The Runner (Part I of the Runner Series)

Chapter 28

"To who?"

"To me. Well, not to me, exactly. To the Runner."

"Why would the Princess give you a letter for the Runner?"

"Because she thinks I know someone who can deliver it to her. She wants the support of the commoners and needs the Runner to endorse her. She wants to be queen."

His brow wrinkles in confusion. "You're going to have to catch me up."

I explain as best I can the newest developments, trying with some effort to cover all of the details and not get ahead of myself in my excitement. When I'm done, I hand him the letter, standing up and pacing the room while he reads silently.

"Well?" I demand, when I can no longer stand to wait.

He holds one finger up in response and I return to pacing; eventually, I stop at the window and pull myself up onto the ledge, leaving my legs to dangle inside the room. I tap my heels against the wall restlessly, staring at his dark head bent over the paper.

Just when I think I will go mad with impatience, he finally puts the paper down on the table, leans back and looks at me thoughtfully.

I raise my eyebrows. "So?"

"This does change things." He scratches at his chin as he thinks.

"She wants to be a part of this," I point out. "I thought you would be pleased."

"I am pleased, but I'm trying to work out where we go from here." He drops his hands, but the pinched line between his brows remains. "Now we have another element to contend with. We need to get the Princess out of the Palace before we launch an attack. Not only that, but we have to get this letter out to the masses, rally support for her and, at the same time, keep her intentions totally hidden from the Court."

"Sounds simple enough," I say, sarcastically. "What's the problem?"

"What do you plan on doing with this?" he asks, gesturing to the letter.

"I was going to gather some friends and take Meg's letter down to the Beacon," I reply. "Say my piece, let the word spread organically." I glance out the window. "In fact, it's starting to get late. Put your boots on—we should get moving."

"Slow down, Kay. You're not thinking this through." Will folds up the letter. "You can't just rush down there with this. What we have here is a very dangerous letter. This is high treason. We have to tread carefully."

"Did you know that the wedding date is already set? There's going to be an engagement party in less than a week. Time is not on our side, Will. If we don't act soon, it will be too late: Meg will marry Grayson and we'll be in the middle of a whole new war." I chew on the inside of my cheek to keep the frustration from rising in my voice.

"I realize that, but before you go running up and down the streets, waving your banner, let's just take a moment and think about this." Will taps the folded piece of paper on his knee. One corner of his mouth tilts up as he regards me.

"What?" I ask, irritably.

"You're very pretty when you're mad at me."

I roll my eyes. "Be serious," I scold him.

"If we're going to come out of the woodwork, we're going to do it the right way." He speaks assertively, the consummate soldier. "Let's gather my friends and your friends, discreetly tell them to spread the word and come down to the Beacon at a set time, tonight. Once everyone is gathered together, you can make a nice, rousing speech, maybe read the Princess' letter and tell them what we want to do." He slaps the paper across his palm definitively.