Chapter 30: 30_Take me
Amethyst pushed open the entrance of Thoran’s tent with both hands and hurried inside.
She came to a sharp halt, stiffening as the four men around the table raised their gazes to her.
Standing in the middle with hands pressed onto the table, Thoran only spared her seconds of his attention. Ignoring her, he returned his gaze to the papers they looked down at.
Gunn, Ivar and Bjorn continued looking at her, waiting for her to say something.
She swallowed. “I… Frank said some royals—”
“As I was saying,” Thoran interjected. “Ivar, you take the others along the Crest mountain trails, Bjorn and the remaining few should go through the forest.”
Hesitantly turning away from Amethyst, Gunnar looked at Thoran. “Us?”
Thoran glanced at him. “Apparently, they need more medical stock, the village is about to run out. We’ll have to get that before we join the others.”
“Excuse me?” Amie said, frowning anxiously. Why were they ignoring her?
Ivar raised a brow. “Have you got something to say, miss? You’ve been standing there for a bit.”
“Yes, I’m trying to tell you! There’s no need to move, you’re not in danger.”
Thoran still didn’t raise his gaze but Gunnar turned to face her.
“What do you mean?”
“Bjorn,” Thoran carried on. “Go and supervise the camp. You and Noah, make sure the men are ready to leave in the next fifteen minutes.”
“Aye, Steel.”
Bjorn marched away, giving Amethyst a polite nod as he left.
“Well?” Gunn asked, his dark brows raised. “What do you know?”
“They’re my sisters,” she said, crossing her arms. “I’ve been trying to tell you. If they get here, it’ll only be to take me with them, so don’t worry.”
Her gaze went to Thoran but he still refused to acknowledge her presence.
“Well, that much is obvious,” Gunn said flatly.
Blinking, she looked at him. “What?"
Ivar sighed. “The royals are obviously your people, miss. We know.”
She was confused. “Then what’s the problem? Why make the men pack the whole place up?”
Thoran released an irate exhale. “Gunn, did you secure the cave before you left?”
“Yeah, I—”
“Can you stop ignoring me?” Amethyst politely said. “It’s a bit… rude.”
His stormy gaze rose to her face then, dark with annoyance. “Get out. *Please.”*
Her expression seemed to glitch, jolting with shock at his blunt dismissal. “But I’m trying to help—”
“Help?” he demanded. “You think you can help?”
She watched his face darken, his fingers gripping the table with angrily thickened veins. “I just wanted to tell you—”
“The only thing you can do to help is leave.” He straightened, staring coldly at her. “You’ve had your fun, haven’t you? Hung out with some Barbs and had more excitement than you could ever dream of in your plain, orderly life. Now leave.”
At that, she stiffened, her chin jutting out. “No. You promised me a fight and I’ll get it.”
“I would beat you with my eyes closed, my ears plugged and both my arms tied.” His eyes narrowed. “Surely, you know that. Your insistence on staying here is so you can lead your people to us, to ours. I should’ve realized it sooner.”
Ivar gasped. “Really? Well, that’s bloody crafty!”
“What? No!” She hurried closer, shaking her head. “That’s not why—”
“Your necklace.” Thoran raised a brow. “They’re tracking it, aren’t they? They’ve got a damned compass.”
She froze, her eyes slowly widening. How had he known?
Like he read her mind, he scoffed, walking slowly around the table to face her. “One of our men went back to the inn to retrieve a blade he treasured. Innkeeper pulls him aside, lets him know there are some nosy people about, looking for us.”
“And they got there using a damned compass?” Ivar questioned, open-mouthed. “What kind of compass is that?!”
Amie swallowed hard, nodding. “Yes. They are using a compass. It leads them to my healing gem.”
Thoran was nearly trembling with rage. “And you just coincidentally forgot to mention they were tracing you? Tracing us? You think your sisters are the problem? Not a man in this camp fears a bunch of Gadon princesses. The issue is that our places must be kept hidden! If you lead them to this one, it’s only a matter of time before they can figure out the kind of places we stay in. They then find our other forest locations, our mountain caves. And then they find the village. That… puts many people in danger, *prencessi.* So, stop trying to help, you’re only making things worse.”
