The Captive Kingdom

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  “We are brothers again,” I echoed, and I genuinely loved the sound of those words.

  With little else available in the area, I grabbed Tobias’s medical bag. Darius tilted his head, curious, but by way of explanation I simply added, “You’ve seen how often I get hurt. Let’s go.”

  I left the home first, informing Roden, “We will follow you at a distance. There is no need to escort us down.”

  “We need to talk.”

  “No,” Darius said, following me. “We have been invited to speak to the Monarch. You will not bring us there like prisoners.”

  Roden’s eyes locked with mine and when I wouldn’t give in to his request, he finally said, “Very well. But if you fail to appear, the Monarch wanted me to remind you of your conversation while in the cave.”

  “What conversation?” Darius asked.

  Before I could answer, Roden added, “We’ll go on ahead.”

  Once we had started on the trail, far enough from Roden and the two vigils that they were no longer in sight, Darius grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop walking. “What conversation?”

  My eyes darted as my heart began to race. It wasn’t only what Wilta had said, it was the controlled rage in her eyes as the threats had poured from her mouth. I opened my mouth to explain, but the words wouldn’t come, and not because I thought he couldn’t hear them. I just couldn’t speak them. So I began walking again, answering, “There’s a plan. If we follow it, everything should be all right.”

  “What if the plan fails?”

  “What if it does? Failure isn’t the end of a plan. Just keep pushing back until all that’s left is to win.”

  For some reason, that made him chuckle. “I’ve always envied you.”

  “Me?” Certain I had heard wrong, I turned to look at him. “I’m the embarrassment, remember?”

  “That’s because you try. You stand at the base of a mountain that cannot be climbed, or should not be, and you start to climb anyway. No, it doesn’t work every time, that’s why it can be seen as an embarrassment. But when it works, it’s a victory.” He lowered his eyes, as if in shame. “I don’t even try the climb, because I know that I might fall. That is a far greater embarrassment.”

  “Well, your embarrassment comes with fewer bruises.”

  “I see the Prozarians better now, for who they are, for what they would do if I allowed them into Carthya. I’m determined to be bolder. I promise that when I am king, I will do better than I have done here. I will do better for you, Jaron.” He threw an arm over my shoulder as we walked. “I am the elder son, but I need you by my side. Will you trust me with the throne?”

  I considered my answer carefully. “Carthyans must see a peaceful transfer of power from me to you. It shouldn’t be done here in Belland.”

  Darius bit his lip. “Do you think there’s any chance Amarinda might … still consider herself betrothed to me?”

  “I don’t know. She loves Tobias now.”

  “But she did love me. She’ll have a choice to make, now that she knows I’m alive. Me or him.”

  I didn’t know who she would choose, but if Tobias’s intense behavior over the past few days was any indication, I did know he wouldn’t give up easily on her.

  Darius added, “You should know that Tobias will have no place in the castle when I’m king. Nor Roden.”

  I turned to him. “Do you know what Roden is risking to help us?”

  “He’s not doing anything for us. He clearly likes Wilta — their monarch! He is in her service now.”

  “He won’t betray me,” I insisted. “He’s loyal to the throne.”

  “I am the throne now,” Darius reminded me. “It will take time for us both to get used to that, but from now on, I make these decisions, and trusting Roden is not one of them.”

  My jaw clenched, and I turned my attention back to our path ahead. Just as Roden had promised, smoke was beginning to rise from the areas where the people lived. With a growing urgency in my mind, I asked, “What is your plan once we get down to the beach?”

  “We can’t attack. I’ve seen you fight, Jaron, and you’re good, frighteningly good actually, but you’re also limping on one leg and you have no sword. I’m out of practice, and even at my best, the two of us could not take on all the Prozarians.”

  “Now you know one of the reasons why I grabbed that medical bag.”

  We were still high on the trail, still well hidden by thick brush alongside our path, when Darius casually asked, “One of the reasons? What’s the other?”

  “This.” I grabbed Darius’s arm with one hand, and as he turned, I pulled his sword from its sheath.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Protecting the king.”

  He glanced down, unimpressed. “This is absurd. You won’t kill me.”

  “No, but I have a lot of bandages if I cut you.” I pulled out those same bandages. “Put your hands behind you.” He hesitated, and I added, “Do it, Darius, I’m serious.”

  He obeyed, but said, “By definition, this is an act of treason.”

  “You’re not king yet. Thus far, this is only the act of a terrible brother.” I bound the knot on his hands, then said, “This is a five-minute knot. It shouldn’t take you any longer to undo it. If it does, that’s really more your fault for not being better with knots.”

  “Don’t do this, Jaron.”

  “It’s done.” I replaced his sword, then hurried along down the trail. He wouldn’t call after me; he’d hardly want to draw attention to either of us if he did that, but I felt the heat of his glare on my back, one powerful enough that it continued to burn long after I’d rounded the next corner.

  It had to be this way. For all his good intentions, Darius would have been defeated on that beach within the same minute of entering it.

  My leg was protesting the entire time I hurried down to the beach. I darted off the trail when I was getting close enough to be within earshot of the activities there.

