Tarus’s parents, still in mourning for their younger son who had died after being forced to fight in the battle for the Auranian palace, received him with tears in their eyes and words of gratitude toward Jonas and his friends.
After a full week of travel to and from Paelsia, Jonas, Felix, and Lysandra returned to the village of Viridy, and they went immediately to the Silver Toad. After several nights of sleeping outside under the stars and braving the elements, Jonas decided they’d stay at the inn for the night.
“This is because of me, isn’t it?” Lysandra said outside her room. “I don’t need a soft bed and a roof over my head. I don’t need to be pampered.”
Jonas disagreed. Although she’d been making a valiant effort, he knew it would take her much more time to move past her ordeal in the dungeon.
“Speak for yourself,” he said. “You might not feel like a little pampering, but I do. So we’re staying, no more argument. Just try to get some sleep. I’ll check on you later.”
He closed the door and descended the staircase to the tavern, which was currently deserted. The owner, a man named Galyn, wasn’t here tonight, but his white-haired father, Bruno, was behind the bar, rubbing it vigorously with a cloth.
Felix sat at the same table they’d occupied back on the Day of Flames, when they’d recruited Petros to their cause. Jonas wasn’t sure what had become of the boy after the attack, but he hoped never to cross paths with him again. Irresponsible fool.
“Sleeping beauty’s doing well?” Felix asked, his hand curled around a tankard of ale.
Jonas nodded. “As well as can be expected.”
“Good. Sit down, we need to talk.”
Jonas sat down in a hard chair facing his traveling companion and braced himself for the conversation he had been dreading for some time. “What is it?”
“You know what it is. Her. She’s a liability.”
And there it was. What had remained unspoken between them for their week with Tarus had finally risen like the stench of a rotten potato. “You’re wrong.”
Felix took on a grim expression. “Look, I know she’s important to you. But she’s broken, Jonas. Whatever happened to her in those dungeons . . . she’s no good to us.”
Jonas’s insides tightened. “The king forced her to watch as her older brother’s head was hacked off. Do you know anyone who could recover immediately from something so horrific? She’s grieving, even if she refuses to admit it. She needs more time to heal and recover.”
“And just how long do you plan to give her?”
Jonas knew Felix was impatient, but he had to understand that Lysandra wasn’t just any rebel. She was his friend. And she was an asset, she just hadn’t been given a chance to show it yet. “As long as it takes.”
Bruno approached their table, gripping tankards in both hands. “Brought these over for you, boys. On the house! My son admires everything you’ve done for the rebels, and that’s worth some free ale in my opinion. Anyone who’s devoted his life to killing the king is aces in my book!”
Jonas looked up at him, slightly alarmed. “Thanks?”
The smiling barkeep set the tankards on the table and slapped Jonas’s back. “Any time, son. Any time!”
He retreated to the bar without another word.
“Do you think he would have said all that if we weren’t the only ones in here?” Felix asked.
“I would hope not.”
“That makes two of us. But back to the subject at hand.” His paused. “The night we met. Remember it?”
Jonas nodded. “Vividly.”
“I never told you, but I made a major decision in my life that night. A major shift in my goals. I thought to myself, I have the chance to help the infamous Jonas Agallon kick arse and change the world. Change the world, Jonas. But so far, what have we done other than rescue a couple of rebels and walk a great deal?”
“We’ve done much more than that.” Jonas took a gulp from his glass, trying to swallow down his annoyance along with the strong, bitter ale. What was Felix getting at, bringing up his past for the first time since they’d met?
“And now it seems that your big plan is to wait around for the king to stroll out of his palace and offer you his neck. Genius.”
Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “Thanks so much for reminding me of my shortcomings. You don’t think I already feel like a failure after everything that’s happened?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking.”