Chapter 38 One More Ray of Light
He’s dead. I’ve killed this man.
My gaze went from his face to my trembling bloody hands, and I tried to wipe them dry on my armored legs. The new metal was smeared red. I reached for his face and closed his lightless eyes.
Why does my heart ache for this awful man?
“Robin!” Jackson shouted, rushing to my side. Blood splattered every part of his armor. He panted as his hazel gaze went from me to the body beside me. “Gods. Did you kill him?”
I flinched at his words. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…!”
Jackson’s brows furrowed. “Why are you apologizing? The bandits are retreating because he’s dead. You’ve won our v—” His voice trailed off as he studied my cheeks. “…Have you been crying?”
I turned away from him, expecting a lecture when I saw his frown. Instead, he sighed.
“Are you alright?” he asked. I gave a tiny nod, and he murmured, “Then get up. We need to go back—”
“Wait,” I quickly spoke up. “He said the leader is at the dam and is planning to raid Embercrest.”
“What?” Jackson echoed and then looked at the dead body. “So that’s not the leader?”
I shook my head. “I thought nothing of it at the time, but I overheard the scouts mention a ‘right-hand’. I guess this was him.”
His hazel gaze returned to me, eyes narrowing. “This man is the enemy. He could’ve been lying, a final effort to succeed in their cause.”
I hesitated before murmuring, “I believe he spoke the truth. They were his last words…”
Jackson silently observed me. Eventually, he sighed and wiped the blood off my face. “We’ll discuss this later. We need to move our wounded. The wind is picking up; that means this weather is about to get nasty.”
Right as he said that, the sunlight faded as the clouds began to darken. The wind chilled and its gusts grew stronger, nearly as bad as when I was resurrected in Robin’s body.
“Y—yes, sir,” I said, teeth chattering.
I picked up my helmet and torn weapon before following him. The knights had already returned to the village and gathered in the tavern, bandaging their wounds. When Jackson and I entered, the stench of alcohol wrinkled my nose. Every knight looked up when their captain walked in, and smiles lit their faces when they spotted me at his side.
“There’s our heroic dame of the hour,” one of them said, clapping.
The rest of them clapped and cheered my name. My face turned red as I tried to hide it behind my bangs. Before I could speak, Jackson’s voice ended the cheers.
“Don’t celebrate just yet. The battle isn’t over,” the captain said.
Everyone’s face fell. One knight asked, “But didn’t we kill the leader?”
“No. He was merely a lieutenant or deputy. Someone second in charge.” Jackson glanced at me before continuing. “The man confessed that the leader’s true location is at the dam and that he plans to raid Embercrest.”
The knights whispered amongst themselves in shock, tension filling the room.
“Why would he betray the other bandits?” someone asked.
“His last words were spoken to her,” Jackson said, gesturing to me.
All eyes landed on me, and another knight said, “Lucky him. The last thing he gets to see is a pretty face.”
A pretty miserable face. I hung my head, my thoughts darkening.
“A man as bad as that didn’t deserve such a way to go,” a knight mumbled. “At least he confessed.”
“I…” I hesitantly murmured, all eyes landing on me again. “I don’t think he was a bad man… just a man having a bad day. All of those bandits could just be people having bad days, banding together to make their bad days a little brighter. Perhaps all of those bad days are what gave them bad thoughts and bad judgement…” My voice trailed off before I took a breath and turned to the others. “Their leader blindly trusted a woman. It seems that she’s betrayed them in some way. She lied to them about something. Their right-hand died before he could tell me anything else about the leader or this woman.”
“Are you saying…” Cedric asked. “That this woman led them to their deaths?”
I nodded and said, “If the bandits have never been cocky before, then they could’ve been given false information about the knighthood, considering the state the kingdom is in.” I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck, realizing I was getting ahead of myself. “I mean, that’s the only thing I can think of…”
“Hm.” Cedric’s brows raised. “You’re quick-witted, Robin. You may be on to something.”
A knight next to Cedric turned to Jackson and asked, “What say you, Captain?”
I turned to Jackson and stiffened up when I saw he was watching me with a cold glare. It took all of my willpower to not duck away from him in front of everyone.
Eventually, Jackson’s hazel gaze rested on his loyal followers and said, “That may be the case. There’s also a possibility they’ve become braver with those new swords they were inexperiencedly swinging around like children. Those were cutlasses. Native to Drakeveil Kingdom. They’ve never possessed those before, which means they’ve raided a Drakeveil caravan—likely merchants on their way to Embercrest Kingdom. I’ll send a scout to check on the knights I’ve posted in that area, figure out where this happened and if the merchants are safe.”
The mention of Drakeveil made nausea twist my stomach. I couldn’t tell if I was uncomfortable at the reminder of Prince Henry, or if it was Robin’s body this time.
“When we return to Embercrest, I’ll report this to King Austin. For now, we need to figure out our next move,” Jackson continued. “Many of you are wounded, some more so than others. It would be wise to head back to camp and treat the wounded properly, but if we do, we may miss this opportunity to catch the real leader.” He glanced at each knight. “So, my fellow knights. Which shall it be? Return to base camp, or continue onward?”
“What kind of question is that? We continue!” a knight shouted.
“Onward!” Cedric chanted and the rest of the knights joined in.
“I vote onward!” I piped up, beaming my smile.
Jackson grinned. “I figured as much. Very well. Lick your wounds and catch your breaths. I’ll send a scout ahead and devise a plan.”
“Yes, sir!” we said in unison.
My heart fluttered. I barely made it out of a deadly situation, yet I’ve never felt more alive. I was about to join Cedric’s side, but gasped when Jackson snatched my arm and yanked me outside.
I yelped when my back slammed against the wall, caged between his arms. I nervously peeked up at him, stuttering, “C—Captain?”
Jackson loomed over me and muttered, “You’ve got some explaining to do.”