Chapter 40-3

Britta glanced from Dellacov to me and then slid her chair back further. The swish of her dress rustled the papers and maps as she moved towards the door. "Let's go then," she said to me. I didn't hesitate, only hurried after her. *** We arrived at a room that could only be described as a closet. There were no windows and only the one door. It was hot—oppressively hot, whether from the close quarters or the beeping and ticking technology lining every wall, I wasn't sure. The tables were lined with devices I'd never seen. Whirling disks of clear tape, microphones, buttons and switches and cables. The three people sitting at the desks, one on each wall, didn't look up at us as we entered the room. Dellacov remained in the hallway, holding the door open as Britta strode directly to the middle desk and demanded, "What's the report?" The man seated there removed an earpiece form his head and passed it to her. She took it, putting it on herself and giving him a curt nod to show she was ready. Then, he flipped a switch on the console before him and leaned back in his chair. Britta's brow furrowed as she leaned a hand onto the desk, her expression growing progressively more worried. A woman seated at another desk glanced over her shoulder at Dellacov. "They're requesting aid," her accident was thick and I could tell she was mostly speaking in Erydi for our benefit. Dellacov pursed his lips. "When did the message come through?" "Around an hour ago, we think. But there's always some delay and it's spotty. It's possible we just didn't see it come in. We aren't monitoring those channels as closely as we are the ones we've got in Erydia." "We caught it by accident," the third man said, his voice quiet enough not to distract. He nodded to the man at the desk next to Britta. "Giovani caught just the end of it. Whoever it was, they must have set the message to be repeated. We tuned in just as the broadcast was cut off." Britta put the headset down on Giovani's desk and turned to look at him. "Play it again over the speakers." He nodded. "Yes, your majesty." She glanced my way. "What is your brother's name?" My throat tightened at the look in her eyes. "I have two in Third Corps. Ambrose and Kace—" "Kace." She pointed to the woman. "Add his name to the transcript. Kace Benson. I couldn't tell exactly what was said. I caught the surname though, knew it was the same as yours." "Kace." The woman turned to her typewriter. "Spelling?" I quickly spelled my brother's name. As I did, Britta stepped back from the table. The glowing lights from the different monitors cast her skin in a bluish sort of hue, but, even then, I could see how pale she'd gone. Giovani was still pressing buttons and disconnecting his headset as Britta said to me, "It isn't very clear, but—" She didn't get to finish as the speakers crackled loudly and my brother's voice echoed around the small room. "This—There are children here—I'm in Vayelle, in a small camp—Third Corps. I don't have the coordinates. We've been captured by Vaylish troops. We're near the Gap. The Suri Gap. We—We were captured and we need aid. I—Please. Please send aid. They are going to kill us. There are children here. There are innocent women and children here. There are elderly. They are going to kill children—Please. Please send aid. I repeat, there are children. I'm Kace Benson. I'm Erydian. We're part of the rebellion. If you're listening, please send aid. Send it now. We—" The recording sputtered and there was a yell from the background of it, a bang like a gunshot or the slamming of a door. I flinched backward, nearly stumbling into Dellacov at the door. He caught me by the arm and held on tight as there was another bang on the recording. Then Kace was speaking again, his words rushed and broken up by the popping and clicking of static. "We are trapped. I only have a moment. We need aid. We are trapped. There are woman and children here. Innocent people are going to die. Please—Please send—Please—Our mission has failed. Please—Please send aid. Please—There are women and children here. They are going to execute them. Please!" Then there was yelling and Kace's voice died out. A beep sounded and the silence. The room was frozen. I was frozen. I didn't even realize that Nadia and Heidi had followed us to the room until new hands caught hold of my arm and healing, soothing warmth spread through my chest. I turned to my friend, my face wet with tears as I said, "They need help. They—My brothers—" I turned, pulling out of Nadia's grasps as I whirled towards the queen of Pellarmus. "We have to send troops to rescue them." Britta wasn't looking at me, her attention was on Giovani. "Can we get coordinates?" He nodded. "I know where the camp is," I said, moving towards the monitors, towards the queen and Giovani. Dellacov caught hold of me again, pulling me back towards the door frame. "Let them discuss it." I shrugged out of his grip. "If someone can get a map of Vayelle, I can show you where the camp is. Please. Please, we've got to act now." Britta nodded to Dellacov. "Please go find Darragh. Tell him I need to speak with him right now. The council room. It's an emergency." He didn't argue, just turned on his heels and went. Britta looked at me for the first time then. "We'll go back to the council room and you can show me." I nodded, already half turning to the leave the room. But I paused on the threshold as Giovanni spoke up. "With all due respect, your highness, the odds of anyone making it into Vayelle is slim. It would take time to get access to maps of the tunnel system through the Demarti Mountains, and that's assuming such a thing even exists." Someone took hold of my wrist and I turned to see Heidi standing there, her expression cold as stone as her hand moved to hold tight to mine. Behind her, Tavin lingered in the hallway. I wondered if she'd gone to get him or if he'd heard us heading this way and followed. Either way, his dark skin was pallid and his brown eyes lacking any warmth as he looked at me. He knew what it was to lose a brother. Heidi spoke up, her question aimed only at Britta as she asked, "What would you do if it was Cohen begging for help—if it was Uri?" The queen of Pellarmus did not recoil from that nightmare gaze as she said, "I would do whatever I could save them."