“What did they do to you, Brandon?”
“They wanted to know where Rafe was,” Brandon groaned as he tried again to sit up. “But I didn’t tell them anything.” His voice was hoarse and his breathing was labored. I hoped he had not broken any ribs. “Oblek was not pleased, as you can imagine.”
I made a face at the mention of my old enemy. How I wished I could encounter him with my amulet off. One day I would, I promised myself.
“What did Lucian want?” Brandon asked.
“He asked me to marry him.” I laughed, despite the circumstances. I still found it absurd, although I could understand the motivation behind it. His offer had thrown me off guard.
Brandon’s eyebrows rose. “I can understand his eagerness. After seeing you, any man would be besotted.”
I felt bad I had gotten Brandon mixed up in my problems. “He thinks he can get the throne of Illiador through me,” I explained. “His loyalty to Morgana is waning. He wants more power, and Morgana is not going to give it to him.”
Brandon nodded. “On my way back from Andrysia, I came across a camp of rebels who call themselves the Silver Swords.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
“Not many people have. They are a secret group of men and women who are opposed to Morgana’s rule. They live in the forests of Illiador away from the towns and the capital. Although I cannot say how true this rumor is,” Brandon paused, “there has been talk of Morgana looking to replace Lucian as archmage.”
“That’s why the sudden offer of marriage happened,” I said, my brain churning with this information. “If what you say is true, then Lucian must be desperate. He will have his own agenda now, and that makes him more dangerous, because we don’t know what he is planning.”
“There is something else. I heard Oblek’s guards talking when they thought I had passed out. Captain Gerard thinks they came here to find and rescue the prince, but Lucian plans to kill Rafe on Morgana’s orders.”
I gasped. Kill Rafe! I had to warn him. But how? It was too late—Santino had betrayed us, and Lucian was already on his way to find him. “I thought you said we could trust Santino, but he gave us up the first chance he got.”
Brandon shook his head. “I don’t understand it. Santino may be a pirate, but he is also a man of his word. If he agreed to take you to Brandor, he would never give you up to Lucian. There must be something more to this.”
The cellar door opened, casting a beam of light on the wooden floorboards. Captain Gerard walked down the stairs and stopped before me.
“Is it true?” His voice was brisk. “Is Lucian planning to kill the prince?” He looked at Brandon.
Brandon nodded. “Yes, it’s true.”
“Then there is no time to lose,” he said quickly, glancing at me. “Get up! We have to get out of here before the archmage returns.”
I was stunned, but only for a second. Was he helping us? I pushed myself up hurriedly—if Captain Gerard was going to get us out, I was not going to argue. But I still had questions.
“Why help us?” I asked, as he drew a knife from his belt and slit the ropes that bound my hands behind my back. I rubbed my wrists as the blood flow returned.
I moved over to assist Captain Gerard with Brandon.
“My main concern is Prince Rafael’s life,” said Captain Gerard as he went to work slicing the ropes binding Brandon.
“And you believe I didn’t kidnap him?”
“I do now,” said the red-haired captain of the Blue Cloaks. “The prince came to me and told me you are innocent and that he left the palace of his own accord to help you.”
“But how will we leave? We have no ship. Santino has betrayed us.”
“My prince has informed me the pirate’s ship is ready to take you to Brandor.”
“But the meeting with Lucian?” I asked, confused.
“A ruse to get the archmage out of the mansion,” said Captain Gerard. “The pirate Santino has not betrayed you. He is working with Prince Rafael to lure Lucian away from here and give you enough time to escape to the ship.”
I smiled. I knew Rafe would come up with a plan. He hadn’t forgotten me here. It was also a great relief to know Santino was still loyal, and he was waiting for us with his ship ready to sail. At least now I had some hope of getting out of this alive.
“Thank you for helping us,” I said sincerely, placing my hand on Captain Gerard’s arm. He was a good man and Rafe trusted him, which was good enough for me.
The red-haired captain nodded. “Now that the Blackwaters are ruling the council and Silverthorne has been imprisoned, Prince Rafael needs to go back, or he will lose his throne.” He paused and drew his brows together. “But he won’t go until he has seen you to safety. So that is what I am going to do.”
Hearing the worry in Captain Gerard’s voice made me realize how selfish I had been all this time. When Brandon advised me to convince Rafe to go back to Eldoren, I did so half-heartedly. I should have been more insistent. I hadn’t realized how bad things were for Rafe. All this time I had been concerned only about myself and my quest to find my mother, when I should have been thinking about the bigger picture. Rafe had a kingdom of his own to protect, and my selfishness could cost him his throne.
“We must go, there is no time to waste.” Captain Gerard helped Brandon up and put his arm over his shoulders.
“I can heal him. He won’t get far in the state he is in.” I didn’t want Brandon’s injury to jeopardize our
