Page 34 of The Phoenix Inheritance

“I’ll tell you what Ehren wouldn’t have wanted!” I cry with more fury than I’ve felt in years. “For us to resort to the same brand of violence we despise in our enemy! Why do we fight the Phoenix rule in the first place?!”

The three men remain mute as they stare at my outburst.

I point to Rudyard. “Because they killed your mother.” My trembling finger turns to the two others. “Because they burned your house, Nicolas. Garrison, because they had you thrown into a cell for having the gall to look one of their kind in the eye.” I shake my head in consternation. “Us Hunters have never made use of violence… because we’re not monsters, like them.”

“And maybe that’s why nothing has changed since we formed a decade ago,” Nicolas mutters.

I drop to a chair. I can tell I lost. These three men are convinced they must kidnap the Phoenix Prince, and I’m terrified of the consequences.

“We meet at dawn on top of the Solenz cliffs tomorrow, Isobel,” Garrison eventually hisses. “We’ll see you there, if you choose to stay true to your allegiances.”

They don’t even bid me farewell as they march out the door. My stomach drops. This is probably the last time I’ll see them.

I’m in a turmoil. Despite how disappointed I am at their plans, the Hunters are my friends. I don’t want Garrison, Rudyard and Nicolas to be captured, to be tortured as mercilessly as Ehren.

I groan and bury my head in my arms. What am I supposed to do?

By dawn, my mind is made after a sleepless night. I have to convince them at all costs to give up their foolhardy scheme. I change into a fresh dress and walk briskly to the very same precipice Dane jumped from over a month ago.

My heart twists at the memory of his charcoal eyes, so deep and pure on an otherwise hardy set of features. I hope he’s alright.

I also hope that the few weeks we spent together have healed him enough to never risk his life again, though we haven’t broached the subject yet. One day, maybe Dane will trust me enough to talk about it.

I join the dozen men as soon as I spot them. Garrison greets me with a surprised smile.

“Isobel! You came after all.”

I grimace. “No, I–”

“Over there!” One of the Hunters shouts. We all turn towards the direction in which he points. “Østrom guards!”

It feels like the Solenz cliffs crumble below my very feet as a flash of silver appears in the horizon, blinding me in the morning sun. My heart freezes. Maybe I’ll never get to have that conversation with Dane after all.

“Rudyard isn’t here,” Garrison whispers in my ear.

I was too focused on the band of live armors, the shells of cursed knights that serve as Østrom’s army, to notice the absence of one of our members. What does it matter that Rudyard is missing, if we’re being ambushed this very moment?

But when my questioning gaze meets Garrison’s somber one, I understand.

Rudyard betrayed us. The foolish kidnapping plan he came up with was but a trap to lure us to Østrom.

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