Three days have passed since we rescued Silas from the castle. We're closing in on Arego, so close to arriving I can smell the salted air and faint tint of fish. I grimace at the thought of that being our only meal again; bread and cheese was something of a luxury while we had it. But no more.

Any experience with the king's soldiers has ended just as soon as it started. Only one group, no more than ten and no less than five—I didn't get an exact count—attempted attacking us on the second night. We made it out with minor wounds, mostly scrapes from branches hitting our faces while escaping. Whether through a distant call or our minds were playing tricks on us, we heard shouting in the woods once the king's men were dead in a circle around us. All from various wounds.

Running hadn't been my first choice. Silas's idea came before I could stop him, and when I whirled to explain to him that while taking our chance with speed increased the risk, we had powers to keep us from facing fatal blows; he was dashing through the trees and leaving us behind. The king's men traveled in packs, but we do too. In a way, I was glad to see him take initiative. Another part of me knew he was running so he didn't have to face his father again. The castle is a prison for all of us. Silas has faced enough, he's the least of us that wants to face the chances of being dragged back.

The woods kept our secret and when we finally stopped, collapsing on the ground, it took little effort for any of us to fall back asleep. Except Renit and Tesha; they kept watch while the rest of us warded off the exhaustion in our bones.

The two of them are a wall barricading us in and keeping others out. I would love to see the looks on their faces if I expressed to them just how alike they are. Defensive, willing to protect, and cranky to the bone. Their scowls to each other prove at least one point.

Renit still doesn't have access to my thoughts through the Grounding bond, I suppose I should be glad for that. Otherwise, I'd receive more glares than I know what to do with.

We've avoided the conversation we desperately need to have. Everyone has reached the point of overflowing, except for Silas, but the subject needs to be discussed. The rebels don't want to wait any longer than they have to. With the crown prince back on our side, we need to move. No more waiting. The next step, the goal we have strived for since the beginning, is for the king to fall.

Attacks will come from left and right; the rebels have prepared themselves for that. What they haven't anticipated is the sheer mass of those strikes and the possibility of them holding the king within the ranks. No, he wouldn't risk his head just for the sake of watching his sons and the rebels die.

We mean little to him, his blind soldiers mean less. Like handing out spare coins to the poor, he'll spend their lives while he sits on the throne and waits for reports.

It's not until midday, so close to Arego I can almost taste it, that Tesha clears her throat. Out of everyone to speak first, I expected it to be her all along. More than anyone, she has the strongest reputation for breaking through awkward tension.

I glare at her, but she purposefully avoids my eye. "Next step," she announces, clapping her hands together. She skips a rock nonchalantly. "What's the next step?"

"The next step was to take down the castle," Bren mumbles, quiet enough so Silas doesn't hear him.

The crown prince, like Renit, has been alive for over three hundred years. He has avoided his father's training for the most part, but one can only put them off for so long. Renit is the silent listener, Silas is the talker to interrupt that silence. He wouldn't be the crown prince if he couldn't pick out a quiet voice when he hears one.

Without looking at either of them, I say, "Our plan was never to take down the castle. Both of you know that. The plan was to get Silas out alive."

"If the snooty princess is sided with the king, I don't understand why that castle is still standing," Tesha barks. Her voice wavers to me, striking a nerve. I want to scream at her. How could she not recognize Silas's despair, him crying into my shoulder after we told him Avalie couldn't be saved? He was heartbroken, and if she didn't see that, if she didn't absorb that fact...

Renit huffs an annoyed breath through his nose. I don't know what side he's on, I couldn't care less, but I know he's indifferent. He wants the castle to fall and the king to go with it, but he never wanted to see his brother shed tears. As someone that constantly wears a smile on his face, it's strange for anyone to see Silas without one. If the castle falls, it's possible we never see a carefree smile on Silas's face ever again. Renit is silently fighting a battle in his mind over what is more important. The castle, or his brother.

The future—Silas's endless happiness—or his father's cruel teachings. Renit isn't used to making these decisions for himself, yet he must if he plans on being part of this rebellion and the new wave planned for this kingdom. He went to the right people when he desired to make things right for me, to restore my mind, but the tough decisions aren't over yet. He can't hand off all his problems for someone else to fix. Silas will be eternally in his care.

"The castle is still standing because there is a very important witch on the inside," I retort. I graze my hand against the rough bark of a tree and relish in the sting. Splinters dig into my skin, demanding I remain calm. "If we get her out, we have a chance of ending this quicker than we thought."

Through the silence at my back, I can imagine Bren and Tesha exchanging a look. I've lasted the least amount of service time in the rebellion, and never of them is content with me slipping into a leadership role before they realize that's what had come of me. Then again, I walk in the middle of two princes older than all of us combined. I don't know what else they expected. Power is drawn to the like.

Despite that, Tesha growls. "We just retrieved the important witch on the inside," she echoes. She extends a hand toward Silas's exposed back. He carries no weapons to defend himself against the king's men and resisted those we offered to him after the first wave. "We'll fail if we risk trying to find another. The king will be ready for us this time."

"She never said we were going back inside," Renit speaks for me, defense rising in his tone. "We're not heading back to rescue Avalie, but we're not taking down the castle either. There are other ways to go about this and a life like that can't go to waste. We must smarten our approach."

