Allegiance (34 page)

“My kingdom has fallen, but thousands of my people still live. Let them walk free of the city, every last one of them, and I will spare your sister.”

His lip curled and he gave a low growl.

“You wanted Hytanica's land, not her citizens,” I insisted. “My request is reasonable.”

I waited, feeling almost light-headed from my audacity, while he deliberated, still wearing that fearsome scowl. London stepped up beside me, having struggled to his feet, and his presence reinforced my demand.

“Tomorrow,” the Overlord said at last. “I will give answer then.”

I nodded. “Very well.”

London and I stayed in place as the Overlord and Narian returned to their horses and mounted. Just before he disappeared into the trees at his back, the warlord trained his vicious and unforgiving eyes on me.

“I will not forget your face, Alera of Hytanica,” he promised, and I felt for a moment as if I could not breathe.

We departed shortly after our enemy had. London, regardless of the clear instructions in the message we had sent the Overlord, and despite Galen's ability to survey us, did not trust that we would not be followed, so he took us on a very roundabout route back to the horses and ultimately back to the cave, always checking behind. There was no
trouble, however, which meant that the Overlord had taken us seriously.

I began to shake as my bravery drained away, and the full extent of the evil I had met registered. Nonetheless, I dared to believe we might succeed. When we arrived at the cave, the men gathered around the fire pit as London explained what had happened, leaving out the details of the Overlord's attack on him, but still giving me credit for the negotiations.

“I was unexpectedly indisposed,” was as close as he came to the truth. I wondered if Galen might later provide the others with a more honest account of the meeting.

As we began to disperse, any lingering doubt I felt as to whether I had conducted myself correctly was alleviated when London for the first time in weeks cracked a genuine smile, nearly positive that all would go according to plan.

LONDON JOURNEYED BACK IN THE EARLY hours of morning, before the sun had risen, to await the Overlord, not believing it would be necessary for me to come a second time. Now that I knew of what the warlord was capable, I did not like the idea of the deputy captain going alone, but he promised everything would be all right and that he would return with word by evening, if not sooner.

For most of that day, the High Priestess continued healing Steldor. I sat at a fair distance from them, distrustful but enthralled, and unable to deny her abilities. Steldor's fever had broken, the infection was leaving and he was rousing much more often. Cannan encouraged him now and then to eat and drink, and had tried explaining what Nantilam was doing, but Steldor was mostly unresponsive, likely still grappling with the fact that he was alive.

Halias had been assigned to guard the High Priestess and so rarely took watch anymore. Galen and Temerson were quite willing to shoulder this assignment, Temerson surprising everyone with his resiliency. The things he had seen,
the cruelties he had firsthand experienced, had made him tougher and given him the desire to help in any way he could. It was odd to see him so changed; even his shy stutter was gone, an indication that he was no longer intimidated by life.

Miranna, unlike the boy she loved, was making very little progress. She remained quiet, skittish and altogether uncertain of the world and who she was. She needed a stable environment in which to mend, and right now she had the furthest thing from it. She had shyly acknowledged Halias at last, but it was only to Temerson that she spoke. I was thankful to have her suitor among us, for he was content to stay with her for hours on end.

Galen, between shifts on watch, was keeping busy sharpening and resharpening the multitude of weapons we had brought with us, along with the ones that had been stocked in the cave. He had not, to my knowledge, spent time with Steldor since his friend had begun his recovery, but with Cannan and the High Priestess always at the young King's side, I didn't know when he would have had the chance. At any rate, I knew Steldor's steady return to health was lifting Galen's mood tremendously. Considering our dire circumstances, things were going well.

When London returned, the sky was darkening, and I was cooking stew for our evening meal, Miranna sitting nearby. Temerson was on guard outside, and Galen was in charge of the High Priestess, enabling Cannan and Halias to talk, for they had begun to consider whether there had been a problem. An expectant hush descended as London entered the cave seemingly unharmed, only the grim set of his mouth giving us pause. All eyes went to him as he stopped in the middle of our hideout, running a hand distractedly through his unruly silver hair.

“Negotiations have changed,” he said curtly.

I got to my feet, his strange, aggravated manner staying all of our tongues.

“London, what is it?” I asked, clearing my throat as I realized how hoarse I sounded. “What happened?”

“Something we did not anticipate.” His hands formed fists at his sides, and he closed his eyes, taking a heaving breath. “I should have known the Overlord would not so easily accept our terms.”

Even the High Priestess was engrossed, her forehead creased, as Cannan and Halias stepped toward London, and Galen came to his feet.

