The second town, Bimana, was mostly quiet when we entered, but the townsfolk were not hidden. We didn’t see as many guards. This time, I met with the town’s leader, a gentle man named Kenneth, and delivered my speech. He asked us to stay a day and, against Sybil and Haven’s antsy toe-ing, I agreed. It would be in our best interest to be in the good graces of as many people as we could. We compromised on Sybil, Haven, and Henry scouting ahead while we waited for the veterans from Torsen to catch up with us. In the meantime, the rest of our troops would take advantage of what might be our last opportunity of soft beds and warm meals.

I spend the first part of the night in Kenneth’s office. He’s an older man with weathered skin and a discerning eye. He has set Simon and I up in his home with his lovely wife. Their children had long since grown and they were happy to share in our company. Simon and I sit close together at the man’s desk while the smells of dinner cooking beneath us permeates through the plain, two storeyed home. “So tell me, Antonio, what is it you’re aiming to do?”

Simon leans back in his chair and surveys me from the corner of his eye. I sit straighter in my chair, nursing the mug of water that had just been given to us. “I’m building an army of sympathizers, the very people I put behind bars, to face off against my brother and reclaim my throne. I intend to make Led a safe place for necromancers and beastmen again.”

He nods, “That’s a pretty lofty goal, kid.”

“Is it?” I fold my fingers across one another. “I think the loftier goal was doing what I did three years ago.”

He smirks and lifts his own mug of water in cheers. “But this time, you’re starting with an army from scratch?”

I shake my head. “No, not from scratch. I imagine there’s hundreds of people in Led that would flock to the cause.”

Kenneth considers this and sits forward. “Without any opposition from the throne? Cainern backs King Herman with ten thousand men. With hundreds of people, that is barely enough to put up a fight.”

I think about what Via showed me a few days ago. I don’t want to mention the unknown: that I believe Herman is more likely to back down from the fight than to call on our father for backup. A lot of it is the de Cardenas pride I was innately familiar with; the other half was my suspicion of his brotherly affection, which from any general’s purview wasn’t reliable.

Beyond that, I didn’t want to deliver on falsities. I was going to do this right if I was going to do it at all, so instead I say: “You’re right. Which is why I need a strong, loyal following. Can you offer me that?”

His face gives away nothing as he holds my gaze. There’s no twitch of muscle by his eyes or flicker of his lips. “What are you offering my township in return?” He asks.

I smile. “What is more valuable than your freedom?”

“Is that a threat?” He doesn’t move, and his voice doesn’t fluctuate at all. He doesn’t seem offended.

I shake my head. “No. It’s a promise of liberation.”

“From your own policies?” An eyebrow finally quirks up, but he is steady.

“Exactly that.”

He folds his arms over his chest. “Why the change in heart? You invaded Led three years ago to enact those policies.”

I nod to Simon. “I made friends. I was shown a different way of life.”

“Sure, but what is holding you accountable to those policy changes if you reclaim the throne? Who am I to trust the same man that took away my people’s rights to live will rescind the very laws that took their lives away?”

I was expecting this–but even still, his words bite me deep inside. So many people have died because of me in the last few months – the last three years, in fact. All blood on my hands. While Herman’s policies did increase in volatility and severity, it was I who had enacted them in the first place. He was only following my lead and the governance of our father. Herman was only a puppet to the rule that was Cainern.

“You’re right. There’s nothing that I can firmly give you to trust me.” I tell him. “And a man’s word is worth nothing compared to his actions. If you lend your help, if only by two or three combatants, I can only offer my word that I will commit myself wholeheartedly to you and your people–and to the people of all of Led. And that is a risk you are going to have to take.

“I can’t offer the money in coffers I do not have. I can’t offer that we won’t go to war with Cainern–quite the opposite, actually. I can almost guarantee my return to the throne will plummet Led into a greater war than it has ever seen. But I do promise that we will be ready for the task.”

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Kenneth watches me carefully, and I feel Simon beside me hold his breath. I’m not unfamiliar with budding alliances. I’m not unfamiliar with making friends in strange places and making treaties. What I am unfamiliar with is doing so without any collateral. What I was selling was a dream, at best – ethereal and intangible. I had no right to expect this man to take me at my word without understanding the depth of my character.

The room fills with thick, molasses tension that settles over our shoulders and across the furniture. I hear Simon gulp. I control my breathing, I watch Kenneth, who is as steady as a cold, stone wall.

Finally, he breaks the tension with a laugh. “You have guts, kid. I like that.” He stands and shakes my hand.

I feel myself deflate a little, but I make no show of it, clasping his hand firmly. “I am sorry for your losses. That blood is on my hands, and I will atone for that my entire life.”

