Kings and Thieves

Chapter 31

**Sorry for leaving with that cliffhanger last time ;) I hope this makes up for it because y'all are about to find out some huge stuff!! yayyy**

Chapter 31

Ari prided himself on never being fazed. Life had downright smashed him over the head so many times that nothing really came as a surprise to him anymore. But honestly, this? He had not expected.

"What?"

Lyla didn't move. "He's not one of the royals," said she, slowly. "Is he... your brother... is he a Hapsburg?" She gaped at Jamie. "Are you a Hapsburg?"

Jamie's silence spoke volumes.

"We don't have time for that now." Aveline tugged on Ari's lifeless arms. "They led us here. We can hear them in the tent if we get closer! This could be our only chance. Ari."

He knew his first mate was right, but Ari couldn't seem to look away from Jamie. His mind was racing. What the hell was she talking about?! That boy with Tristran... was her brother? Did that mean she was an accessory to the kidnapping? A traitor?

Then why was she just sitting there and looking tearful? Ari just wished someone would sit him down and explain everything. But Jamie wouldn't even meet his eyes, she was crying— no, despite it all, he couldn't stand to see her crying-

Lyla reluctantly agreed. "Let's hide outside and listen in," she suggested. "I just found Tristran, I'm not letting him go. The other royals could be in there!"

Ari shook himself. "Fine. But this conversation isn't over." There was a small dip in the ground underneath a thick tangle of oak tree roots closer to the tent that Tristran had gone into, and Ari shuffled his companions towards it, pushing his own emotions aside. Compartmentalizing. He'd deal with everything else later.

Noises began to exude from inside the tent as Ari slowly made his way over, voices falling over each other and glasses clinking together.

It was a large and arbitrary structure; rather an extensive pile of persian fabrics draped somewhat adeptly on straightened tree branches nearby a group of small caves. Anywhere else, it was conspicuous; but the hideout was so far in the heart of the forest that Ari doubted anyone would have found it.

The sounds grew louder as they ducked behind the oak tree, and tucked neatly inside their little ditch of roots and branches, Ari could see into the makeshift tent through spaces in the quilts. Ducking his head further a bit more, he craned his neck to see into the room.

People clad in modest brown fabrics mingled together, speaking in low tones. The guards that had ushered Tristran in milled about, and Ari's heart sank as he spotted a vast pile of firearms in the corner. Lyla, who huddled beside him, took a rapid intake of breath.

"Those are the Hapsburgs," Jamie confirmed miserably. This time Ari didn't ask how she knew.

"And they're heavily armed," Eli muttered, stating the obvious. "We're dead."

Ari squinted closer at the people in the area.

Straightaway, he identified a definite distinction between the people. There were some adults, with hardened faces and graying hair and their hands skittering about restlessly on their thighs as if itching to grab at something.

But the other half of the space was younger, gentler; they wore hoods to cover frightened, darting eyes and unwrinkled foreheads. They huddled together and placed their hands on each other's backs, their palms uncalloused by labor.

"Lyla? Do you recognize any of them?" Ari inquired, but as the words left his mouth he realized he already knew.

They were the missing royals; Ari would bet his life on it.