik asked.
Arlo shook his head. “It's a flaw in the design, not that it's ever mattered. The reservoir outlet was never meant to be opened all the way when the tank is full. A few inches for a few minutes is enough to water an entire field.”
“But it's the only way the pressure plates will activate?” Anik asked again, resting his chin in his hand.
“Yes, my lord,” Arlo said. “The pressure plates activate in the case of a reservoir outlet malfunction. Say, if the wheel chains break or the closing mechanism fails. In theory, you could press them all by hand, but you'd have no way to access them. The chutes are closed around them and they're not easily broken. I'm afraid the only way to trigger them is to-”
“To cause a malfunction,” Anik finished, nodding. “Yeah, okay.”
“Do you think it's doable?” Ren asked, twisting in his seat to look at Anik.
“It has to be, doesn't it?”
“How much water would be in the reservoir now?” Evalyne asked. “How high is the risk if the chutes break?”
Arlo wrung his hands. “With all the rain we got after the storm, taking into consideration that the growing season is over, the reservoir will be close to full. I've never seen a reservoir flood, Your Highness, but if I had to guess, I'd say everything within a hundred feet would be at risk of collapse and everything within the inner city and surrounding higher districts would be at risk of damage. I wouldn't want to be standing in the street if a wave washed by, pushing carts and barrels along.”
Evalyne looked at Ren, a question in her eyes.
Ren set his jaw. “Like Anik says, it's a risk we'll have to take. With a battle on Aleria's doorstep, people aren't likely to be out in the streets. Whatever damage a possible flood could cause, we'd have to repair. Unless one of you has a backup plan,” Ren said, looking between Anik and Evalyne. Neither said anything.
Anik clapped his hands. “Well, that's settled.”
“We'll ride out when the sun clears the horizon,” Evalyne said.
Ren turned to Arlo, offering the man his hand and shaking it with both his own. “You've been very helpful, Arlo. Thank you.”
The old farmer bowed deeply, a hand against his chest.
* * *
Riding out of the woods and across the royal highway left Ren feeling as nerve-wrackingly exposed as he had escaping the cell in Endurance. After doing everything they could to travel unseen for weeks, the open space and the view of the city walls in the distance, bathed in sunlight, made Ren's skin crawl.
“Do you think they're watching us?” Ren asked, glancing at Evalyne at his side.
“They're watching,” she confirmed. The wind was stronger here, tugging on her hair and the mane of her horse. “We'll stop just ahead. The terrain slopes downwards, so we'll have a clear view to all sides and we'll be well out of arrow range.”
Ren looked towards the city, gut coiling with a range of emotions he couldn't name. Since he had left his home behind, summer had released its grip on the earth, leaves had yellowed and covered the ground, and the frost was rolling in, turning the grass into a glittering layer of white in the early mornings. What was it like in Aleria now? Keelan, Berin, the servants who worked in the castle, and the people Ren greeted in the streets. Niklas. The last time he'd seen Berin had been in Llyne. Had Nathair punished Berin for the deception?
“Prepare to settle in.” Evalyne's voice shook Ren from his thoughts and he watched as Kana turned her horse.
Anik rode up alongside Ren. “Once we've cleaned up in the city, you'll have to show me the best places to hunt. I want to taste the most ridiculously fancy meal your staff can conjure up,” he said.
Ren looked at him. Anik's eyes were searching and Ren knew what he was doing. Ren wanted to say he was all right, but the words wouldn't come out. Still, Ren didn't miss the promise in Anik's words, the unspoken assurance that Anik would still be around after Halvard was gone, at least for a little while, and that knowledge eased some of Ren's tension. Anik's hand was warm when he gripped Ren's knee and squeezed.
Ren threw himself into the task of setting up camp with the others to distract his mind from the anxiety that threatened to take hold. Anik taught him how to properly set up a tent, although it took twice as long as usual because Ren's side started out crooked and his two first stakes came back out of the soil. On his second try, the stakes held, and Ren got to work setting up their cots, putting together the small travelling table, fetching stools, and laying out blankets. The job was made even slower by Anik's admonitions not to strain his shoulder. Ren spared it as best he could, but Jayce had told him there was no reason why he couldn't begin to use it again, little by little, and Ren reasoned that setting up a tent was a gentle introduction to sword-fighting. Ren had chosen the flattest spot for their tent, but it still wasn't ideal. The entire landscape sloped, making the cot and the table wobble, but it wasn't like anyone had ever said camping was supposed to be pleasant. Ren was just happy to be off his feet, at least for a few minutes.
As soon as the camp had been set up, the cooks began to prepare meals of beef, potato, and carrot goulash in an effort to help the soldiers be as prepared for what lay ahead as possible. Through the open tent flap, Ren spotted Anik coming towards him with two steaming bowls. The sight made Ren's mouth water.
“I have some bread in my bag,” Anik said, gesturing with his elbow. He placed the bowls on the table and hissed when it wobbled.
