Chapter Ten

 

 

 

Shane

 

Long after we’ve returned to the palace and Laura has fallen asleep, the hour turns to midnight, and I make my way down to the dungeon where Alicia is being kept prisoner. Of all the missions I’ve been assigned, this is the one I dread the most. The rebels dangle my sister’s life over my head, forcing me to betray people that I’ve come to know and love, just to keep her safe. They are the epitome of evil, and this is the last mission I’ll ever go on for them. After this, I’m bringing my sister to the palace, and freeing us from their chains forever… If I can even live with myself after tonight.

When I arrive in the dimly lit, stone hallway of the dungeon, Taeler and Fernando are waiting for me in front of Alicia’s cell, an unconscious guard tied up near their feet. A heavy feeling of despair settles over me as I resign myself to this task.

“What took you so long, Shane?” Fernando sneers, and it takes all of my self-control not to break his nose right here and now. I’m never in the mood to deal with Fernando’s antics, but tonight I’m feeling exceptionally impatient with him.

“Don’t talk to me, Fernandork. Let’s get this over with.” I sigh, crossing my arms.

Taeler, dressed all in black, her light hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of her neck, rummages through the unconscious guard’s pocket until she pulls out a key, smiling. I’ll never understand the giddiness that adrenaline gives her. Quickly and quietly, she unlocks the wooden door that holds Alicia prisoner, and lets us all in.

Alicia, who was delivered to the palace with barely a scratch, is now covered in bruises and cuts, her body caked with dried blood. Her clothes are torn to pieces, matching her battered body, and her hair is knotted and plastered to her sweat-covered face. She is huddled under a thin, white blanket, lying on the cold, stone ground and attempting to sleep. Her eyes open when we enter the cell, but she doesn’t move. Instead, she braces herself for whatever pain she believes we’re bringing her.

“Hey, Alicia, it’s okay. It’s just us,” Taeler whispers, kneeling down next to her boss. Taeler and Alicia have always had a close bond, and now that I’ve met Laura, I believe it’s because Taeler reminds Alicia so much of her sister.

If Taeler and Laura weren’t on opposite sides of this war, I think they’d get along, both of them adventurous and devoted to the duty they believe they have to their country—different sides of the same coin. Now, after all that I’ve been through, I’m beginning to question which side my loyalty falls on—my lifelong friend, or the girl who’s supposed to be my enemy, the girl I care for much more than I ever thought possible. Deep down, I know what my answer is, whether I want to admit it or not. I’m just so afraid that this choice is going to get the people I love killed.

Upon seeing Taeler and me, Alicia lets out a sigh of relief and struggles to sit upright, only to collapse a few seconds later. She cringes in pain and holds onto her side, tears welling in her amber eyes. Whoever interrogated her was trying to beat their way to answers and probably broke her ribs in the process.

“We’re gonna have to carry her,” I say, kneeling down next to Taeler, who nods in agreement.

“No, just help me up. I can walk, I just need a little help,” Alicia says stubbornly. If Laura was in this situation, I suspect she’d respond the same way. She has to prove that she’s stronger than anyone, never accepting help.

“Whatever you say, boss,” I say, throwing one of her bloodied arms over my shoulder. Taeler does the same on the other side, and we bring Alicia to a standing position. She winces in pain, but she’s able to bear most of her own weight. If she wants to be stubborn, then fine. She can suffer. It won’t hurt my feelings.

“Fernando, you’ve got to go distract the other guards so we can get her out through the front gates. There’s no way we can get her over the wall like this,” Taeler says and she’s right. I have enough difficulty climbing the trees without a half dead criminal to lug around.

“Got it,” Fernando says, saluting Taeler, Alicia and me. We follow him outside as quickly and quietly as possible, deciding to hide behind a nearby bush until the coast is clear.

From a distance, I see Fernando approach the other gate guards, shouting and waving his hands in the air animatedly. “Guys, someone broke into the palace and they’ve taken Alicia! I heard some commotion coming from the dungeon when I left to go to the bathroom, and when I investigated, three guys were running off with her!”

The other two guards jump into action immediately, scouring the grounds for any trace of the suspects. “Which way did they go?” one says excitedly, ready to run at the first sign of action. I guess standing around looking at a gate all night must be pretty boring.

“Around back! Come on. We’ve got to hurry before they get her over the wall!” Fernando says, leading the guards around to the back of the building. Within a minute, they’re out of sight. Hopefully Fernando can keep up this charade long enough for us to get through the gates.

“All right, it’s now or never,” I say, as Taeler and I lift Alicia into a standing position once again. “You ready to run, Alicia?”

“Ready,” she says. With that, Taeler and I run as fast as we can toward the closed gates, half dragging Alicia behind us. Luckily, she is careful not to cry out, despite the pain that she’s in, and we reach our first stop.

