Page 36 of A Kingdom of Lies

“Duncan doesn’t play games,” I said, almost too quickly. Both women shot me a look, making me glance down to my fidgeting hands. “I just think there is some weight to what he said. If there are fey in Lockinge, it’s about time someone does something to save them.”

Althea narrowed her hazel eyes at me, studying every subtle detail of my face. “What point are you trying to make, Robin?”

“I don’t know what I am trying to say. I think there is a lot we don’t know here,” I said, picking at the frayed hem of my shirt. “I am merely trying to make sense of this.”

Yet in the back of my mind I knew what I was thinking. If there were fey imprisoned in the human capital, could I free them? Maybe my hysteria led me into this path for a reason – saving the fey.

“Aren’t we all.” Gyah pressed a hand to her head as though in pain. “All I care about is getting as far away from here as possible. Whatever they believe, I say let them, as long as we are at a distance.”

“Robin,” Althea said, snatching my attention away from a point on the wall which I had become entranced by. “If there is a chance to leave, we do so together. You understand that, right?”

“I think you’re wasting your breath, Althea,” Gyah interjected. “Robin had made his mind up long before this moment. Hadn’t you?”

I would only admit to myself that, for the first time since this plan had somewhat formed in my head, I was ready to turn my back on the idea and return to Wychwood. But for Father’s sake, for the vengeance he deserved, I would not.

“I need to go.”

“What did I say!” Gyah said, laughing, but not from humour.

“Not for the Hand. I understand that idea was stupid,” I said, staring them both down, refusing to look away. I needed them to see just how serious I was. “But what if I could find a way to free the fey?”

“We can’t be sure if Duncan is lying or not, not without seeing it for ourselves,” Althea said, brows lifting as she figured out she’d walked into my web.

“Exactly why I should still go,” I said.

“Then we will come too,” Althea confirmed, matter-of-factly, sitting up in the bed but wincing as pain coursed through her.

“You are in no position to go anywhere right now,” Gyah groaned, lifting the bedsheet to look at the wound upon Althea’s thigh. “Will you ever listen to me, Althea? For your own sake, if Robin wants to stay then so be it. But I cannot allow you to be here a moment longer than necessary. It is not safe. That is what I was hired for. What I was born for, to protect your family.”

Althea rolled her bloodshot eyes, patting Gyah’s hand where it rested on the bed beside her. “If the tables were turned, I would only hope Robin would be saying the same, Gyah. I cannot just forget about him, especially now the Hunters’ reckless and homicidal actions have only been confirmed as truth. Not to mention these imprisoned fey.”

I shuffled forward, taking her hand in mine. “Althea, Gyah is right. We don’t have enough information to rely on Duncan’s word.”

“At last, some sense,” Gyah barked.

I shot her a wary glance, knowing she spoke too soon. “You both need to leave for Wychwood. Gather the numbers and prepare to help with freeing the fey.”

“What about your army?” Gyah asked. “And Doran?”

A creeping chill passed down my neck, turning my skin to layers of gooseflesh. “What good is an army if I have no one to fight for.”

Neither spoke back to that, only shot one another a look that suggested I was right. After a pause, Althea cleared her throat and spoke.

“Robin, see if you can get more confirmation about what waits in Lockinge. No decision will be made yet, and Altar knows I’m in no position to run either,” Althea said, gesturing to her leg, lip curling over teeth at the smallest of movements. “Next issue is how we are going to escape here in the first place. We can’t just run away with these cuffs on. The fact I’m powerless, and currently riddled with pain. I wouldn’t make it far. Even if I wanted to go I couldn’t. It is not a choice.”

“And what about your family?” I asked; the question had been haunting my mind since we were in that rocking cage. “Surely they’ll know you are missing and send aid for you.”

Althea nodded. “If we stay here long enough it will only be a matter of time before they find us. But the Hunters know that. They are far from stupid, and I know that they will already be planning their next move. We will be long gone by the time my family can help, unless–”

“Unless we can stall.” Gyah leaned forward, a smile lifting the corners of her full lips, eyes glittering with mischief. “I can certainly come up with a few ideas that would push back our departure from Finstock!” She laughed with pure joy, latching onto the first true potential of getting free. “The Hunters will not stand a chance if Queen Lyra sends a party after you. After your brother’s passing, she will not risk the death of another child.”

“How long until they realise you are missing?” I asked Althea, unsure what answer I wanted to hear.

She shrugged, the simple movement taking a lot of effort. “Days, two at most. Less most likely. Knowing her lack of trust and our failure to return after we told her we were trailing you to Icethorn, she would have had her own scouts following us. Her soldiers likely walk on Durmain ground as we speak.”

A strange and sickly mix of relief and disappointment twisted in my gut. On one hand, for their sake, I desired for aid; no matter how their company eased the situation at hand, I would’ve preferred both to be far away from this twisted hell. But I also needed Duncan’s answers.

Doran Oakstorm had to pay for what he did, but my plans were shifting with the tide. If the Hand didn’t offer me an army, I’d take one for myself. That only worked if Duncan had told the truth about the fey in Lockinge.

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