Page 67 of The Endless War

“On my honor, the man before us is King Keris Veliant of Maridrina.” Bermin looked sideways at the crowd of soldiers lining the cliff. “You’ll all swear that it is him?”

The soldiers all nodded, expressions grim. There were dozens of them, all heavily armed in preparation for allowing the scores of prisoners in Kian’s tribe free of their prison, exactly as Keris had anticipated. Yet something felt wrong.

Kian shouted, “We captured him for you. Now deliver on your promise and set us free.”

Bermin chuckled, then said, “You have served the Empire well,” as the sun disappeared behind the cliff, plunging Keris into darkness. “Allow your future emperor to reward you with your freedom.”

Taking a torch from a soldier, Bermin flung it across the channel, where it fell among the prisoners. More torches followed, until the beach was lit up like the sun had reversed its course around the world. Several of the prisoners lifted the burning brands, but Keris felt his own trepidation mirrored on their faces.

“Send them to hell!” Bermin roared.

As one, his soldiers raised their bows. The prisoners shouted in alarm, turning to run, but a barrage of arrows descended in a cloud.Keris held his breath, fighting every instinct that demanded he flee the onslaught. Men dropped all around, Kian nearly landing on him as he fell, arrow through his throat. Keris’s ears rang with the noise of their agonized cries for help; then it was nothing more than moans of dying men and women, his plan to escape Petra’s grasp now smoke on the wind.

Keris gritted his teeth. It didn’t matter. The only person this affected was him; everything else was still in play. Aren, Daria, and her tribe would be escaping across their bridges under the cover of darkness, would make it to the pier during the time Bermin spent on these theatrics, and Lara’s ship would soon ferry them away.

Lifting his head, he stared at Bermin’s outline, illuminated by more torches. “I think it’s safe for you to come down now.”

Bermin laughed, then said, “Did you know the guards have a saying here? They say that the devil demands the soul of every person who steps on this island, which is why there is no way down. No one would ever use it.” He took a bow from one of his men, leveling an arrow at Keris’s chest. “Time to give the devil his due, Your Grace.”

THE WORLD SWAMaround her, familiar voices filling her ears, and Zarrah shook her head to clear it.

“We got you, girl,” Daria said, and fingers pulled the filthy gag from her mouth. “Once we’re out of harm’s way, we’ll get those ropes off you.”

Harm’s way.

Keris.

He’d come for her.

And Daria had betrayed him.

Panic and fury flooded her veins, and Zarrah twisted, falling to her knees. “You bitch,” she hissed at Daria. “You gave him to them. You killed him.”

“Keris gave himself up,” a familiar voice said, and then the ropes around her wrists loosened. “The Empress will want him as a prisoner, and he has a plan to get free.”

Zarrah whirled to face Aren, shock to find him there mixing withher rising panic. “It’s not the Empress who made the deal with Kian; it’s Bermin. He’s been plotting behind the Empress’s back. The second he has Keris in his sights, he’s going to kill him.”

“He won’t risk crossing Petra,” Aren said. “He’ll take him prisoner, which gives us time to get him back.”

Zarrah gave a wild shake of her head. “The last thing Bermin said before he imprisoned me was that he planned to kill Keris. He swore it to me on his honor.”

Unease filled Aren’s hazel eyes. “But the navy … Bermin couldn’t have ordered all those ships here without Petra agreeing to it.”

“Because she did!” Zarrah pulled a spear from Saam’s grip. “She sent me here as bait for the rebels and their commander.” There wasn’t time to explain this. There wasn’t time to explain her aunt’s madness to them when Keris was walking toward death. “Bermin set a trap within a trap, and on my honor, he plans to kill him. We need to go. We need to get him back. We need to fight!”

“Fuck.” Aren spun away from her, gripping the sides of his head as he kicked a rock, sending it spinning. “Goddamn it, Keris!”

“Gather everyone.” Zarrah caught hold of Daria’s arm, pulling the woman close. “We’ll attack Kian from the rear. But we need to move now!”

Daria didn’t move.

Zarrah spun in a circle, realizing that everyone was looking anywhere but at her. They weren’t going to help her. “Aren …”

“I don’t want to leave him,” the King of Ithicana said. “But this isn’t a fight we can win. Even if we defeat Kian’s men, Bermin has the island’s entire garrison with him.” Aren let out a shaky breath. “Keris knew the risks, Zarrah. Knew that there was every chance he’d be killed, but he chose to do it anyway. Not just for you, but for everyone here. Don’t let his sacrifice be in vain.”

A scream of rage tore from her lips, and Zarrah dropped to her knees, slamming her fists on the ground.

“Zarrah, listen.” Daria knelt in front of her. “Bermin has nearly emptied the guard towers and brought the soldiers to the cliff facing the beach. This is our chance to get across the channel. Keris has bought a chance for all of us to be freed.”

---