“Taeler, you have any brilliant ideas to get us through?” I say, eyeing the closed gates, which look ominous as we approach them.

“Yeah. I’m going to unlock them. Fernando gave me a key,” she says, rummaging through her pocket for it. “Take Alicia and run, as soon as I open the gates, okay?”

“No, I have to stay here. I’ll unlock the gates, and you take her and run.”

“I don’t care who helps me escape, as long as one of you does it and fast!” Alicia snaps, being entirely too loud.

“Look, I know you’re in pain and you want out of here, but you need to shut up. We’re trying to hide from the guards, not attract their attention,” I whisper, glaring at her as I take the key from Taeler and wriggle my way out from underneath Alicia’s arm.

“How dare you speak to me that way. I am your superior and—”

“You’re my superior that’s going to get us all killed because you’re screaming at us in front of a palace full of people who’d like nothing better than an excuse to kill you. So yeah, I feel that it’s plenty necessary to tell you to shut the hell up!” I say, harshly but quietly.

Alicia is silent, face growing red because she knows I’m right. I’m sure I’ll pay for disrespecting her later, but if it saves Taeler and me our lives, it’s worth it.

Before anyone can protest, I hurry over to the gates and unlock them, opening them just enough for Alicia and Taeler to squeeze through. After I motion them forward, Taeler and Alicia hurry through the gates, and I follow after them, pulling the gates shut behind me.

“I can’t go far with you, Taeler. Sorry. I’m not going to risk it. I’ll see you into the forest then I’m gone,” I say. Taeler nods, and Alicia is too irritated with me to comment. Good. The less I hear her voice, the better.

As we begin to walk, I hear something land with a thud behind us, then a familiar voice. “What’s going on out here?”

Laura. I knew there was a possibility that she’d see us freeing Alicia, but I’d hoped with all my heart that she’d stay asleep through the whole thing, never knowing that I’d betrayed her trust. I can’t turn around to look at her, I can only stare at my feet, heavy with guilt.

“Shane, is that you?” she says, her voice soft and broken. Every word that she speaks is like a knife. I can’t listen to this, knowing her pain is my fault.

I let go of Alicia and turn to face her. “Laura, look, I’m sorry—”

Her eyes narrow and her expression turns cold. “Tell your friend to take my sister and go.”

Alicia looks up at her sister, confused but grateful. “Laura, thank you… I… I’ll never be able to repay you for this. I owe you my life.”

I hate the rebels for forcing me to do this, but more than anything, I hate myself for following their orders. Laura is kind, even in her pain, allowing her sister to escape from an imminent death that would follow her should she be forced to return to the palace. This is the good that I am betraying for the sake of someone else’s cruel revenge.

Tears sting my hazel eyes as I watch them fall from Laura’s cheeks. She is not the monster that the rebels believe her to be. I am.

“You owe me your life twice now. Go, before I change my mind,” Laura says, tears increasing in number. She looks away, hiding them from her sister, not wanting to show what she believes is weakness.

Taeler and Alicia quickly follow her orders and disappear into the forest, and Laura focuses her attention back on me.

She’s silent for a moment, but I can see the rage and pain etched onto every inch of her pale face. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger, fists clenched, she’s intimidating even now, when she’s barefoot and wearing only a pair of black athletic shorts and a T-shirt.

“I cannot believe that I actually trusted you,” she cries. “I confided in you! I thought I’d finally found a friend, but just like everyone else I’ve ever tried to care for, you betrayed me!”

“Laura, listen. It’s not what you think—” I begin, but Laura cuts me off by slapping me in the face with all of her might, a noise that echoes through the still quiet of the night. It stings, but I can bear it. What I can’t bear is the hurt on her face. I put it there. I could’ve told her the truth. I could’ve done anything. Laura’s a kind person. She would have protected me, and even if she hadn’t, I would have spared her this pain. I hate myself for what I’ve done.

“I don’t care what you have to say, Shane. Nothing can excuse this,” she whispers, wiping some of the tears from her cheeks.

Before I can even try to speak, she turns and runs, fleeing through the gates and into the safety of the palace. I stand frozen in the gateway, wishing with everything that I had for a chance to make this right. But I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is no excusing what I did.

Tomorrow, when she wakes up, Laura will likely turn me into Ryan, who will then inform the Emperor of my treason. Without a question, I’ll be executed. Laura’s word is enough to convict me of anything.

My death, now imminent, is not what I am most afraid of. The thought that scares me the most—the thought that I can’t bear—is the thought of dying knowing that Laura will never understand why I did what I did.

Tonight is the only chance I’ll ever have to explain, and I have to do it. More than anything, I want Laura to know that my crime was committed out of no malice toward her or her family. Whether she decides to forgive me or not before I die, I want her to know that I cared.