  And in doing so, I ran straight into Roden, who had clearly been waiting for me, though without the two Prozarians who had been with him earlier. He was leaning against a tree, using his sword to draw lines in the sand. I couldn’t tell by his expression whether he was disappointed to see me, or proud of himself for having figured me out.

  “You knew I’d leave the trail?” I asked.

  He nodded, but added, “You should have known this was where I’d be.”

  “Maybe I did.”

  He cocked his head, confused, then said, “No matter what I do or don’t do, you will never —”

  I stared at him, being sure to look him directly in the eye. “I trust you, Roden.”

  His face brightened a moment before it fell again. “Thank you, but I still have to take you to Wilta.”

  “I know.”

  Without protest, I followed him up the beach, passing the trail leading to a cluster of homes, several of which were already burning. Prozarian vigils stood doing nothing while families rushed to put out the fires.

  “You’re letting that happen?” I asked Roden.

  He lowered his head. “All I can do is help you, with hopes that you can stop all of this.” Now he stopped walking and turned to me. “Can you?”

  “I don’t know.” Words that haunted me even as they fell from my lips.

  We continued forward toward a shelter that had been hastily built of logs and brush, nothing fancy, but enough to provide shade for a handful of people. Wilta sat on a platform in a padded and finely gilded chair that could only have come off one of the boats.

  She was dressed the part of a queen now, in a long green satin gown with white trim, her hair piled high on her head, far grander than any other woman here. She carried herself with a confidence I had not once seen before, though for the first time, I knew I was seeing the true Wilta. The Monarch. The actress.

  She was in a conversation with a few of her vigils, the same people who had treated her as a prisoner only a day ago and now knelt at her f
eet. When she saw us coming, she called for them to grab me, but Roden said, “That isn’t necessary. He’ll cooperate.”

  I glared over at him, making sure he understood. I had said I trusted him. I never said I would cooperate.

  When we were closer, Wilta said, “Bow to me.”

  Roden did, as he’d have to do. I only straightened up taller. She clearly noticed but moved on, addressing me. “I will not thank you for saving my life yesterday. Roden saved me. My mother saved me. You nearly got me killed.”

  “And who are you again?” I tilted my head and suddenly smiled. “Now I know! Were you not in the theater recently? In that performance about the girl who pretended to be something other than what she truly was?” Now my smile fell. “I think you lack talent.”

  She smiled back. “Were you not in that same performance yourself once? Or did you think no one but you could play that role?”

  “I played it better,” I said. “You were found out.”

  “It was only a good guess on your part. If you think you got information from me, I got just as much from you.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “If you want to live now, you will give me everything else.”

  I glanced back at Roden, who did and said nothing to help me. I understood why. He had asked for my trust. He had never guaranteed my life.

  You’re out of options.” Wilta smiled over at Roden. “Thanks to him.”

  I glanced away. I had better things to look at than either of them. Such as the nearest patch of mud.

  Roden eyed me with suspicion. “Unless he wanted me to bring him here. One of the few things I have learned from Jaron is how to be hard to predict.”

  “Have you?” I asked. “Because honestly, I had predicted you would do the obvious and search me for weapons before bringing me so close to your monarch.”

  Roden grunted and reached for my sword, only to realize it was not there. He raised one brow, obviously confused. “You came all this way without a weapon?”

  “Would you consider that … unpredictable?” I lifted Tobias’s bag. “Yet I am not defenseless. He has a roll of bandages in here. If I throw them, they might hit you in the eye.”

  “We can’t risk that.” Wilta stepped down from her perch and took the bag to begin searching it herself. “Where is Darius? I specifically asked for both of you.”

  He should have been here by now. Maybe he was worse at knots than I had expected.

  I made my smile match hers. “Planning something worthy of a king. I’m only the distraction.”

  She blinked hard, clearly irritated. “We’ll make sure you become a fine distraction. You’re going to give me everything I ask.”

  I snorted. “Absolutely I will, if you are asking for a humiliating defeat.”

  Roden’s search of me was thorough. In checking other pockets, he removed two knives, some nuts I had hoped to eat as a midday meal, and the petals of a flower I thought Imogen might like.

  Wilta said, “Last night when we were in the cave, I think you saw something.”

  “Other than you crying like a helpless infant?”

  Her mouth pressed into a thin line. She returned to her seat and motioned again to the vigils behind her. “Bring my mother here.”

  While we waited, I turned to Roden. “You claimed you can predict my plans. What do you think is about to happen?”

  He glanced sideways at me. “You’re going to fake an injury, expecting me to force you back to your feet, in which case you’ll start a fight and hope to give Darius time for whatever he’s about to do.”

  I grinned. “Obviously that is not my plan … anymore.”

  “But it will all be a distraction for a larger plan involving help from your friends.”

  My grin widened. “Trust me, you will love that part of the plan.”

  Wilta said, “Whatever the plan was, it’s over now. We have your brother.”

  Confused, I turned to glare at her. “Darius?”

  Roden leaned in to me. In a quieter voice, he said, “Fink.”

