Page 152 of A War of Three Kings

“Wemustremove the mad king from power!” she urges. “When King Niall arrives to claim the throne, wemustrush to the city gates, to the palace gates, and storm the guards to open them for the oncoming army. I promise you: King Niall will go straight to the palace to remove the madman within. King Niall is coming to save the people of Sunbright City from his brother. From being cursed by the gods who frown on him. King Niall will free all of Strathia!”

The crowd screams their approval, many cursing the mad king.

A half-smile forms on my lips at the vulgarity of their words. It matches my mood exactly.But this is a dangerous game we play, and our timing to get Keira and Diarmuid out of the palace before the mob arrives is essential. We need to strike when theguards are so swamped by the onslaught that they cannot stop us from entering through the portal.

Caitlin preaches until the sun goes down and her voice turns hoarse. Then we visit tavern after tavern, where she gets on the performers’ stages to reach the men and women in their cups. By the time we select an inn to sleep at, she is swaying on her feet.

We pay for a noble’s room in an upmarket inn with servants’ and guards’ quarters attached, because I fear that someone may come for Caitlin in the night. Klara heals her throat and shares her bed, just to be sure.

During the middle of the night, while I toss and turn on a lumpy pallet as soft footfalls approach and recede in the corridor outside, and roars of laughter float up from the hall below, I feel her.

That presence that pulls at my heart, somehow connecting me to the woman I love. My heart swells and it is as though I can finally breathe again. The smallest fragment of that huge missing part of me returns.

Keira.My very soul calls out to her.I miss you, Keira. Hold on. Please hold on. I am coming for you.

No words return to me. It is like a distant, groggy muttering from a person who is still half asleep. The connection is so incredibly thin, but I bask in the warm embrace of it, as I would in holding her soft body to mine and nuzzling my face in her neck. I can almost smell the sweetness of her hair and skin. I shoot those sensations to her in the crazy hope that she can feel them too.

We hit the streets the next morning, and this time the people flock to Caitlin as soon as she speaks. We fae take turns guarding her and feeding her our power for her tricks.

The day is long and hard.

The palace guard catches wind of our activities, and we are constantly forced to move to prevent a confrontation. A clash could create the boiling point we need, but it would be too soon.

The only consolation is Keira’s presence within my mind, gradually growing in strength. Eventually I can hear her voice whispering to me, but I can’t quite make out the words.

It is during the morning of the third day that the mood of the crowd changes during one of Caitlin’s performances. They pull away from her and glance around frantically.

I examine them from my position at the edge of the square, trying to understand what is happening. Large bodies of people run through the square from an adjacent street, confusing the rest and pushing past those watching Caitlin.

“The army is here! The army is here!” one man screams as he passes me.

“Run for your lives!” a woman screeches, holding a wailing baby.

I grab another fleeing man by the tunic, forcing him to stop. His eyes are wide and dart everywhere but my face. “What is happening, man?” I yell at him.

“A h-huge horde is advancing on the city,” he stammers out, and I drop him.“They fly the king’s banner, but it is all wrong. Different. The colors are inverted.”

King Niall has arrived.

I glance at Caitlin’s position, where Klara, Hawthorne and Silvan have formed a protective circle around her, then I run into the building at my back. I take two steps at a time as I scale multiple flights of stairs to the roof. Drake and Cyprien are already up there.

The view that greets me has my heart hammering with anticipation. An advancing army sprawls across the empty lands that meet the city, flying King Niall’s banners, alongside the green and bronze of Appleshield.

“They will be at the gate in an hour.” Drake squeezes my arm. “Then you can let out that murderous rage.”

“Maybe less.” Cyprien pulls his gaze away from the horizon to look at me. “Are you ready for what we might find?”

“We extract Caitlin now and make our move on the palace. The mad king diestoday.” Something dark within me revels at finally giving those orders.

We rush down the stairs and into the churning, hysterical crowd. Despite the frantic movements and needless yelling of some, most have turned to Caitlin again, utterly transfixed. I am forced to push past tightly packed bodies to reach her, receiving elbows in the chest as they raise theirarms to her.

“The time to empower yourself is now!” Caitlin bellows. “Pick up your arms. Storm the city gates. Let in that army who is here to save you and your true king, King Niall! Remember, the queen is a prisoner, and a Mother of Magic. Save the queen and the gods will smile on you. SAVE THE QUEEN!”

It is jarring to hear Keira referred to as another man’s queen. It stabs a knife in my heart, then twists the blade, but this is not about me.

The people amassed repeat Caitlin’s words. Chant them while they thrash as one.Save the queen. Save the queen.

My legs feel weak at those words, and I would hug Caitlin if we had the time. My band of warriors encircles her, and we push our way through the mob.

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