“What happened?” Cannan repeated my question, his tone bracing, for he knew the news would be bad.

“King Adrik and Lady Elissia—they are alive. The Overlord offers their lives for that of the High Priestess.”

The blood drained from my face, and I stumbled a few steps toward London, emitting a small cry of distress that did not sound as if it had come from me.

“He'll kill them?” I choked out, and London nodded.

“We can't let him do that!”

I scanned the faces of the men standing solemnly around me, and their demeanors were anything but soothing.

“We have to rescue them!” I said shrilly.

“He'll have taken them back to the palace by now,” Halias sadly told me. “They're most likely in the dungeon—there is no way to get to them.”

“The only way to secure their release is to give up the High Priestess, and even that is without guarantee,” London reiterated. “The Overlord is heartless, and now that we've angered him, he will not be interested in a fair trade.”

“Regardless of our desire to save the former King and Queen, we cannot give up the High Priestess for their lives
alone. We need a better bargain,” Cannan argued, and even I knew from a military standpoint that this was true.

“You can't just let them die!”

While those exact words had been on the tip of my tongue, it was not from my throat that they had sprung. I turned and looked at my sister, who was on her feet, eyes wide as she stared at us in horror. She was almost hysterical, but I did not go to her, hoping her outburst would make the others see sense.

“After everyone else we've lost,” she shrieked, “you can't let them die, as well!”

Cannan and his two deputy captains looked at her guiltily and compassionately, but did not answer. Instead, Halias turned to me.

“We have no choice, Alera. I'm sorry, I truly am, but I agree with the captain. We can't give up the High Priestess. She's all we have.” His tone was pained, and it was plain that everyone's nerves were strung taut.

“The Overlord is clever enough to know that we won't kill his sister lightly,” Cannan added. “He's going to torment us to the extent he can. He enjoys playing these games.”

“But they're my
parents!
” I cried, the inside of my throat feeling as though it were torn and bleeding. “London, please!”

I turned to the man who had been my bodyguard for years, who understood the love I had for the people whose lives were in question, and pled my case with him.

“The Overlord's wrath should not fall on them—they're no longer even Hytanica's rulers! We need to save them.
I
need to save them. This is the Overlord's way of making me pay for standing up to him. I beg you, don't let this happen!”

“We can save them,” London resignedly declared, and lost in the instantaneous rush of relief, I did not notice the
strange blankness of his expression until Halias said his name. He looked up at his fellow Elite Guard as if he'd forgotten the rest of us were present, and the thanks that had been on my lips died away.

“How?” I asked, wary.

“We make an exchange, but not with the High Priestess,” London explained, complexion as pale as the patches of snow outside.

My head was swirling. “Then what do we give him?”

He crossed his arms upon his chest, hesitating for a moment before he answered.

“Years ago, the Overlord and I forged a bond, born of mutual hatred. If I were offered to him, he would release your parents. He would derive much greater pleasure from having me in his hands.”

“No,” I said at once, and the word was echoed by a few others.

“You can't do that,” Halias ardently asserted. “You're the reason we've come this far. I can't let you make that sacrifice.”

“My brother would make the trade,” said the High Priestess unexpectedly, her gaze revealing awe and a deep-rooted respect as she examined London. “Have no doubt.”

London nodded his head her way, appreciating her endorsement, though his eyes contained no warmth. Then he turned again to Halias.

“You can and you will let me do this. It's one life in place of two.”

“But…but he'll kill you.” I was stating the obvious, merely repeating what he had already made clear. “You'll die.”

“Eventually.”

“No,” I whimpered, stepping closer to him. “No, I don't want you to die, please. There must be some other way.”

“I'm not giving you a choice, Alera. I've protected the royal family my entire life. This sacrifice is one I have long been willing to make.”

It was London's life or my parents' lives. I knew this, but I didn't want to accept it. How could I say goodbye to him? As my tears flowed, I walked forward into his arms, tucking my head against his shoulder. I clung to him, struggling to come to terms with the fact that this would be one of the last times I would feel his warmth, take in his familiar scent and be comforted by his strength. I loved him, fiercely. He had never in all the time I'd known him been one for displays of affection, but he returned my embrace, holding me as I wept like a child.

When my sobs subsided, he led me over to Miranna, leaving me for once in her care, and she and I went to sit together on our beds. He returned to talk to Cannan for a few minutes, and Halias came to check on the stew.

