The Key (30 page)

While the king and Lennek watched Rema, Darmik’s focus was on the people. Leaning forward in his chair, he scanned the crowd again
, looking for something.

Rema
glanced at the people around her. No one spoke a word. The couple to her left was staring at one another, the lady’s eyebrows bent inward. Her husband shook his head slightly.

Darmik continued, “She is after the crown and will do anything to obtain it. Rema has misled this family
, and she needs to be punished for her actions.”

Rema’s
heart ached and tears filled her eyes. Darmik’s betrayal hurt more than she thought possible. She had assumed Darmik hated Lennek’s games and cruelty. How mistaken she was about him. He wasn’t the man she thought he was.

King Barjon
spoke for the first time. “How do the nobles find her?” Although his face was blank, revealing no emotion, Rema could tell he found all this amusing by the tone of his voice and the gleam in his eyes.

There was some talking amongst the people
on the benches. Then the man on the end stood. “Your Majesty, we side with Prince Lennek. She is guilty.”

“Prince Darmik?” the king asked.

“Guilty,” he answered. The word echoed in the room, the weight of it pressing on Rema.

This was absurd. This co
uld not be happening. Rema brought her bound hands to her mouth, suppressing a cry. Darmik must not have ever loved her. What kind of sick game were the brothers playing?

“Prince Lennek?” King Barjon asked.

“I too, find Rema guilty.”

She fel
t everyone’s wide eyes staring down at her. They whispered to one another, but Rema couldn’t make out individual words. Her legs were going numb and her hands were tingly, like she was about to pass out.

Greger
pulled Rema to her feet. “Remember,” he whispered, “hold your head high.” Rema’s thoughts drifted to Bren, Aunt Maya, and Uncle Kar. How could she be found guilty when Lennek was the one destroying people’s lives for his own enjoyment?

Rema’s face
burned, rage building inside of her. She wanted to strangle Prince Lennek—wanted to watch the life drain out of this vengeful, hateful man who didn’t deserve to live, let alone rule a kingdom.

“Since Prince Lennek has suffered,
” the king announced, “he will hand down Rema’s punishment.”

Lennek
stood once again. He paced the dais back and forth, appearing deep in thought. His cape trailed behind him, and everyone leaned forward, awaiting his decision. “Treason warrants death,” Prince Lennek finally said. He stopped walking and faced the crowd. “The law is the law. I hereby order Rema’s execution.”

The room
exploded with gasps of astonishment. Rema’s head swam. Executed? For kissing Darmik? Even though she had known it would come to this, hearing it said aloud solidified it. She was going to die.

“You monster!” Rema screamed at
Lennek. Everyone stopped talking and focused on Rema. “You killed Bren, threatened my family, forced me to come here and accept your proposal. I’ve always hated you, and now you punish me for not loving you?”

“Get this trash out of here!” Prince Lennek yelled.
King Barjon placed his hand on Lennek’s arm. Darmik looked confused. At least that was something.

Greger
slipped his hand gently under Rema’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

“You’re the murderer—the one who deserves to die!
” Rema screamed, having nothing to lose. Then she spun and glided out of the room with Greger trailing behind her. By the time she reached the end of the aisle, her heart slammed in her chest and her body shook. Breathing became difficult.

The guard
s led her back through a series of hallways. When they turned the corner before the entrance to the dungeon, they ran into Prince Lennek. He stood in the middle of the corridor, blocking their way. Greger’s hand tightened around her arm.

“I
’m not having you executed because you don’t love me,” Prince Lennek said, seething with anger. The royal tattoos covering his neck were tinged red, making the knife-like markings appear like they had a hint of blood on them. He crossed his arms and growled. “That’s irrelevant. I’m having you killed to prove to Darmik that I always win.” He chuckled. “I don’t want you to think that you’ve hurt me in any way. I don’t care about you at all. Actually, it will be fun watching your body dangle.” He spun and strolled away, his cape flowing behind him.

Rema imagined riding
Snow over Lennek’s body until his bones broke and his blood pooled around him.

“Please tell me I’m not going to be executed right now
.” Rema grabbed Greger’s hand and begged.

