Chapter 17: THE PRICE OF TRUTH

ETHAN'S POV

"Run!" Kiera grabbed my arm and yanked me backward.

The young orc warrior threw something at the soldiers. Smoke exploded everywhere. I couldn't see anything.

"This way!" Kiera pulled me through the waterfall. The freezing water soaked me instantly.

We crashed through bushes on the other side. Thorne limped between two orc warriors. Soldiers shouted behind us but the smoke slowed them down.

We ran until my lungs burned. Until my legs felt like water. Until the sounds of pursuit faded behind us.

Finally, we stopped in a thick grove of trees. Everyone collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

"Is everyone here?" Kiera counted heads. "Where's Torak?"

The young orc warrior was gone.

"He stayed behind," one of the other orcs said quietly. "To hold them off. To give us time."

My stomach twisted. Torak sacrificed himself for us. A boy barely older than me, and now he was probably dead.

"We can't stop," Thorne wheezed. "They'll track us. We need to keep moving."

We walked for hours. Nobody talked. We were too tired and too scared.

When night fell, we found a small clearing surrounded by thick brambles. It wasn't much, but it would hide us.

We made a tiny fire, just enough to stop the shivering. I sat against a tree trunk and stared at the flames.

Everything hit me at once.

I could never go home. Never sleep in my own bed again. Never read books in my father's library. Never joke with Lily at breakfast.

My name would be cursed. People would call me traitor. They'd spit when they spoke about me.

My father would be ashamed. Maybe imprisoned because of what I'd done. Lily would grow up with everyone knowing her brother betrayed the kingdom.

And Marcus. My best friend since we were children. We'd planned to become knights together. To serve the kingdom side by side.

Now he'd been captured trying to protect me. Or maybe he really had betrayed us. I didn't even know which was worse.

Tears burned my eyes. I tried to stop them but couldn't.

Someone sat down next to me. Kiera.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what?"

"For everything you've lost because of me." She stared at the fire. "Your home. Your family. Your friend. If you'd never met me—"

"Don't." I turned to face her. "Don't apologize for that. Meeting you is the only good thing about this nightmare."

Kiera looked at me. The firelight made her eyes glow like amber. "You really mean that?"

"Yes."

"Even though helping me destroyed your entire life?"

"My life isn't destroyed. It's just... different now." I tried to smile. "Besides, my old life was boring. Just books and studying. This is way more exciting."

Kiera laughed. It was a small sound, but it felt like sunshine breaking through clouds. "You're a terrible liar."

"I'm serious. Well, mostly serious." I looked down at my hands. "I miss my family. I miss Marcus. I miss feeling safe. But I don't regret helping you. Not for one second."

"Why not?"

"Because you were right. The war is built on lies. Someone had to do something." I met her eyes again. "And because... because you're worth it."

Kiera's breath caught. We sat so close I could feel the warmth from her skin. Her hand moved toward mine.

My heart hammered. This was the moment. The moment I'd been both hoping for and dreading.

I leaned forward. She leaned in too. Our faces were inches apart.

"Ethan," she whispered. "I—"

"We have a problem." Thorne's voice shattered the moment.

We jumped apart like we'd been burned. Thorne stood by the fire, looking grim.

"What is it?" I asked, my face hot.

"I've been thinking about our situation." Thorne sat down with a painful grunt. "We need to reach Princess Elena. But the Silver Covenant has spies everywhere. In every town. Every village. Every military camp."

"So we'll be careful," Kiera said.

"Careful won't be enough." Thorne poked the fire with a stick. "They have informants we don't even know about. People who look like allies but work for Lady Seraphina. How do we know who to trust?"

"We trust each other," I said.

"That's not enough to reach the capital." Thorne's eyes looked haunted. "I worked as a negotiator for years. I knew everyone. And Lady Seraphina still managed to plant a spy in my own team. Someone I considered a friend. That's how I got captured."

The words hung heavy in the air.

"What are you saying?" Kiera asked.

"I'm saying we're walking into a trap no matter what we do. The Silver Covenant knows we'll try to reach Princess Elena. They'll be ready." Thorne threw the stick into the flames. "We might already be walking exactly where they want us to go."

A chill ran down my spine. He was right. We were fugitives with a plan everyone could predict. We were mice running through a maze built by cats.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Before Thorne could answer, one of the orc warriors hissed a warning. "Someone's coming!"

We jumped to our feet. Weapons appeared in everyone's hands.

Footsteps crunched through the forest. Getting closer. Too heavy to be one person. Multiple people approaching.

"Douse the fire!" Kiera whispered urgently.

The young orc kicked dirt over the flames. Darkness swallowed us.

The footsteps stopped just outside our clearing. My heart pounded so loud I was sure they could hear it.

A voice called out from the darkness. A familiar voice that made my blood run cold.

"Ethan? I know you're in there. We need to talk."

Marcus.

He'd found us. But how? Did he bring more soldiers? Was this another trap?

"Come out, Ethan," Marcus called again. "I came alone. No soldiers. No weapons. I just want to talk."

"It's a lie," one of the orc warriors whispered. "He's not alone."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I can smell them. At least six humans hiding in the trees around us. Maybe more."

My stomach dropped. Marcus had surrounded us. Again.

"Ethan, please." Marcus's voice cracked. "I need to explain what happened at the waterfall. I need you to understand—"

"It's a trap!" Kiera grabbed my arm. "He's stalling while his men get into position!"

"Or maybe he really wants to talk," I said desperately. "Maybe"

"There's nowhere to run this time," Marcus shouted. His voice changed. Harder now. More like a commander. "You're surrounded. Come out peacefully, or we come in fighting. Your choice."

The orc warriors readied their weapons. Kiera's hand tightened on her sword.

This was it. Fight or surrender. Die battling or die in chains.

But there was a third option. One that terrified me more than the other two.

"I'm going out there," I said.

"What?" Kiera stared at me. "Are you insane?"

"He wants to talk to me. So I'll talk to him." I pushed through the brambles before anyone could stop me. "Alone."

I stepped into the moonlight. Marcus stood twenty feet away. Even in the darkness, I could see the pain on his face.

"Finally," he said. "I thought I'd have to burn you out."

"You said you wanted to talk."

"I do." Marcus took a step forward. His hand rested on his sword hilt. "I want you to explain why you threw everything away. Why you chose her over me. Over everyone."

"Marcus"

"No. You listen." His voice shook with emotion. "We were brothers, Ethan. I would've died for you. And you abandoned me for an orc and some conspiracy theory."

"It's not a theory. It's real. Lady Seraphina—"

"Lady Seraphina is a hero!" Marcus shouted. "She's protecting the kingdom while you run around with monsters, spreading lies!"

The venom in his words hurt worse than any blade.

"You don't believe that," I said quietly. "I saw your face at the waterfall. You had doubts."

"I had doubts about a lot of things. But not anymore." Marcus drew his sword. The metal rang in the night air. "The next time I see you, Ethan, I'll treat you like any other enemy. Our friendship is over."

He turned and walked away. Disappeared into the darkness.

I stood there, frozen. My best friend was gone. Really, truly gone.

Behind me, Kiera emerged from the brambles. She put her hand on my shoulder but didn't say anything. What could she say?

Then I heard it. A sound that made my shattered heart stop completely.

Marcus's voice, distant but clear, giving orders to his hidden soldiers:

"He's all yours."