“Yeah, be careful,” Ren said over his shoulder, tugging open Anik's bag and drawing out the last half loaf of bread.
“Pretty good job, though, all things considered,” Anik said, stuffing the folded corner of a blanket under the wobbly leg of the table before looking around at the tent interior.
“Thanks. If this whole 'overthrow the king' thing doesn't work, I'll give you a discount on my services as an interior decorator.”
“Pays to be prepared,” Anik said, pushing Ren's bowl towards him when he took a seat.
Ren took a mouthful, biting into the chewy but flavourful cuts of beef. It was strange to swallow food so delicious and still have nausea rolling through his gut. “I'm losing my mind,” he said, sighing. He placed an elbow on the table and ran a hand through his ha
ir.
“We're going into battle,” Anik said. “You wouldn't be human if you weren't losing your mind a little.”
“Are you?” Ren asked, forcing himself to take another spoonful of goulash.
“Of course,” Anik said, stirring his food. He sighed. “Taking out Halvard has been my goal since...well, you know,” he said, shrugging. “I didn't think it'd happen this soon. Then again, I hadn't exactly planned for the future. After this, I don't know.” He trailed off, eating more slowly.
“Do you want to go home?” Ren asked. He lowered his spoon.
Anik looked at him. He searched Ren's face. “I should be there to help put things back together.” He lowered his gaze, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.
“Right,” Ren said, no longer hungry. He should have expected as much. It wasn't as if Anik could simply move to Aleria with him and live happily ever after as his...what? Could he even imagine Anik at court, dressed for the high life, engaging lords and ladies in hallways of polished marble? Ren already knew the answer. It wasn't Anik's world. Even if Anik'd had no obligations at all, Ren wouldn't have wanted to subject him to that.
A horn sounded and they raised their heads in unison. Anik had been right – their moment of peace was short-lived. Anik grabbed his bowl, emptied the last of the contents, and discarded it. Ren was quick to follow.
Outside, all eyes looked to the north. Ren walked towards the nearest soldier; the woman spun and saluted at his approach.
“Report,” Ren said.
“One rider approaching from the city, my lord,” she said.
“Where's the princess?”
The soldier led Anik to the edge of the camp. Already, men and women worked on hammering stakes into the soil like the angry spines of a hedgehog pointed towards the distant city, in case the enemy force should try an attack on their camp. Evalyne stood behind the innermost row with Kana, Rafya, and a group of soldiers around her.
Ren looked over the fields and spotted the horse, a pale steed with a flowing mane and tail. The rider wore a grey cloak.
Evalyne glanced in Ren's direction, frowning. “It's likely a messenger sent to threaten us to surrender. I wouldn't take it seriously,” she said.
“Right.”
The rider came closer. The distance between the city and their camp was a long ride and despite Evalyne's words, Ren could feel himself getting tenser every minute.
A scout called out, making Ren's heart skip. “There's a passenger!” The scout jumped off his lookout point on top of the wagon. “There are two people on the horse.”
“Any idea who it is?” Ren asked, looking at Evalyne.
She shook her head without taking her eyes off the riders.
The horse slowed. Evalyne called to let them in and the rows of bodies parted, allowing the messenger to rein his horse between the rows of stakes.
“Identify yourself,” Kana shouted, hand clenched around the hilt of her sword.
The rider stopped, horse blowing out breaths from the journey. He didn't immediately speak, but reached up to draw back the hood of his cloak.
Anik's hand closed around Ren's arm like a vice. No one else moved. Ren' s feet were frozen to the spot.
“I come with a message for Ren, the bastard prince.” Niklas' hair was cropped close to his head and a red mark from an old bruise lined his eye. “And I bring a delivery.” He turned his horse, displaying the passenger huddled against his back.
Suddenly, Ren was thankful for Anik's hand around his arm. Despite the youth's bruised and battered face, the shock of ginger curls was unmistakable. Keelan sat slumped against Niklas' back like he was barely awake, one arm holding a coarse blanket around himself as the other dangling limply at his side.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jayce hovered over Keelan's battered body with the attentiveness of a mother hen. The worry lines on his face were deep. Ilias was with him. Usually, the youth was stoic in the face of injury, but even he seemed fidgety, his cornflower-blue eyes wide with concern.
Ren stood in the corner of the physician's tent with his arms crossed over his chest and a sick feeling in his stomach. Keelan was pale and unconscious. He had held on the entire way to camp, but as soon as Ren's soldiers had pulled him off the horse, he had collapsed, head rolling back like a corpse's.
“Will he be okay?” Ren asked for the third time.
Jayce didn't sigh at him or tell him to leave. Instead, the line of concern between his brows deepened. “His arm is broken. So are three of his ribs, maybe four. His shoulder is dislocated and I'll need to set it. I'm doing what I can, Ren. He hasn't been stabbed or cut, and that's a very good thing.”