“No,” he replied. “
You have a couple of days. A new structure has to be built. Notices have to be posted. There’s no point in killing you if no one’s there to witness it.”

A couple of days.
She only had a couple of days to save her aunt and uncle. She had no idea how to get a message to them.

“I need a favor,” she whispered.
“My aunt and uncle.”

“Shh.”
He placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed. When the guard banged on the door to the dungeon, Greger replied, “Later. Don’t say anything now.”

****

Greger stood with Ellie outside of Rema’s cell. “Two minutes,” he said in a low voice, unlocking the door. Ellie slipped something into his hand, and he discreetly put it in his pocket.

Ellie entered
and handed Rema a tray of food. “Word was sent to Maya and Kar the day you were arrested. I already took care of it,” Ellie said, talking fast.

“
How?” Rema asked. “What did you tell them?”

“
I can’t tell you how. But I told them everything. I figured the outcome wouldn’t be good. I made sure they understood their lives are in jeopardy. I don’t want you worrying about them.”

Easier said than done
. “Thank you.” Rema set the tray down and hugged Ellie.

“There’s something I need to tell you
, and I haven’t got much time.” Ellie’s eyes were wide, and she fidgeted with her hands. Rema pulled her down to the straw mattress.

“What is it?” Rema
asked, hoping Ellie didn’t get in trouble for sneaking her food.

“It’s about your
necklace,” Ellie whispered.

Rema felt the key
safe against her chest. “Go on.”

“I started to ask around
to see if anyone knew about a man named Mako. Most people had no idea what I was talking about. But there was one, an older man that once knew of a great person by that name. He said Mako was a great warrior and Commander of the old king’s army.”

“The old king?”
Rema had no idea what any of this had to do with her.

“The one that was overthrown.”
Ellie bit her lip.

“Is Mako still alive?” Rem
a asked.

“Nobody knows. But that’s not all of it.
Since Mako’s name was written backwards, I went ahead and took your—”

“Time’s up,”
Greger said. “They’re patrolling this hallway.” He waved Ellie over.

She
jumped up, the sound of footsteps getting louder. Ellie slipped out of the cell, Greger shut and locked it, then they sprinted down the hallway in the opposite direction of the noise.

Darmik

The soldier escorted Rema out of the Throne Room with her head held high as she glided down the aisle, like a princess. Lennek jumped out of his chair and flew out the back entrance, his face murderous.

“Ah, that boy,” King Barjon
mumbled. “He needs not to take things so personally. I wish he would just leave that whore alone.” The king stood.

Everyone
was talking with their hands in front of their mouths. Darmik knew the nobles were gossiping about the verdict. The people at court always appeared to worship the ground King Barjon and Prince Lennek walked on. This was the first time Darmik had seen them trying to hide their hostility toward the royal family. If the wealthy families joined with the rebels, Darmik would have a serious problem on his hands.

Standing, Darmik
followed his father down the center aisle and out of the room. There was a lot of work to do. The trial had taken up most of Darmik’s morning. He needed to get to his office to meet with his advisors. Going down a corridor, he entered the tunnels and made it to the military compound unnoticed.

Watching
Rema today was difficult. She looked similar to the first time he had seen her—plain clothes that only enhanced her natural beauty, and there was an aura of fierce determination to her. But there was also that ugly black bruise on her cheek. Either Lennek or one of the dungeon guards must’ve hit her. Darmik felt an intense desire to protect her, but he needed to shove that feeling aside.

Rema
...Amer. How did he not see it before? He considered himself an intelligent man. Darmik should have noticed Rema was Amer spelled backwards. Another clue was her identification band. The leather strap indicated her name was Tabitha. When she had told him she went by the nickname Rema, he should have known something was wrong.

When he checked the kingdom’s birth records last night for people born seventeen years ago with the name Tabitha, the only one he came across was Commander Mako’s baby daughter. Rema must have been smuggled out of the castle and given the false identity to use. So did Commander Mako escape as well? And if so, where was he? There had been no trace of him since the invasion
, and he had been presumed dead.

