Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The New Plan

I joked that I would handle all the weapons by the end of the day, but when I see Amser taking the last blade from the bag, my eyes widen in shock.

The moon is already high in the sky, and the guards have already switched shifts.

However, I’m so exhausted that I only have the energy to launch one last hit before my knees give in.

Zadok’s arms catch me before I hit the ground. He takes me inside and sits me down at the table while Amser rushes to the kitchen and babbles something about making us dinner.

“You’re okay?” Zadok asks, his fingers brushing my cheek before he tugs a strand of hair behind my ear.

I nod weakly, my arms and legs shaking now that the adrenaline is wearing off.

“I just need to sleep,” I tell him simply.

“Eat something first, and I’ll take you to bed.” He squeezes my hand as an encouragement.

Before I know it, Amser is setting a plate filled with food in front of me. The smell is amazing, and I barely acknowledge what I’m eating. My eyelids are heavy, and all I need is my bed.

As promised, as soon as I finish the last bite, Zadok scoops me off the chair and takes me to bed. I’m about to argue with him that I should take a shower and brush my teeth, but my body betrays me, making me black out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Sunlight hits my face faintly, forcing my eyes open. For a whole minute, I stay frozen in place, staring at the ceiling of Zadok’s cabin while I assimilate all that happened the previous day.

I can’t believe I managed to handle all those weapons on day one. My entire body is sore as if I’ve been through a deadly match of combat. But still, I’m surprised I handled it all by myself while being away from the water.

“How are you feeling?” Zadok’s sleepy voice asks beside me, his arm tightening around my waist.

“Tired, but proud,” I reply honestly, turning to look at his handsome face.

He smiles at me. “I’m proud of you too,” he adds. “You did amazing yesterday. At this speed, we’ll have the entire army armed to their teeth in no time.”

And he’s right.

Amser shows up at the same time in the morning, and as soon as we’re out of the cabin, my eyes fall on the same bags refilled with weapons as if I hadn’t handled them all the previous day.

After a week, I start to feel the lack of energy as soon as I wake up. But I still push myself up and forward, forcing my brain to understand the urgency of all this.

Until one day, I begin to think I can’t keep going. Amser seems to notice it because she suddenly suggests that I take a day off. At some other moment, I’d refuse her right away, but today, I simply take the little rest I can get.

Which turns out to be a whole day and night of sleep.

When I wake up again, I hear Amser and Zadok from the kitchen, talking in hushed tones. Or are they arguing?

I sit up in the bed and perk my ears, but even with my enhanced hearing, I can’t listen to what they are saying.

But I can feel their aura from here, and it makes my skin crawl.

Something is wrong.

I swirl my legs off the bed and head to the kitchen. As soon as I show up, Amser straightens up, and Zadok, who has his back turned to me, snaps his head in my direction.

They book look worried.

“What is going on?” I blurt out, walking into the room.

They both exchange concerned glances, which only makes me more suspicious.

“And don’t offend me by saying it’s nothing when I can clearly see something is going on,” I add, stopping in front of Zadok. “You promised me you would never lie to me again.”

His face contorts as if my words have punched him right in the gut.

Guilt and conflict cross his features, and he takes a deep breath, seemingly making a decision.

“Zadok…” Amser calls in a warning tone, but he shakes his head, dismissing her.

“She has to know,” he states, determined. “We can’t keep hiding it for long. She will eventually need to know anyway.”

Anxiety and nervousness pool in my stomach.

“What the hell is going on?” I press.

Zadok’s eyes lock on mine. “The Shades have closed the circle. The king’s intelligence assumes they’re getting help from someone else.”

I frown. “From who? The Renegades?”

I mean, that’s the only plausible answer in my head.

Zadok glances at Amser once more.

I see the way his jaw twitches. The way her lips press into a thin line. And before he even answers me, I know it’s bad.

Fear courses through me.

“We think there might be someone from the inside as well,” he informs me.

“From inside?” The crease between my brows deepens. “Why do you think that?”

“They attacked overnight, and the location of the attack makes us believe they know where you are, even with all the barriers we created,” Amser chimes in, finally deciding to join in the conversation.

Someone on the inside sold us out? Who would be dumb enough to do that? Don’t they know the Shades are our enemies and want to tear the kingdom apart?

Who would be stupid enough to work with them? Only the king’s closest circle knows where I am.

“Do we have any idea who it could be?” I try.

Zadok shakes his head. “Unfortunately, no. Not yet. The thing is, we don’t have much more time until they get to you. We’ve been compromised. We need to find another location and—”

“No,” I cut him off before I can think it through. My heart has made a decision before my brain can make sense of everything I just heard.

The thing is, I’m not willing to let this continue. To let more people die because the Shades can’t find me.

We need to end this once and for all.

Zadok and Amser look at me, clearly confused.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” His voice is deep and serious.

He won’t be happy to hear what I have to say. But on the spur of the moment, I have made up my mind.

“I won’t stay hidden anymore while people die protecting us. We’ve enough weapons already. We have mystics on our side who can embed more if needed. They might not be as strong, but they will help,” I explain, letting the plan fully form in my head before I share it with them.

“Hettie, you’re not making sense,” Amser points out.

“I need to leave the kingdom. We should go to the Forbidden Zones and attract the Shades out of our territory. This is the only way we can keep people safe. Perhaps even ambush the Shades, and end this once and for all.”

There.

I said it.

There’s no going back now.