Page 9 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

“Should they really be doing that, you think?” she asked to none of us in particular before gesturing to Lord Merrin’s twins, Titus and Theo, sparring not far from the training ring. Someone had let the boys borrow wooden training swords, and they met in a clumsy clash before springing apart once more.

Elin was always worried about stepping out of line, and she jumped at the slightest odd sound. A surprise, given her father’s penchant for trouble. It was no wonder Ryszard had targeted their city-state early on for supposed infractions upon his border—ones Elin fervently denied. She’d awoken in tears from nightmares of that conquest more than once—not that I could blame her for that. We all had memories that haunted us now. Sometimes they woke me too. And the poor girl, she’d witnessed even more than I had, having lost all three of her older brothers in the fighting when their city-state fell.

Gabriel shrugged. “I trained at their age. It could be good for them. Take their mind off things for a while.”

The boys had had a difficult time of things as well, particularly once they first arrived. Gabriel mentioned that they had only recently started to calm down, and if training helped that, if the emperor’s men would allow it, I supported it wholeheartedly. In fact, part of me yearned for it myself. I’d trained often with Nyke, our captain of the guard, back in Sorrena. Though I’d probably started too late. Perhaps that’s why I struggled to master the skills he taught. At only seven cycles, these boys would be better served learning now. I only hoped they had a bright future to learn for—more reason we had to succeed.

As the guards wandered off, I voiced the next part of our plan. “If we do find something, then we need to make use of it. Get it…” I gestured around us. And not just out, but to someone we could trust, someone who could get it to the rebels. Ideally, one of our families, if we could be so lucky.

Elin gave a dramatic sigh. “I should have kept reading…” She supported our plans, though all of it made her nervous. Fair enough. But she was trustworthy and steadfast. Even if we refused to let her get involved in anything dangerous, she was good at listening and gathering information. After all, the guards were not quite so careful around her given her innocent and unsuspecting disposition.

“I’ve got that handled,” Fernand said with entirely too much confidence. He’d claimed as much before, but never shared exactly how he’d accomplish such a feat.

“Care to share?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Best if I don’t.”

I scowled at him. That lack of trust and cooperation got the city-states into this mess to begin with. If we’d worked together from the start, the emperor wouldn’t have been able to pick us off one by one.

Foolish, so foolish.

Though perhaps not a surprise. After all, it was how the city-states came to be. Once, three families ruled the stretch of eastern Galanthia that the city-states now occupied. But their heirs started squabbling among themselves, refusing to support one another, and so the territory splintered off into the various larger cities and their surrounding lands.

“Well, maybe the workroom will have a stack of outgoing letters I can add to. Unless you’re willing to talk?” My brows arched high as I tilted my head to the side.Stubborn man.

Fernand stared me down, but it was Gabriel, ever the voice of reason, who replied. “If one of us gets caught and interrogated…”

I sighed. They didn’t want whatever connections they’d begun to cultivate to potentially be compromised by someone else. It was smart, really, and I admired their determination to help their homelands however they could from within Zhine. After all, it was that spark of defiance that now brought us together. Still, it chafed to know I wasn’t privy to all elements of the plan.

“They don’t tell me anything either,” Elin interjected, opening her book once more and thumbing through its pages.

“Perhaps later,” Gabriel whispered before bobbing his head with a significant look past me.

A tingle of unease crawled down my spine, almost like a cloud had covered the sun and promised rain, though no such tufts of white or grey marred the sky. Without even meaning to, I tensed up before I looked over my shoulder, half-knowing what I would find.

Striding our way around the corner of the training area were two more captains: Zurina, with a mask like a great hawk who could control animals, and the one who always seemed to be stalking my shadows, Lucien. Every time I looked at him, I remembered the fall of my city and his threat to bring my sister to this horrible place. Worse, they weren’t watching the guards in their drills, but instead stared right at us.

I couldn’t see their faces, not with those ridiculous helms covering them, but one doesn’t need to see lightning to hear the thunder and know it might strike them.

“Elin, read aloud to us.” We needed something so our gathering would look less suspicious.

“Um…” She tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure you’d like it.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just read. Start at the beginning.” I shifted my attention to the captains once more, and this time she followed.

Her eyes widened a fraction before she looked away. Dutiful as ever, Elin flipped the book back to the beginning and started to read, “Once upon a time, in a small village—”

Gabriel groaned and laid back on the grass.

Elin looked to me, her blue eyes round and unsure.

“Ignore him.” I shuffled closer to her, half-turning my back on the men. A good story might be just the cure for my irritation, and Elin really did have such a lovely reading voice.

“Right. Well.” She smoothed out the page and started again. “Once upon a time…”

Chapter5

Lucien

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