Page 185 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
She threw her hands up. "Stop!" she demanded, her voice soaring over the crowd.
The shouts were swallowed in an instant, an eerie silence befalling the forest. Not only had the people gone silent, but they had stopped altogether, as if frozen in time.
She glanced at Moris, who knelt on the ground behind her with his jaw hanging open. The men who had dragged him over had since released him. Kallie frowned, her power sinking back down. Was the people’s silence the result of his power?
Putting the question aside, Kallie stepped forward cautiously. "Weare not the enemy. Sebastian is. The Prince has been leading your kingdom under the false pretense that the true king of Frenzia was sick and then abducted." Kallie looked at the weary crowd, hoping they could still hear her in their frozen state.
She swallowed and continued, "Hear me when I say that is a lie. With the king of Ardentol’s help, Sebastian has been working to overtake Vaneria and put it under one rule. To further their own agenda, they falsely accused Rian and me of being unjustly taken in order to start a war. The truth is more complicated than that.
"Sebastian is to blame for the drakonises.Hehas taken your loved ones—your friends and family, your neighbors—and has turned them into weapons. He has brought civil unrest into your kingdom. At this very moment, your king is out there fighting. He is putting his life on the line foryou, his people. Meanwhile, where is Sebastian? Did anyone see him fighting in the streets?"
At her question, the people stared at her, and she struggled to read their expressions. Were they even listening? Did they believe a single thing she had said?
To her relief, Phaia shouted a resoundingno.When their gazes met, Phaia gave her an encouraging nod.
Kallie pressed on. "I have not known His Majesty for long, but one thing is certain: Rian cares for the people in this kingdom and their well-being more than anything else. He would rather risk his life than let the crown fall to his brother, someone who seeks to destroy the peace the seven kingdoms fought for one hundred years ago."
Kallie took a deep breath, hoping and praying some of her words reached open ears. But as the crowd shifted on their feet, their paralysis wearing off, her hope lessened.
Someone in the middle of the crowd was the first to speak out. "Even if what you say is true, we’re outnumbered. How do you expect us to fight wild beasts and an entire army?"
Others murmured their agreement.
Her nails bit into the flesh of her palms. "Reinforcements are coming," she said, holding onto her fleeting hope as tightly as she could.
"When?" someone else demanded.
Kallie swallowed hard. The answer was stuck in her throat.
She didn’t know when the Tetrian or the Pontian troops would arrive. Terin had told her they were coming, but how long would it take them? What if they didn’t bring enough troops? What if they were too late? He said he sent word to Tetria, but what if the letter never arrived? What if Ellie was on a fool’s errand? What if the troops from Tetria never came?
Her stomach churned, a nauseous knot coiling tighter with every unanswered question.
As if sensing her inner turmoil, Graeson shifted, causing her attention to snap to him.
Despite everything they had been through and everything the Fates had thrown at them, Graeson had never lost hope. He kept fighting for them. Even as he stood there amidst a fear-filledthrong of injured and tired strangers, he still had hope for a brighter tomorrow, a brighter future.
She had to hold on to the hope that they would make it out of this.
She dug her heels into the ground. "They’re coming. But we need to hold on until they arrive unless we wish Sebastian to win. We?—"
Kallie stopped mid-sentence, startled by a snapping twig and a hushed voice coming from the north, closer to the walls of the capital. Those standing around her straightened, their eyes widening as fear gripped them.
Kallie reached for the weapon tucked in the holster strapped to her thigh.
As the shadows shifted in the forest, Kallie looked over her shoulder. Graeson was already in front of Kallie, scimitars in hand. A puff of smoke plumed from his lips, curling in the moonlight.
"Protect them," he said, tipping his chin toward Myra and Phaia.
Kallie wanted to argue. But when she saw Phaia gripping Myra’s limp body to her chest, trembling, Kallie relented. She sprinted toward them just as the first soldiers burst through the trees, blood-soaked swords hanging at their hips.
Baring his teeth, Moris dug his fingers into the ground, scraping the top layer of soil. The muscles in his legs strained against his trousers, and his wings stretched out behind him as he prepared to take flight.
With whatever miscellaneous weapons they found, the civilians ran toward the soldiers.
"Stay back!" a man said, raising his weapon as the first line of soldiers appeared.
Heart pounding, Kallie strained to see the enemy cloaked in the shadows.
