logic. What was he doing anyway? He couldn’t figure his own mind. Was he going to arrest the council members? Would he kill them on the spot? He knew he couldn’t do that. There had been so much killing already. This would be done properly. They would be executed for their crimes, but not in secret and not on Dunarian soil. He would take them to Farlaweer. There they would be hanged in front of the entire kingdom. Any Human to take the side of the evil Stühocs would suffer the same fate. Death. Every time he thought about what he saw in the memory orb it just made him angrier. The fact that he had been used by the scoundrels to do their bidding was embarrassing to him. Kaden and Nalani had been used too. Even though Kaden had been their official leader, Holden somehow led the others against him in secret. The council as a whole was corrupt, and they were trying to gather all the medallions to use on Marenon’s Map below Jekyll Rock. With all of the medallions, they would be an unstoppable force that could crush an enemy without the need to recruit soldiers. And the map would be used to gain power instead of ridding the world of an evil enemy.
Julian knew that once they had their hands on all of the medallions, they would go after him first. He assumed that whoever led the four council members now would want to be the next king. That king would use the Erellens as a footstool and the Stühocs would become the slaves. Humanity wouldn’t be free either. They would be under the rule of a tyrant that would desire nothing but divine power. No one would be truly free.
The greatest enemy here was difficult to pinpoint. He obviously knew that the four who were left on the council were the enemies, but who led them? Was it Darius? He was a magnificent fighter and a great potential leader, but Julian couldn’t see him as a tyrannical king. Yet, he wouldn’t imagine Darius to so blatantly betray the Dunarians either, but Julian knew what he had seen in the memory orb.
While they set up camp, he pulled his old green wristband out from the saddlebag. Right now, it was more of a symbol to him than it was an actual useful object. With it he could contact any council member that also carried one. He could contact Kaden and warn him, but he didn’t want him to try and stop what was happening. He could contact Nalani and tell her how much he missed her, but he knew she didn’t miss him back. She was too busy working for the enemy without even realizing it. The thought made him want to vomit. He loved her and missed her touch. He hoped she was safe. He placed the wristband back into the saddle and went to sleep.
In the morning they set out again, fully awake and rested. Many of them were still sore from battle, but they had seen and been through worse. Julian avoided telling Robin too much of what he had seen in the memory orb. Robin did ask about how Daniel died and Julian told him the truth. Sort of. He told Robin that when he came up on Daniel, he was fighting the Stühocs and one of them slashed him through. It was the truth, though Julian left out the part about how he could have helped him. It didn’t matter now. The battle was over and lives would be saved because of Daniel’s sacrifice.
By late evening they came into view of Jekyll Rock. The sentry posted five miles from the city stood at attention and greeted the king with respect, even though it was still his duty to warn Jekyll Rock of anyone approaching. This was fine. Julian was not going in blindly and he would have a smile on his face. He would be welcomed with open arms. In the council’s minds there would be no way Julian could have figured everything out. They couldn’t be more wrong.
As they came into the city a while later, a host of soldiers greeted them. They were not hostile, but rather respectful to the unannounced king. Darius Umar and Dublin waited for Julian at the eastern gate, obviously confused about Julian’s visit.
“King Hobbes,” Dublin bowed. Julian couldn’t help but smile at the old man as his white tufts of hair bowed low with