Renit is sleeping when I arrive back in the cell. He lays on his back, using the limp satchel as a pillow. When I brush my hand against his forehead, checking for a fever, he doesn't stir. Good. He doesn't need to be awake for the argument happening up on the ground.

"I don't trust her."

"I was promised revenge."

"Why should we believe her? She can run right to the king and tell him the truth."

All voiced by Tesha. She keeps her voice down but I can still hear every word. I can only hope she quits soon if Renit decides to wake and ask me what happened. I cannot provide the truth nor do I want to if it means we're one step closer to bringing him back home. I can't allow him to die here, despite Tesha's wishes.

Bits of Akeno's argument have come in as well, a much softer voice in respect to my wishes.

"Silas will be a good king. I've seen that to be true."

"Many of the other rebels are agreeing with this plan, you should too."

That one earned a scoff from Tesha and something like her kicking her boot against a rock to send it skittering down the stairs. She wants the prince to know so this plan won't work. Tesha needs more than revenge—she craves blood.

An argument between the three of them took much longer than I wanted it to. But eventually, Bren spoke up and said this is the plan they were going with, the simplicity being their driving force. If they can get their hands on the king, secretly, then Silas won't be able to hunt them down in the end.

This may cause Renit to hate me forever. If he finds out I was the one that devised this plan then he might kick me out of the kingdom entirely. The king has done terrible things and although Renit said he didn't love his father, that doesn't mean he's not loyal to the crown. And the crown he has to protect.

Once Tesha is silenced, the rebels are quiet again and before long, the entire world is slow-moving as they sleep for the night. I too find myself underneath the wraths of sleep, huddling next to Renit so he'll stay warm down in these dungeons.

The healer didn't come today. She didn't heal more of his infection. I toss and turn, listening for her, but she doesn't arrive. The quiet soul with wide eyes and gentle hands doesn't secretly make her way down the stairs until the middle of the night—after I'd long given up on seeing her face.

Her eyes dart nervously back and forth, from us to the stairs and the night beyond. She carries fear with her like a ghostly acquaintance and when her hands shake as she unlocks the cell door, I know something is wrong. Something is different tonight. She's unattended.

This is it. We're getting out of here. Tonight.

I shake Renit's shoulder gently, ushering him to wake so she can heal him. With a grunt and a quick squeeze of his eyes, he's awake and looking around, puzzled. "It's time for your healing," I whisper so no one hears. Did she act alone or was this Bren's doing? Her caution don't provide an answer, it could be either way.

Renit sits up, his back against the wall and his legs spread out before him. The healer, without saying a word, kneels at his injured side and begins working quickly. On the back loop of her belt, three keys hang. My heart skitters in my chest.

With Renit distracted, groggy and still waking, I take the three keys and stuff them into the pocket of my tunic. Two keys for our titanium bands and one for the cell door in case it locks and we're somehow trapped in here again.

She takes longer this time, healing every last bit of the injury. I don't bother meeting her eye, a silent thank you written on my face, because I don't know how she will fare after this. If Tesha wasn't involved in this plan, this healer may be using her magic one last time. Is that why she's nervous? Or is she naturally as scared as a wounded animal?

Slowly, her white light fades and she stands on shaken knees to depart the cell. "Thank you," I blurt. She turns to me, barely a shift of her lithe body, and nods. "Thank you for healing him."

Renit furrows his brows. He doesn't know he's completely healed yet. And before he can figure it out, the healer darts through the cell door and shuts it behind her. A click doesn't sound but Renit doesn't notice as he's too busy rolling his shoulder back and forth to care. The soreness will linger, masking the complete heal, but his wound is gone.

I nearly squeal in glee at the sight of his new skin, fresh of the tattoos and the bloodied wound that had plagued him for so long. He's Renit again, strong and wild and free. The healer's quiet steps linger in the empty dungeons and I wait a few minutes, until Renit is drifting off to sleep again, to unlock the band around my wrist.

He hears the click that time. And his mouth falls open as the titanium band drops to the ground, in that sodden straw, and my power rushes through me. It slams against my innermost walls, singing about the wake, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I needed you back, old friend.

