Soul (Chaos #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Brendan stared at me during breakfast. I had lost my concern over eating fae food, but the way he was looking at me left me uneasy.

"Did you poison this or something?" I demanded, glaring at him.

He laughed. "Not today. I'm just thinking about something."

"Spit it out already. You're making me uncomfortable."

"Do you wish I hadn't told you?"

I looked down at my food, knowing immediately what he meant. "A part of me wishes I didn't know, but all of the missing pieces help me understand. I'm not as angry with my dad, but now I feel like I've new people to hate. And I..." I shook my head.

"What is it?"

"I know more than before, but I'm more lost than ever. I still feel like I don't know where I come from. Everything in my life has been part of some pretty big lies, and I can't find my place anymore."

"You're the same person you were when I met you." He cocked his head. "No, not exactly the same. But I wish I hadn't told you. I had forgotten how much pain humans were capable of. And yet, you seem to be coping well now."

I hoped I didn't look as guilty as I felt. "I put a pin in it until all of this is over. I can't deal with it right now, so I'm going to try not to think as much about it until we're done here."

"What will you do after this?" he asked.

"I don't know. Depends on... how everything works out, right?"

"Of course. You may need to speak today, Cara. Are you ready?"

"No, but I'll get on with it."

Realtín and Grim came over and interrupted us. "There are children in Sadler's camp," she squealed. "We saw them, but they're constantly watched."

"Do you know if the right child is there?" Brendan asked.

"No," Grim said. "We can look again."

"An opportunity might present itself at a better time," Brendan replied. "We should prepare ourselves. Get Cara ready in case she's needed. I need to discuss something with Arlen."

He left the tent, and Anya and Líle came in and sat with me. They picked at my breakfast as they filled me in.

"Sadler has too many warriors with him," Líle said. "He's ready to go out the hard way, I think."

"Let him," I said, shivering. "What happens today?"

"The Provings are traditionally quick affairs," Grim said. "It gives each candidate a chance to allow others to speak for them, to prove themselves in ways not born out of violence or talent. Tonight, there will be a vote, and we will lose a few candidates."

"But Brendan will get through, right?"

"Right," Grim agreed. "His claim is too strong to be usurped by so many lesser fae."

We speculated for a while before being brought to Brendan's side out in the open green. Again, all of the candidates but Sadler sat around, surrounded by their supporters. One by one, each candidate announced how they would begin their Proving.

The first spoke for himself, a long-winded but charming speech about how the time was ripe for change.

"A noble effort," Brendan said. "But he will likely be the first to go."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Watch the fae who don't stand too close to one candidate or another. Their reactions are the most telling. It's a game of votes, and all of the most important fae are split. The others, the ones with no official loyalty, are the ones who will change everything."

I did as he said, watching them as tales of great deeds were told. I almost fell asleep as the day lengthened. There would be no break until all had had their say.

Sadler's man stood. "There will be no theatrics today from the greatest potential leader that ever there was. You all know who should rule, the same man who should have ruled many years ago. Sadler is older now, and wiser. He has watched the downfall of many kings and queens, and his royal bloodline speaks for itself. We have fallen off the path, the true path, and we will be blessed by the Mother once again if Sadler is given his rightful place as king of our people."

I flinched at the cheering and glanced at Brendan. He didn't look worried, but his jaw was tense.

An ancient-looking little man stood for Brendan. "You all know me as the sage. I have witnessed and scribed many important events. This is likely the last. The Nether calls me, but there is one thing I must do first: restore the rightful king to the throne. He was but a boy when he was betrayed. Now he stands a new man, surrounded by free souls who-"

"A man who can't control his own subjects," Sadler's man scoffed.

The sage blinked rapidly, yanking at the collar of his tunic. "As I said, now he... now he stands a new man-"

Sadler's man pointed at Brendan. "With only a doddering fool to stand for him. What kind of a king would he make if he can't even keep his servants?"

Furious, I jumped to my feet. "The kind of king who doesn't need to threaten and abuse to gain loyalty. The people at his side choose to be there. They don't have to. He isn't hurting them, isn't forcing them. They're standing with him because they know he's the right choice, the only choice if-"

"Silence your human lamb," Sadler's man said, laughing. "Carry on, scribe. We're enraptured, waiting for the end of your speech."

Brendan stood, his hands in his pockets. "I think all that's needed to be said has been heard. What's important is that I am the only one powerful enough to control both courts, and I am the only one to say that all fae are important in the eyes of a king. Carry on. I am happy for the vote to be held."

The other candidates and their companions cheered, everyone eager for the day to be over. We feasted again, a mass of laughter and dancing and food, until dusk fell. The voting began.

I sat and watched everyone vote, even my friends. My heart remained in my chest.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to Brendan. "Did I screw it up for you?"

"No," he said. "It played out as it should have."

"Are you worried?"

He shrugged. "Not today. This is but the first test."

The voting went late into the night. Four candidates were dropped, but nobody was told what order the rest of the candidates ranked.

I went back to Brendan's tent, where he doubted even Sadler would dare come for me. "How do you think you did?" I asked him.

"I can't tell," he replied, coming over to lie next to me. He leaned on his arm and stared at me, the flicker of light making his features look harsher.

"Tomorrow's the fight," I said, feeling my heart constrict. If Brendan died, Drake died, I died, we all died. Sadler would pick us off, one by one.

He rolled over and lay on his back. "It is. They'll pit us all against each other, but Sadler will have a champion. He had one daoine sídhe. Perhaps he has another lying around."

"But you'll win, right?"

"I'll do my best. If it looks as though things will go badly, Arlen has been instructed to get you all out of here. You will go quickly and quietly and hide out until things calm down."

"Are you scared?"

"Kings are never scared."

But when I laid my head on his chest, I could feel his racing heart. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly to him, as if drawing comfort. Whatever I'd had with Drake still echoed between Brendan and me, and we had begun to roll with it rather than analyse what it meant. If I could give him comfort, I would. He had been there for me when I fell apart.

Drake hadn't.