Defy the Sun (Beware the Night #2) - Jessika Fleck Page 0,25

“No, really. When you walked in I was working to cut my bindings.”

“Because that worked for you earlier?”

“Well, my backup plan was to convince you to help me.”

“Good plan. Then what?”

“I’m going to act as if, beyond all odds, I somehow escaped the Lower. Fled the horrible Night. I’ll bring news of the Settlings, that I was going to be next so I had to act fast.” Dorian slows, eventually stopping, so we’re speaking face to face. “I’ll explain I was previously under the spell of the Lunalette, but it’s over now. She’s a traitor, and I see the error of my ways. That I’ll spend the rest of my life doing right by the Imperi because I owe it to the High Regent and my family and all of Bellona to be a loyal heir.”

Dorian crosses his arms over his chest. “Damn.” He shakes his head. “All right, your plan is much better than mine.”

But before I can press him on his plan, he’s climbing a ladder, ushering me up onto Bellona through a den.

It’s early when we exit the Lower, the Sun still pulling away from the horizon like the rind of a lemon. I’d guess morning bells rang an hour ago. Immediately, I recognize our location—not far from the market, surrounded by heavy tree cover, several large boulders.

Dorian brushes off his black pants, then hands me a small blade and a canteen full of water. “We have a spy in the palace, my sister, Bronwyn. She’ll send communication and vice versa.”

“How?”

“I don’t know the details yet—this is all very sudden. Hell, I’m still working out how to tell the Sindaco you somehow escaped my constant watch. Knowing Bron, you’ll understand when it happens.” He throws his hand out. “Find Veda, Nico. Get her back to us.”

I grip his hand. “I will.”

Dorian nods. “All right. You’re on your own, Heir.” And he starts toward the den, begins climbing back down the ladder.

“Wait!” I say, and he stops a few rungs down. “What if I was wrong … What if Raevald sees right through me? What if I’m too late?”

“I’d say you’re shit out of luck, but now’s probably not the best time to start second guessing yourself, eh?” Dorian motions toward the trees behind me.

I follow his sight to find an Imperi posting. The face staring back at me is unequivocally Veda’s. The eyes, the hair, even the splash of freckles over the bridge of her nose. I only scan the words: Execution or Offering? The fate of the Night’s famed Lunalette is ours. There are instructions on where to cast a vote along with a deadline of two days from now.

“Did you already know?” Except when I look back to the den, he’s vanished along with the door that’s camouflaged with moss and grass like the rest of the forest floor.

Jerk.

But there’s a smile itching at my mouth for the first time in as long as I can remember.

I’m home.

And Veda’s alive.

* * *

MORNING BELLS RING AND, almost instantly, the island awakens. Slowly, Bellonians leave their homes. Several shops at the market unhitch their doors. Several Imperi soldiers march past.

I wait for a clear shot to leave the cover of the forest, and the moment I step onto the main walkway, I notice two things immediately.

And these two things wipe the ghost of a smile clean off my lips.

The fencing around the market has been burned to the ground. All that remains is ash, a few slats still sticking out of the ground like jagged teeth. A new wall is being erected, and plastered upon it lies the second thing: my face.

BRING BACK OUR HEIR!

Quickly, I bound behind the trees.

Well, this is perfect. If Raevald’s been using my capture as war propaganda, morale fodder, then I’m going to play right into that. I wonder, did Dorian know?

Because …

If—if—I come back horribly beaten, but in spectacular fashion … Before all of Bellona and having escaped the Night … having somehow evaded the enemy … Raevald won’t be able to deny me my title. Not after so much has happened. And I’ll play into that too.

I made a mistake, High Regent … They tried to kill me, my lord … I was wrong and you were right to mistrust me, to punish me by forcing me to watch Veda’s Offering … I didn’t know she was a member of the Night … I’ve changed … I see the truth now … I want to learn the ways of the