Clash of Captains

Chapter 16

Devyn managed to restrain herself until she had shut the cell door, departed the dungeons, and walked as quickly as she could down the stronghold's main hall without drawing attention to herself. And then, finally alone just outside the stronghold, she let out a loud, screeching groan of pent up anger and frustration.

Balling her fists, Devyn raced across the lawn, her sword — safely in its sheath at her side — bumping against her hip and thigh. She ran until, lungs heaving painfully for air, she slid to a stop at the edge of the bordering woods. There, she stared longingly at the trees, her hands twitching open and closed. Then she sank into the grass, lying on her back and staring up at the late afternoon sky.

She watched as the grey clouds drifted lazily past overhead, clumping into grand shapes, as she tried to get her breathing to slow. That one looks like a rabbit, she thought to herself in vague amusement. And that one looks a little like a drove of dragons. Devyn found herself thinking of the large groups of wild dragons that flew across the sky just before the turn of spring. She could practically hear the loud drumming of wings echoing across the bitterly cold sky. One year, Devyn and Twyl had flown up to fly with one of the droves, and the wild dragons had moved aside to let them join, not seeming to mind that one of them was not like the others. The longer the memory lingered in her mind, the more Devyn yearned to be anywhere but her current position. What in the name of the shadow god have I gotten myself into? Everything was crashing down around her. Nothing seemed certain anymore.

"Woah there," a voice suddenly cried, and Devyn jumped into a sitting position, her heart set off racing again. She let out an annoyed sigh of relief as she recognized the face of Rhona. As they sank into a cross-legged sitting position beside her, Devyn rolled her eyes.

"I almost stepped on you," Rhona told her bluntly, letting out a low chuckle. They gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. "So, why is your lazy ass lying here like a wet rag?"

Devyn scoffed. "It's nothing. Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in the healers' tent?"

Rhona pushed their wire-framed spectacles further up their nose with one tan finger. They shrugged, smiling crookedly at their friend. "I just needed a break, so I decided to go on a short walk." After they trailed off for a moment, their smile widened suddenly to reveal a flash of bright white teeth. "And, of course, there aren't nearly as many newly wounded soldiers to care for, now that you've ingeniously captured Ledah's captain."

"If that was supposed to be a compliment to make me feel better, it worked." Devyn admitted, rolling her dark eyes again. She sank back down, propping herself up on her elbows. Rhona joined her after a bit.

"I happened to pass by the chancellor's throne room on the way from the medicine tent. The door was open."

The young woman suddenly felt wide awake. She straightened up, shifting to face her friend. If the door was open... "What did you see?"

Rhona shook their head, running their hands through their deep brown hair. While Devyn hadn't bothered to observe them closely upon their arrival, too caught up in her own thoughts, she now noticed that Rhona had abandoned their usual bun in favor of letting their earthy brown locks cascade freely. "I didn't see anything. But... I did hear something." They hesitated, an apologetic smile on their lips. "You're not going to like it, Devs."

She let out a groan, followed by a humorless laugh. "Just... Just tell me what you heard, will you?" She chewed worriedly on the inside of her cheek.

"Fine. Just don't be angry with me if you don't like what you hear. You asked for it. And remember: I'm just the innocent messenger in this situation." They feigned a helplessly pitiful expression, sticking out their bottom lip and holding a hand dramatically to their heart. Devyn fought the urge to laugh — Rhona may have been many things, but they sure as hell weren't innocent.

"Go on."

Rhona winced a bit, as if the words were painful to repeat, before taking a breath and shutting their eyes, releasing their next words in a single rush. "The chancellor was talking to one of his friends or guards. He said that he wants to talk to the prisoner himself. He says he has something to offer her, some sort of deal she can't possibly pass up on."

Devyn raised an eyebrow. Whatever she had been expecting her friend to reveal... It wasn't this. She had assumed the chancellor would mention something about her shaky hold on her position, how she was being tested in interrogating the captured Ledian captain. This felt almost infinitely worse.

"Why— why would he say that? He can't... He can't just not tell me about his plans to do something like that, right? I'm his lead captain, for Nyswell's sake." She clenched her hands into fists until she felt the familiar bite of her nails piercing the skin of her palm. The pain helped to ground her, and she shut her eyes and forced herself to take calming breaths. A hand settled on top of hers, warm and sure, and she hesitantly relaxed her clenched fist.

"Look, Devs," Rhona murmured. As Devyn opened her eyes, her friend's hand slipped gently off of hers. She saw that Rhona had their other hand raised in a halfhearted 'I didn't do it' expression. "That's all I know. I just happened to overhear it when I passed by. I could have listened in for longer, but... well, y'know."

I do know, Devyn thought, internally sighing in defeat. Rhona didn't want to risk losing their position as Dreg's most trusted healer, one that they had worked so hard to achieve. Devyn had no reason to be mad at them for it; the fact that they had managed to overhear this information at all — and had bothered to pass it on — was extremely fortunate for her.

She sucked in another breath, waiting for a moment before she spoke to ensure that her voice wasn't shaky. "I know. I know. Thank you for telling me." She only remained lying there for a second more before she burst onto her feet and glanced up in the direction of the stronghold. Devyn took one more breath, then stormed off.

"Hey! Wait! What are you doing?" Rhona cried, stumbling into a standing position. They moved into a jog to catch up with Devyn.

The young woman shrugged, her gaze fixed determinedly on the doors of the stronghold ahead of her. "I'm going to set things right."