Page 19 of The King's Weapon

Kallie rolled her neck. Despite the rage that boiled inside of her, she would have to worry about her revenge later, the plan floating in her mind. Right now, Myra was the priority and if the man was leading her, Myra was still alive.

She followed the twin out of the tent and to Kallie's surprise, no one was around. Everyone must have been sleeping in their tents. Kallie wondered how long she had been asleep and how she had fallen asleep in the first place. She tried to recall the moments before everything had gone black, but the events were muddled. The missing information made her stomach churn.

The twin led her to the side of the next tent. He pointed to the ground and put his finger to his lips.Taking the hint to wait, Kallie crouched beside the tent. He peeled back the opening of the tent, then disappeared into the darkness.

Several tents stood around her. The faint smell of a recently extinguished fire coated the air. Then Kallie heard inaudible voices. Her heart rate increased as she sank further behind the tent, melding her body into the shadows as best she could.

She squatted down, quieted her breathing, and wished the twin would hurry up and grab Myra before anyone approached. They didn't have time to waste. Her father and she had drawn up the plan, set it in stone, and marked it into her memory. She needed to begin gathering information and she needed to reach Frenzia.

If she didn't arrive when she was expected to, what would King Rian think?

Her fiancé would think she ran. That she betrayed her word, that she was unfit to rule by his side.

And Kallie was many things—a princess, an enchantress, a weapon, a keeper of secrets—but she was not a traitor.

She would never betray her kingdom or her father. They both had given her everything she held dear: a home, a purpose, and soon, a throne.

She would not give that up.

The wind blew fragments of the pair's conversation toward her and pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Come on, Armen. Are you still mad?" one of the voices asked.

The other person grunted in response. Their footsteps grew louder as they neared the opposite side of the tent. Kallie leaned as far as she dared, straining to hear their conversation. The various jobs her father had tasked her with had taught her that the most important conversations were the ones when people thought no one was listening.

"Did you have to be so rough?" Armen said and his voice made the hair on the back of her neck stand.

That voice. Kallie knew it, but she couldn't place it. It was strained and the name to whom it belonged was unfamiliar.

Kallie took a step forward in the hopes of identifying the figure. However, when her foot landed, her heart sank with it as the snap of a twig soundedbeneath it. Her body stilled, her breathing ceased. And the footsteps stopped at the front of the tent she hid beside.

"What was that?" the first voice asked.

Both of the men were silent as they listened.They only needed to take a few steps to their left and her cover would be blown. A bead of sweat slid down the contour of Kallie's face. Only moments away from freedom, yet her foot had betrayed her—no, her curiosity.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she counted each beat of her heart as the silence pressed onward.

"Must have been a critter. There's always some animal lurking in these woods," said the first.

Sweat dripped down Kallie's nose. Her heart beat so loudly she could hear it reverberate in her eardrums, and she hoped it was unheard by the men.

"Maybe . . . " the other voice said, unconvinced. The tension in her muscles strained as she tried to remain still. "But maybe I should—"

But Sabina must have been watching over her, lending Kallie a helping hand. Because as Kallie’s legs were about to give out, a small chipmunk scurried past her toward the voices.

"See? Told you. Now, come on. We need to prepare for tomorrow."

The second man huffed in response, but the footsteps continued despite the man's hesitation.

Kallie waited until the footsteps were inaudible, then wiped the sweat from her forehead. Putting her hand to her chest, she attempted to quiet the pounding that threatened to break through her ribs. She regained her composure just as the twin exited the tent, Myra in tow. Her friend's eyes were half-closed as though she had been stirred awake. But as they landed on Kallie, they flew open. And for the second time today, those hazel eyes swelled with tears. Kallie raised a finger to her lips, and Myra gave a shaky nod in response. Quickly, Kallie embraced her friend, pulling her in tight. Myra squeezed her back.

Releasing her, Kallie grabbed Myra's hand and looked at the twin for his final task: their escape.

The twin nodded his head in the direction the two men had come from and started walking. Kallie pulled Myra with her as they walked toward the end of the camp.When they approached the last tent, the twin halted. He looked at Kallie, and for a moment, as Kallie looked into his eyes, she saw a glimmer of unwarranted disappointment flickering there. But then, when Kallie blinked, the expression was gone, as though it had never been there in the first place. He jerked his head toward the woods.

To Myra, Kallie mouthed, "Come on." Then they took off, leaving behind the strange feeling that was beginning to settle within the pit of Kallie's stomach.

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