Eventually we all ate, then Galen took guard duty, sending Temerson inside to eat, as well. After that we dispersed, Halias to watch the High Priestess, Cannan to check on Steldor, the rest to find respite in sleep. For the second night in a row, I was not to be granted such release, afraid that if I closed my eyes I would wake to find that my last hours with London had disappeared.

I dozed off at some point, only to jolt to awareness after a short while, haunted by nightmares. I got up to find that everyone else still slumbered, with the exception of Halias, who was seated not far from Nantilam with his back against the wall. I did not say anything to him, though I could feel his eyes upon me. Instead, I walked closer to where London had laid out his bed, but he was not there. He had wanted
me to sleep, yet he himself apparently could not. I scanned the rest of the cave, but there was no sign of the deputy captain. Alarm twisted my gut for an instant. He had promised he would not leave until morning, so where had he gone?

“He's outside,” Halias informed me, as if reading my mind.

I nodded, then slipped through the crevice and into the cold night, wishing immediately that I had grabbed a cloak. But as my eyes fell on London, I abandoned all notions of going back for one. He was sitting against the rock face to my left, head hung desolately forward, and even when I sank down beside him, he did not acknowledge my presence.

“London?”

He lifted his head to glance in my direction, then turned away, but not quickly enough to prevent me from seeing the tracks that only tears could have made. I was taken aback to have caught him crying, for it was his nature, like Cannan's, to quietly endure. But the stress under which we lived was enough to wear down even the most resilient—Cannan himself had come close to losing his mind.

“I'm sorry,” I murmured, not sure for what I was apologizing but knowing that I meant it.

“It's not what you think,” he replied, still hidden in shadow, voice strange.

“Then what is it?”

I wanted him to talk to me, for once to tell someone what was wrong. He couldn't go to his death tomorrow with the world bottled up inside him. He was silent for a long time, but I knew he wasn't ignoring me.

“Alera, I didn't tell you everything,” he finally said.

I let his words resonate, uncertain as to his meaning.

“Do you want to tell me now?”

“Don't,” he said, but again I was uncertain as to his mean
ing. He began sentences without knowing where they would end. “It's… You don't… You can't… It was my fault. If I'd known, I could have…”

“What are you talking about?” I asked when I could stand it no more, still trying to be delicate though the pain in his voice was making my chest tighten. I wanted to help him but did not know how to do so, for he was making no sense.

“I told you, I kept things…things that happened today, with your parents.”

I felt myself pulling back from the conversation, though my mouth formed the words I wasn't sure I wanted to utter.

“What things?”

“I never spoke to the Overlord. I went to our vantage point above the clearing, where Galen waited yesterday, and I saw him arrive, bringing your parents, but…not just your parents. He knew I would be there, that I'd be watching, so he seized the opportunity to make a demonstration, to express his intention of killing your parents if we didn't cooperate.”

The agony behind his words was scaring me; I had never seen him like this before.

“He…he tortured and murdered Destari, in front of me, and I didn't do a thing to stop him. I'd thought Destari was already dead. If I'd known he was still alive…I should have done something, anything. I should have saved him, long before the Overlord had the chance to do this. All that time, he was suffering, and I know what it means to suffer at the Overlord's hands.”

“London,” I breathed, unsure what else to say, shocked and sorrowed myself by Destari's death. How could he have harbored this knowledge alone, even for these few hours? Destari had been one of my trusted bodyguards, but he had been London's best friend since before their graduation from
military school—they had climbed the ranks side by side. To have witnessed him die in such a horrible manner…I couldn't comprehend it. The thought made me sick, and without thinking, I reached out to touch him, yearning to comfort him, but he brushed my hand away.

“I protect everyone,” he stated simply. “It's what I do, what I have always done. But I failed him.”

“You didn't kill Destari,” I said, incredulity fighting its way into my speech. How could he hold himself accountable? “It was better you didn't know he yet lived, because you could not have gone back for him. He knew that, London. Destari knew it when you parted ways at the palace—he knew it when he surrendered himself to the enemy for interrogation. You didn't fail him or betray him, and don't you dare take responsibility for what the Overlord has done. It was
his
hand that ended Destari's life, not yours. His brutality is the reason for all of this, and your compassion would compel you to shoulder the blame that is his. Where is the justice in that?”

I wanted so much for him to recognize the truth in my words, to find some relief from his torment. Once more, hatred for the Overlord overwhelmed me—he was tearing all of us apart. Soon, I would never see London again, and the Overlord was even preventing us from finding peace in our final hours together.