"We're getting out of here," I whisper.

"What—How—" Renit stutters.

I grab his wrist and unlock the band from around his tanned skin. Along with his freedom comes the smell of rain and smoke, rushing through the cell and clogging it like an invisible wave. The prince smiles, a genuine smile, and rubs at the raw skin where the band had dug in. "Don't ask any questions," I order. "We're getting out of here and that's all that matters."

A startled laugh escapes his throat and he brings himself to his feet, moving towards the cell door. "The healer?" He speculates, silver eyes bright.

I don't have the courage to tell him that I was likely meant to find those keys, the healer meant to leave the cell door unlocked so we could escape. Instead of telling him the truth, I nod and whisper, "Seems the young girl had a change of heart."

Renit slowly opens the door and slips through so it doesn't creak. If he would have opened it any more, the rusted hinges would have released an unsettling moan—the same as the one provided by the healer when she came in. She hadn't been careful then.

To have Renit on this side of the bars is a breath of fresh air. "Leave the rebels out of it. No killing sprees, nothing. We are to flee, on foot, back to the castle. Don't stop for anything," I order.

Renit glares at me. "I'm not as foolish as you think," he barks. So much for all the time I spent healing him. But did I really expect his gratitude?

He makes his way up the stairs first with me following closely behind. I stuffed the titanium bands into my pocket, in case we had to use them for later—if Tesha decides this plan wasn't going to be one she was keen on agreeing with.

Renit peeks his head into the night and takes a gulp of fresh air. I breathe in his scent, every last bit of it, and he reaches back for my hand. I allow my fingers to slide through his and we emerge in the night, stars overhead, the moon beams breaking through the cracks in hugging branches.

The rebels are slumbering, huddled together next to a dying fire. No sign of Bren, Akeno, or Tesha. My heart aches knowing I won't say goodbye to my childhood friend. After this, we may never see each other again, thus if something goes wrong in the flower meadows, he could die. It's possible the king will be more prepared for the attack we have planned, him and his soldiers against an army of blood-thirsty rebels.

Ducking down close to the ground, we make careful steps through the trees and brush. Leaves and twigs crunch underneath our boots so we vary our steps, carefully searching for spots of dirt that are unscathed against the tips of our toes.

No one wakes and no one stirs. The only sound is the crackle of the fire and the hoot of an owl in the distance, sending warning calls to the rebels down below. But they will not know what those warnings are for, that their entire mission is fleeing back to the castle. I will not betray them, the plan we agreed in is the one I will follow—even if Renit gets in the way. His forgiveness is worth much less than the future of the entire kingdom. I cannot revolve my life around him caring for me or beginning to tolerate my existence.

The kingdom needs someone to make a change and I have access to the king without the threat of danger. Bringing his son back will woo him, even if he didn't want him back before.

Renit leads me through the trees, moving as swift as a snake. He knows exactly where to step, how to move, what routes to take to clear the trees and the twigs that will snap underneath our boots. I step where he steps, holding back my squeal of excitement as we disappear underneath the stars.

It's not until we're clear of the tree line that I let myself take a breath. Renit slows, his hand still clamped around mine, as we both realize that we made it. We escaped and the prince will be free to go back home.

"We should have grabbed weapons," he whispers, looking back at the slumbering rebels.

I clamp my free hand around his wrist. A different form of a band. "We don't have time. If someone catches us, they might throw us back in the dungeons. We'll make it without weapons," I plead with a calming tone. If he notices something is amiss, he might stop to make sense of it.

Renit offers one last look at the rebels, a look of disappointment, and ushers me forward. I don't want to know if he looked back to wish he got to kill someone or because of the loss of those weapons. But we'll make it without them, I know we will.

"We're to stay off the trail," I tell him. "No guards, no soldiers. We're to stay hidden until we arrive back at the castle."

"Right." He nods. "We don't want to find ourselves in the same situation as we already were. Come on, let's get out of here before someone wakes."

His grin sends a leap of excitement through my insides and his grip tightens in mine. Tugging me along, Renit breaks into a jog and before long, Fosux and the rebels are merely an afterthought as the empty kingdom—freedom—spreads out before us.