Her shoulders hunched, spots of red seeping into her cheeks. “I didn’t forget I was being traced. I just… didn’t think it was a big deal, I forgot the Barbarians keep all their locations secret.”
“You took her to the cave,” Gunnar said, glancing at Thoran. “We should move the stuff.”
“No,” Amethyst said. “That won’t be necessary, the compass won’t lead them there when I’m here.”
Ivar gasped. “So, then, they’re coming here?!”
She squirmed, hesitating. “Well… yes, I guess.” At the man’s startled sputter of jumbled words, she lowered her head. “They won’t give you any trouble.”
“Gunnar, we empty the cave at dawn tomorrow,” Thoran said, glaring down at her.
Her gaze snapped up to him. “I told you they won’t find it! Why won’t you trust me?”
“You’ve given me no evidence to show that you’re worth trusting,” he stated icily. “And without any such evidence, I will not be trusting anyone from Gadon, especially not the damned King’s daughter.”
Her body sagged with exasperation at the unfair judgment placed on her. If there was anyone in Gadon who was trustworthy, it was Amethyst! She clenched her teeth, not wanting to seem desperate to change his mind about her but needing to get through to him. She couldn’t go home now! Her sisters had caught up too soon. She was already in big trouble for this, she might as well see it to the end. She had to find out more, she had to know exactly what her father had done, why the Barbarians had targeted Gadon and, if possible, she had to secure her kingdom’s safety.
“Fine.” Straightening her shoulders, she looked at him. “I’ll prove it to you, that I can be trusted. Take me with you.”
Ivar made a sound that showed how little he cared for that suggestion.
“Ohhh…” Gunnar glanced hesitantly at Thoran, carefully judging how far he was from snapping. “You see, miss, we can’t take you with us. The place we’re going to can’t be revealed to strangers.”
“And we can’t take the risk of getting traced there,” added Ivar. “You’re a princess, a Gadon princess, your presence there could doom us all!”
“I won’t get traced!” she promised eagerly. “All I need is this gem, the piece that gets traced is…”
Fishing her necklace out, she turned the gem over to show them. “See this metal plate on the back? It’s made from the same metal as the needle in my compass. The needle points to this metal.”
Hopefully, she looked at them, but none of the three seemed particularly impressed.
“We still can’t take you,” said Gunnar.
“It’s a secret village for a reason,” Ivar muttered. “Outsiders are not allowed.”
Feeling desperation fray the edges of her pride, Amie hurriedly gripped the sides of her gem. “I just…” She grunted, trying to pull it apart. “I need… to take off the metal…”
Thoran’s hand shot out, gripping hers. “Stop that.”
She looked up at him, mildly puzzled. “Huh? No, I just need to pull off the metal and they won’t be able to trace me.”
“Are you insane? Just to come with us, you’re going to break your gem? What if…” He hesitated, glancing at Gunn and Ivar before looking back at her. “You need this damned gem. You know that.”
Amie’s eyes slowly widened, her body going very still.
He knew. How did he know?
“Don’t break it, damn you,” he said firmly. “Stay here, wait for your family to find you—”
“The gem still works,” she interjected. “The gem is what King Rogan made, we just added the metal plate to track it. Even if I pull it off, the gem works as long as I keep it on me.”
Frowning, he slowly pulled his hand away. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not taking you.”
“Please.” Her pride was melting away, but that only heightened her agitation and persistence. “You can’t send me back after… after what happened in the cave. I need to know more! I need to understand.”
Gunnar and Ivar slowly looked at Thoran with raised brows. What exactly happened in the cave, they wondered.
Thoran’s eyes were cold. He remembered her fierce argument back at the cave, remembered how she was ready to crucify him for his sins. How could he believe that she would understand? She wouldn’t. “I refuse.”