Fireblood (Fireblood 1)

I raise my eyebrows, vexed.

He sighs. “I promise. No harm will come to you. You have my word.”

“That’s not good enough. From your own admission, you’ve lied to many people.” I eye him.

He matches the intensity of my glare. “You have my word on my parents’ lives, no one will hurt you.”

My face scrunches. “I thought your parents were…” I trail off. It’s still ingrained in me not to speak of the Taken. “I thought they were dead.”

“In a sense, they are. But in another, they are very much alive.” His face hardens. “Do you want the truth or not?”

I take his hand, and he pulls me atop Fireblood. “I do.” I have to know what he means about his parents. I’m probably making the biggest mistake of my life. I’ll probably not return alive. Either way, there’s no going back to my life unchanged. I have to take the chance.

I have to know the truth.

He turns his head toward me and smiles, like he knew my choice all along. “Then let’s go.”

I latch my arms around him. “First, tell me where we’re going.”

He kicks her sides, and Fireblood takes off. Through the whistling in my ears, he says, “The Rebel camp.”

SEVENTEEN

It’s the first time in nearly a week I’ve been this far away from Court, and my hands tremble. It feels much longer. I wrap my arms tighter around Devlan. Fireblood slows to a steady trot as we enter another dense section of the forest.

Certain things about Devlan are becoming clear. His dialogue, for one. I noticed he’d slip into more modern speech—something my father did at times—when we were alone. My father warned all the time to be cautious of this. Though he’d sneak me books from the old world, I was never to speak the way the characters did.

What if this camp has books and others things, like movies or clothes, that my father told me still exist? A place against the rule of King Hart. Maybe I’ll learn of things my father refused to explain for fear of being accused of treason.

We move slowly through the forest, creeping through the thick brush, and too many questions fill my head. I have to pace myself.

I remember thinking Devlan was jealous of Sebastian. My assumptions for all his strange behavior couldn’t have been further off. While I was right to toss aside the thought he could have romantic notions for me, I could’ve never come to the conclusion he was scouting me to be part of his Rebel mission.

I shake my head. The idea of me…me lurking around the castle like some spy, like one of the characters I’ve read about in my banned books. I almost laugh out loud, the thought is so preposterous.

“Will you answer me something else?” I ask Devlan.

“I can try.”

“Did you truly believe I could carry out your crazy mission?”

He’s quiet a moment. “Yes. And I still believe you can.” He adjusts the reins in one hand so he can rest the other on his thigh. “I wouldn’t have been spending so much time training you to ride, prepping you to use your mind and body to be aware of things, if I didn’t feel you were worth the investment.”

My stomach sinks. I’m nothing but an “investment” to him. Does he even see me as a real person w

ho could lose her life? Or am I only a chess piece to be maneuvered? “Well, you’re sadly mistaken. Not that I’m not humbled by your flattery of my talents.” I roll my eyes behind his back. “But you’ve given me no reason to risk my life for your cause.”

“Trust me, Zara,” he says, and it’s still strange hearing my name from his lips. “You will be given plenty of reason by this night’s end.”

I allow him to think so. I can’t argue in the middle of the woods from the back of a horse. After he unveils this big secret, I’ll graciously decline his offer of an early death and try to figure out what to do next.

Recalling his words to me at the meadow, I toss them around my head, then piece them together again. I don’t understand what taking down the barrier will accomplish other than possibly making our life worse than it is inside Karm. Since their falling-out, maybe Devlan has learned nothing of Sebastian’s hidden desires to change things. I wonder if I could convince Devlan that I can sway Sebastian’s rule. If he believes I can become close enough in order to get near King Hart, surely he’ll trust that I can convince Sebastian to make things better in the kingdom. That seems a more logical plan than taking down the barrier so everyone suffers.

If I can’t convince him, how am I going to face Sebastian knowing that his first knight, the person he trusts more than anyone, is plotting against him? How can I look Sebastian in the eyes knowing that one day Devlan could turn on him? For now, the Rebels want King Hart, but soon Sebastian will be King and will have the knowledge they seek. It will only be a matter of time before they plot against Sebastian.

A shiver shoots through my body. No matter how arrogant and vain Sebastian is, he’s not deserving of me working with the Rebels to destroy him. I can’t be a part of this.

Before my mind can swallow me whole, consumed with dark, impossible thoughts, Devlan lays his hand over mine. “Hold tight.”