  As quickly as he had spoken, my blood ran cold. “Where did you find him?”

  “I tried to tell you before.” Roden frowned. “We followed Imogen and Trea when they left that hut. Imogen led us directly to everyone else, right before I came to get you. Tobias was the only one to escape, but he’ll soon be found too.”

  I cursed under my breath, then asked Wilta, “Who do you have?”

  Wilta’s smile was probably the first true sign of happiness I’d seen from her, which worried me. “Other than Tobias, we have everyone. But Imogen threatened a revolt, so we’ve now separated them across all of our ships. You will not know who is on which ship, and if you attempt a rescue of one, the others will be sacrificed.”

  My eyes lit with anger. “You only wanted me. They are not supposed to be part of this!”

  “They have carried out attacks on my people, stolen from us, defied our rules of order and obedience, and caused unrest here on Belland. All of them deserve their fates.”

  Scarcely able to breathe, I looked at Roden again, who nodded his confirmation at me, adding, “Fink was forced to tell them where he hid the stolen items. The captain sent a group of Prozarians to search for them.”

  “My lady!” Lump was running up the beach behind us, pushing between Bellanders doing assigned labor.

  Wilta stood, clenched her teeth, and said as she began walking away, “The two of you will wait here.”

  Roden dipped his head at her. I turned to study the Prozarian ships, wondering which of my friends was on which ship, and whether they were safe for now. If they were, it wouldn’t be for long.

  Keeping his head down, Roden mumbled, “Do you remember in the crow’s nest when you said in the end, I’d have to lose?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s just the opposite. I need you to lose.”

  “After what I just heard?” My jaw clenched. “That is not how this works.”

  “Then you do not trust me.”

  We locked eyes, fury in mine, pleading in his, and I did not care why.

  Having spoken to Lump, Wilta turned and addressed Roden directly. “Our finest warriors are gone to search for those stolen items, and now the pirates have left their ship. They weren’t happy to see Jaron down here alone. You’re one of the pirates. Can you stop this?”

  Roden glanced over at me. “Jaron is the pirate king.” He withdrew his sword. “Order them to return to their ship.”

  “No.” I stared back at him. “I will not lose … them to the ship. Nor will I lose … their trust in me.”

  Seconds later, grumbling sounds began from farther down the beach, growing louder as my former crew of pirates marched around the cave, weapons in hand, and with shouts of anger.

  With Lump at her side, Wilta faced them. “I am the Monarch, and you will stop now or face death.”

  Lump charged toward the first pirate to reach them, only to be knocked flat on his back by three others, one who put a boot on Lump’s chest. Another two pirates grabbed Wilta.

  “Stop this!” Roden cried, pushing them away. “You gave pledges of loyalty!”

  “We are loyal first to our king,” Teagut said. “To Jaron.”

  “If you are loyal to your king, then your loyalties belong to me.” Roden turned my way, raising his sword. “Jaron, I challenge you.”

  I arched a brow. “Seriously?”

  Roden took a swing at me. I ducked, but if I hadn’t, he might have done real damage.

  When I rose up again, I squinted back at him, only getting another raised brow in return.

  In a quieter voice, Roden murmured, “You said you trusted me.”

  Now I understood, and I grinned back at him. “I accept your challenge.”

  So began our battle. It started with me running away as fast as I could. Without a weapon, what other choice did I have?

  I passed the same fallen tree that had tripped me before, stopping only to wrench a branch loose, just in time to hold it u
p and clash with Roden’s sword. He hit hard enough that I fell back to the beach, but I grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in his face.

  Admittedly, that wasn’t my finest moment. But it gave me a second’s advantage.

  I rolled back to my feet and continued running, only to be tackled by Roden, who punched my side. I grimaced and went still for a few seconds, until he whispered, “Is it your leg? Are you hurt?”

  “Hardly.” I threw Roden’s weight off me, and in the same moment, one of the pirates surrounding us tossed his sword at my feet.

  I looked over and saw Teagut motioning for me to pick it up, calling out, “You can pay for it later!” I nodded and grabbed the sword, swinging it in a wide circle, forcing Roden back.

  When Roden fought strangers, he was always difficult to beat, for he was as fierce and talented an opponent as nearly anyone a warrior might encounter.

  But it was different when he fought someone who knew him. Because Roden always followed the same pattern of attack, like a dance he’d learned once and rehearsed with every new battle.

  Roden was fighting me precisely according to that dance.

  Which meant I knew where he’d be next, and how he’d get there. I waited for him with every new step, every turn and strike and rotation. And when I could move fast enough, I worked in a swipe ahead of his movements. Nothing that would leave any glaring scars, but enough that I knew I could win.

  But I would not.

  The pirates had gathered in a circle around us, many of them shouting my name. But there were shouts for Roden as well, and those were the calls that echoed loudest in my ears.

  He needed me to lose.

  I clashed with Roden’s sword again. “How far into the grave will I have to trust you?”

  “Further than this.” With a frown, he blocked my sword with his, then twisted around, aiming for my leg.