He pulls me a little closer to grasp my shoulder with his second hand. “I want to show you something, son.”

***

Kenneth leads Simon and I down through the kitchen, where his wife looks up and offers us careful smiles and promises of dinner being ready soon. Kenneth opens a panel in the pantry, revealing a staircase that disappears into the darkness. “What is this?” I ask. Kenneth passes us a smile and descends. Simon and I exchange a look that relays that neither of us is certain that this isn’t a trap. Simon takes a few steps ahead of me and disappears into the darkness behind our host. A few moments later, he returns and nods. I follow them back down into the cellar. Kenneth has already pulled aside a shelf and lit the accompanying, hidden room to reveal rows of cots and trunks, resembling a barebones clinic or hospital.

I raise an eyebrow.

“I hope you don’t mind the smoke and mirrors, Sire.” Kenneth’s lips quirk, amused. “Once we heard that the war was not going well for our side, and the former king did not raise a draft for our men, we knew it would only be a matter of time before Cainern would complete their invasion and we would be under its rule.” He gestured around and I took a closer step, peering into the room. He didn’t seem to mind my paranoia. “We started working immediately to make sure our people were safe.”

“Where are they?” I ask, noting the bare room.

“They go about their days as usual, mostly,” he tells us. “As long as there aren’t guards around. Once we had gotten wind that they were building an attack to meet you in the Pass, we’ve not seen anyone pass through these parts. It’s been a few days.” He gestures us back into the small cellar and picks up a vial from one of the shelves. “Glamour potions, even if our supply is dwindling. Most of our citizens are beastmen of some form. If we run out, they will reside here until we get more. Until then, this serves as a bunker for beastmen – a safe house, if you will, for people running away from your rule.”

I feel a warmth fill my body at the thought. “It’s brilliant.”

He nods. “So when I tell you that your policies carry blood, countless deaths of innocents–I want you to understand that it is true.” He gestures around us. “But we are a resilient people. We bide our time. We strike.” He crosses his arms over his chest and I turn to see the serious look in his eyes. “I know that you have nothing to offer us in return for our support, Antonio,” he says, using my first name. In another life, I would have been insulted at his disrespect, but in this life, I feel a different respect for it. Here, the man who addresses kings by first name. “And we will give our support, willingly, because we have been waiting for the opportunity to strike since you came to power three years ago. I will even gladly send word ahead so that you will find yourself well outfitted in men and in sword. We will supply you your army and weapons. Suffice to say: I am excited to send my men with you if it means that they are close enough to you.”

There’s a tone in his voice that makes me realize that he is threatening me. For just as I will have veteran soldiers accompanying me in my fight to return to the throne, so too does he have a dagger to my throat. I smile. It is exactly the outcome I hoped for. I offer my arm. “I’ll tread carefully, then.”

“Good kid,” he grasps my arm. The deal is made. “Let’s go get some supper, then.” He gestures us ahead of him up the stairs so he can close the hidden room and turn down the lights within. That night we eat, and we rest comfortably in beds. I share a room with Simon, stuck in the middle of my paranoia–and though we do not talk, I know that I trust him implicitly with my life, and he trusts me enough not to run me through in my sleep.

It isn’t until the next morning that I find out that nobody has seen Via since the day before.

Kenneth had set up an area for us to meet the troops he was giving to us in the grass just outside town, and they were now moving through training exercises. For such a small town, I was surprised that he was able to offer us another 50 men – many of whom are beastmen. Bimana was also able to outfit us with more swords and armor, which Simon was expecting and cleaning with some of the other troops, and fit some of the new and oldcomers before loading it all into wagons.

“Your Highness, the little one,” the soldier that approaches me is one of the fieldhands from Sybil’s farm. “We can’t find her anywhere.”

I frown. “Where did she spend the night last?”

He shakes his head, “To be honest, I’ve no clue.”

Another person steps forward, someone from Torsen. “With all due respect, your highness, traveling to war with a child…”

I ignore him and gesture across the way to Lasis. Their skull whips up from their inventory tallying and nods, stalking over to me. “Can you ask Sybil if Via is with her?” I ask, tiredly.

The skeleton nods and steps out of sight. While I was made aware of the speaking stones they and Sybil used to communicate over long distance, I didn’t want the rest of the army to be privy to them. They were a trump card I would like to keep as close to my chest as possible.

They return after a few minutes, note scribbled on their board already in hastily drawn chicken scratch: “Says yes, no signs yet.”

“Thanks Lasis, can you relay that we’re going to start marching their way tomorrow. We are still acquiring forces and allowing these troops to say their goodbyes before we move on to the next place. We’re going to be slowed down with all of the new men and wagons.”

Lasis nods and strides off. They don’t return, not that I expected them to. They understood well enough that it was all I needed from them.