Next to me, Silas stiffens at Renit's blatant disregard for the cracked shell he has wrapped himself into. His brother just openly expressed our lack of a rush to save the woman he cares for, and through no fault of our own, her life is on the line. This is the most we can do. We can't allow Silas to go back on his own. We'll drag him to Arego and chain him if it comes to that.

"Is...there anything I can do?" Binx speaks up. Our steps slow, Renit's doing the same as my own as if we're hearing a ghost's voice in the wind rather than a witch's. "I still need to provide my services to the rebellion."

"Ah, illusion boy," Tesha sneers. "Finally deciding to make yourself useful, are you?"

I steal a glance at Binx over my shoulder. His face reveals no sign of amusement, he frowns at Tesha through Bren but stares straight ahead once he realizes that staring contest is one he won't win. Not with a human woman with more bow skills than someone of my lifetimes. Renit doesn't possess that skill and I have a strong doubt Silas does either.

Her training involved more rigorous regimens than the king gave to his sons. Bows weren't important. Snapping necks was.

I sigh. "Unless you have a death wish to go inside the castle underneath an illusion to clamp a titanium band against the king's wrist, there's nothing for you to do."

Immediately, as if silence will snatch the option before Binx can, he speaks words I never thought I'd hear leave his lips. Not in response to what I just said. "I'll do it. If that's what it takes, I'll do it."

I must stop. I grab Silas's arm for I know he won't stop by himself; he's likely not paying attention to the conversation at all. Lost in a world where Avalie is at his side, laughing and blushing at his jokes. I turn to face Binx; he stares at me straight on. "You realize that's a death sentence, right? You go in that castle; you don't make it back out. The king is prepared for you."

Binx looks to all the faces around him and silently searches for help. But no one gives it to him, they stare at the ground and let us battle it out in the middle of the woods. No one cares enough for Binx to rally a case around him; they'd like to see him try his hand at a grand disappearing act.

Crunching steps from further ahead disappear farther in the woods. The scouts have continued up ahead and are preparing themselves to enter Arego by nightfall. I hope we'll make it. "How do we know that for certain?" Binx's voice is steady but I know him well enough to spot the cracks in the foundation. His eyes tell all. Their innocence becomes even more so when he feels the slightest bite of fear. "How do we know the king has more witches of deflection?"

"If he doesn't have them now, he'll have them soon. He's not willing to risk that chance again, not after we took Silas."

"I don't...I don't want to disappoint anyone." Binx rubs at the sore muscles in the back of his neck. "I want to help. I always have."

Tesha huffs a sigh and tips her head back dramatically to stare at the blue sky above our heads. "You forced an illusion that made Roux hate us all. Needless to say, you've disappointed us greatly."

"That's in the past," Renit barks. Not what I expected him to say. Never once has he defended Binx, but maybe the reminder of me being under that illusion forces him to remember who got me out of it. "What we don't need to do is send Binx back to the castle alone—that's out of the question. What should be on our minds is getting back to Arego and creating a plan from there. We'll discuss is with Alaric and see about our forces. No one goes back to the capital, understand?" He arches a dark brow.

Tesha rolls her eyes but nods. Everyone else mutters something to the effect of understanding, even me, and Renit is walking back towards Arego without wondering if any of us are following him.

Once we're walking again and my shoulders begin to relax, she hammers the final nail into Silas's coffin. "I still don't understand why this witch in the castle is so important. That one life doesn't outweigh the king's," she complains.

Silas whirls, and my nails scrape the side of his sleeve before I can get a solid hold. Tesha's back slams against the dirt and Silas is atop her, nails digging into her throat. She gasps for air, attempting to kick him between the legs, but it's no use.

Bren is on him in a second, shoving him off, and Tesha sits up, rubbing at her throat with dirt-caked fingernails.

"What the hell?" she snaps. "Psychopath."

Silas huffs unsteady breaths. "Whenever the woman you care for is lost and scared for her life, remind me and I'll take down the building she's standing in. I'll kill her. Maybe then you'll understand what it's like to feel this way," he growls. Like the proper prince, he straightens out his tunic and stands, pushing past Renit before he can offer consolation.

I glance down at Tesha still sitting on the ground, rubbing her neck. That'll leave bruises. She doesn't have the immortal strength of witches, so Bren takes great care when examining her wounds. We don't have a healer, either. I have looked to Hallie too many times for that and amongst the scouts and the rest of the group we brought with us, nothing can heal the bruises. Not until we reach Arego and seek out the few healers we have. Not enough.

"Be careful of your words," I warn her. "He may not be under the king's influence any longer, but he's still his father's song. And like Renit, they have the tendency to break. Tread carefully."

Before Tesha can retort with a sassy remark, I jerk my chin at Binx and turn on my heel in the direction of Renit pushing back a tree branch to get to his brother. He attempts to reason, but Silas shakes his head. He has to stop trying to break through every layer of the shell the crown prince has built; sometimes things are strong and impenetrable so no one can get through.

Binx catches up to me and shoves his hands in his pockets. "When did everything become so complicated?" he asks.

"Remind me what day I told the rebels to kill the king. I suppose it happened around that time."

Binx scoffs. "Think we'll make it out of this alive?"

When I meet his stare, he's arching a brow at me and staring sidelong. I don't have a definitive answer for him, I can't tell him if our survival revolves around the king's success, but I can say that Binx's attitude to help is one I'm glad for.

"We may make it out," I say into a drawn-out sigh. "But we won't be the same."