Ren bit the inside of his lip, tasting blood. Keelan had begged to come along when Ren and Anik had escaped Aleria, but Ren had made him stay. He had made him watch over Thais and promised him that Berin would keep him safe, but Thais and Berin had both gone and Keelan had been left all alone. Guilt tore at Ren's chest and he looked away, the tent suddenly too cramped. He needed air. “Do everything you can for him,” he said, turning away and pushing the flap aside with shaking hands. Jayce said something, but Ren didn't hear. He took a deep breath of the fresh air.
Evalyne came towards him from across the camp and Ren closed his eyes. He knew what he had to do, but he wasn't ready. He didn't want to see Niklas. He needed time.
“Ren,” Evalyne said, her voice soft.
“I know,” he said, opening his eyes. “Do you know if he did this?” He nodded towards the tent behind him.
Evalyne shook her head. “He won't say a word to anyone but you.”
Ren took a steadying breath, looking in the direction of the tent where Niklas was being held. “Lead the way.”
Following Evalyne through the camp, Ren tried to harden himself to what he'd hear. The last time they had spoken, Niklas had tried to convince him to return to Aleria. He had apologized, but Ren had been too angry to consider forgiving him for his betrayal and for his attempts at Anik's life that had nearly cost Ren his.
Two guards flanked the entrance to the tent. The moment Ren stepped inside, the atmosphere changed. The air was thick with hostility.
Niklas kneeled on the grass in the centre, held down by a soldier on each side. Anik stood nearby, arms crossed and expression hard. He met Ren's eyes when Ren approached.
After a long moment, Ren looked back at Niklas. “Tell me why he sent you.”
Niklas raised his head slowly, face devoid of expression except for a coldness Ren had never seen before. Niklas turned his head and glanced at Evalyne and the guards.
Ren narrowed his eyes. “Leave us, please.”
“Be careful, Ren,” Evalyne said, disappearing from the corner of Ren's eye.
Ren nodded at the guards and they took their hands off Niklas with some hesitation, stepping around Ren to the tent entrance.
“Speak,” Ren said, hearing the hardness in his own voice.
Niklas looked at Anik. “Your guard dog, too.”
Ren narrowed his eyes. “Tell me why I should comply with any of your demands.”
Niklas raised an eyebrow. “My hands and feet are bound.” He waited, but when Ren didn't budge, he sighed. “When you hear what I have to say, you'll be glad you sent him out.”
Ren felt a twinge of nervousness and hated that Niklas had managed to get to him so easily. He wanted to tell Niklas to go fuck himself, but there was more than his own life at stake. He couldn't afford to be selfish. “It's okay, Anik,” he said.
Anik whipped his head around, glaring. “You can't be serious.”
“He's tied up. I'll be fine.”
Anik stepped in close, shoulder brushing Ren's. “It's his mouth I'm worried about, not his hands.”
“In which case I'm perfectly fit to handle the situation,” Ren said, placing a hand on Anik's shoulder. “I've got this. Trust me.”
“I do,” Anik said, moving past Ren and ducking outside.
Niklas hung his head again, shoulders tw
itching. For the first time, Ren took in his appearance. His cloak had been removed and he wore only an undershirt, too thin for the cool weather. Along with the fading bruise on his cheek, he had a split lip that was nearly healed, but still faintly red around the edges.
“What happened to you?” Ren asked, and could have kicked himself. He didn't care what had happened to Niklas – all he cared about was Keelan's broken body in Jayce's tent and the pain of Niklas' betrayal at Stag's Run.
Niklas' shoulders shook and his face twisted. Ren knew the expression well, knew it meant Niklas was close to tears, struggling to keep collected. “Ren, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
“I know,” Ren said, swallowing. He didn't want Niklas to get under his skin, but it was hard when the friend he'd known for life was on his knees begging for forgiveness. “You said you had something to tell me,” Ren said.
Niklas looked, if possible, even more uncomfortable when he raised his head and met Ren's eyes. “Halvard sent me to tell you that Keelan's suffering is your fault for rebelling against the new king.”
Ren swallowed. He had anticipated something like that, but it still made his gut twist.
“But it's not what I wanted to tell you,” Niklas continued, his gaze growing intense as he stared at Ren with wide, glassy eyes. “Ren, they tortured Keelan for information. Halvard wanted to find a way to undermine you.”
Ren parted his lips, brow furrowing. Undermine him? “What do you mean?”
“He knows about the boy you shot when we were kids. He wanted me to tell everybody. Ride in here and shout out your sins to all your men.”
Ren's heart skipped. He stared at Niklas. If the Lowlanders found out what kind of nightmare had been plaguing Ren for the last few weeks, they'd turn on him in an instant. The careful balance they had managed to maintain with Anik at its front would be torn to pieces right before the battle that mattered most. Ren hesitated. If Halvard had wanted to undermine him, why not reveal to everyone that Ren was his son? Did Niklas know?
“I didn't want to do it,” Niklas whispered. “I don't want to hurt you, I never wanted that. Ren, it was all a lie.”