Darmik did not
understand Rema. The way she acted today at the trial made her appear innocent. Was she really that good of an actress? Because she had to know her true identity. She couldn’t possibly be innocent of everything—a pawn in a political game she didn’t even know she was playing. Darmik couldn’t afford to be pulled back in to another one of her deceptions. But, what if...no, he couldn’t entertain such thoughts.

Entering the military compound, Darmik went straight to Neco’s quarters. He found his friend sitting at a small desk, studying a map of Telan. Darmik sat on
the bed, glad Neco was itching to leave King’s City.

“You still believe the rebel base camp is somewhere near the Middle Mountains?” Neco asked.

“I do, but I don’t want that information disclosed. I’m going undercover.”

Neco smiled. “I’m listening.”

“I’m going to infiltrate the rebel’s base camp and discover their plans.”

Neco snorted.
“And here I thought you had a real plan.”

“I do.”

“What about the riots?”

“I’
m putting Captain Phellek in charge of them. I intend to use Rema as bait. She’s going to lead me straight to the heart of the rebel’s operation.”

“You
do know she’s been sentenced for execution.”

“Of course.”

“Prince Lennek has already ordered a crew of men to build the gallows for her hanging.” Neco put the map down and focused on Darmik. “The prince wants a large crowd to witness the execution. Besides, what does Rema have to do with the rebels?”

Neco was fishing for information. Ever since their ride to the forest with Rema, Neco suspected something was going on between
them, although he would never come out and directly ask. They might be friends, but rank always came first.

Darmik
wasn’t ready to reveal Rema’s true identity. Since Rema was the leader of the rebels, once news that she was scheduled for execution spread, a rescue attempt would be planned. The tricky part would be allowing the rebels to rescue her without it appearing like Darmik was letting them do so. Then all he had to do was follow them.

Neco leaned back in his chair.
“People in the city are getting all riled up,” he said. “Word is spreading quickly. If people are behaving badly here, I can only imagine how the rest of the kingdom is responding.”

“
King’s City is rioting?” Darmik asked. He had never seen riots in this city before.

Neco
replied, “Not officially, but there are people out on the streets. Some are even making speeches.”

“B
ut the rumors haven’t spread here. So why are people upset?” King’s City was used to dealing with Lennek and his cruelty. Why was it any different now?

“
The people love Rema because she’s one of them. She was a promise for a better life.”

Interesting
, Darmik thought, since that was exactly what Lennek and the king had wanted.

“
They’re mad at Prince Lennek,” Neco continued. “They think he got bored with her or decided that she wasn’t good enough, so he’s falsely accused her.” Neco raised his eyebrows, giving Darmik the opportunity to talk if he wanted to—which he didn’t, and Neco was too intuitive, notice more than Darmik intended.

“
Our security detail will have to be two-fold,” Darmik declared. He needed to focus on his job and commanding the army—not talking with a friend. “We’ll need to prepare for a rioting crowd, and a possible rescue attempt.”

“
A rescue attempt?” Neco asked. “That would be a suicide mission.”

“You can guarantee it.”

****

Lennek wa
s waiting for Darmik in his bedchamber, sprawled out on the settee like he didn’t have a care in the world. Darmik was exhausted and not in the mood to deal with Lennek at the moment. His entire life had been one battle after another with his brother. They were constantly at odds, and Darmik was tired of defending someone unworthy to rule. He couldn’t believe he acknowledged the treasonous thought. But Darmik’s duty was to the people, and if he was going to protect the kingdom from destroying itself, he had to discover Rema’s true intentions. Did she plan to take back the kingdom? And if so, did she have a right to do so? Would she make a better ruler? Would she help and protect the people of Greenwood Island instead of taxing and starving them?

“You look like death,” Lennek said.
There was an open bottle and a pewter mug next to it on the side table. The room smelled of strong ale.

“Thanks, brother. I’ve been out doing
surveillance, planning security for the execution.”

Darmik
had spent the afternoon with his private guard riding throughout the land surrounding King’s City. If a rescue attempt was planned, Darmik would have to be one step ahead of the rebels. He scouted out areas where men would likely camp and enter the city. Darmik planned several of his own rescue attempts in order to determine various strategies and how best to deal with each one. But the key was not to scare the rescuers off or lose them. The goal was to capture and arrest as many of the rebels as possible. Darmik’s security detail needed to appear loose and relaxed, when in fact, he would have an entire company hiding in the surrounding land just waiting to pounce. And in the middle of the chaos, Rema needed to escape, and Darmik had to be able to track her, right to the rebel’s base camp.

Lennek laughed. “We won’t need additional security.
She’s just some horse merchant’s niece. No one cares about her.”

Darmik
sat on a chair and pulled off his muddy riding boots. Leaning forward, he stretched his back that was still recovering. One of the wounds tore open. He gritted his teeth, not wanting Lennek to see him in pain. “Have you been out of the castle?” Darmik asked.

Lennek looked at him with disgust. “Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?”
He emptied the bottle in his mug.

H
ow long had his brother been sitting here waiting for him? And why?

“Then you’d know your subjects are
furious with you,” Darmik replied. Lennek turned a shade whiter, and Darmik couldn’t help but inwardly smile.

“Tell me,” Lennek said
leaning back, “did you go after Rema to get to me? Because it didn’t work.”

“
Actually, she went after me.” A flash of anger flew across Lennek’s face, and then his amused look returned. He was very good at masking his emotions when he wanted to.

“If you got a little now and then, you wouldn’t have been so easily fooled
,” Lennek laughed.

Darmik wanted to punch the smirk off
Lennek’s face.

He took another sip of ale.
“Did you and she ever—?”

“No,” Darmik said.

“Huh,” Lennek grinned. “Be glad you didn’t waste your time. She wasn’t very good.” He finished his drink and slammed the mug down on the table. They sat staring at one another until Darmik finally looked away. He felt the blood from his wound soaking through his tunic.

Rema
had slept with Lennek? If Rema was playing the part, she very well could have slept with his brother. But if Lennek was just trying to get a rise out of Darmik, then perhaps she was innocent. There was something behind Lennek’s eyes that made Darmik realize Lennek might be lying. Not that it mattered, but the thought of Lennek’s hands on Rema, and that she had willingly gave herself to him, made Darmik angrier than he ever thought possible. But that’s probably what Lennek wanted to see, so Darmik forced his emotions under control.

Still, one minute he wanted to yell at Rema
, and the next he wanted to kiss her. He could feel her betrayal just as easily as her soft lips against his. He had never loved someone and hated them at the same time. She was driving him insane, and he had to figure out her involvement in this mess.

****

“Commander,” Neco knocked outside Darmik’s office.

“
Yes?” Darmik answered.

“It’s almost
noon. Your horse is ready.”

The time Rema was scheduled to die. O
ne way or the other, Rema would cease to exist today. Once rescued, she would assume her true identity as Amer. But what if the rebels didn’t come for her? What if she didn’t know her real identity? Could Darmik allow, and watch, Rema die? No, he was confident she would be rescued.

Darmik stood, strapped his sword to his waist, and put
on his cape.

Yesterday Darmik
had moved his men into position. He stationed two platoons outside the city walls. They were then broken down into their units, each responsible for a different area. There were men disguised as field workers and others were camouflaged and hidden in the woods.

A
large portion of the Second Company roamed the streets of King’s City. Darmik wanted them to act as his eyes and ears. If there were people in the city spreading the rumors and garnering sympathy for their cause or enlisting help for a rescue attempt, Darmik wanted to know. In addition, ever since Rema’s sentencing, there had been a shift in the atmosphere of the city. The hostility that Darmik had felt in other towns for the past year was now present in King’s City. He didn’t need the city rioting because it could escalate to an all-out civil war. And the last thing Darmik wanted was a war against his own people. He had promised Trell there would be no more unnecessary killing, and Darmik intended to honor that promise.

“All r
ight, let’s get this over with,” Darmik said.

Hopefully
, in the chaos of the recuse attempt, Darmik would be able to follow Rema and no one would know—especially the king and Lennek. Neco was responsible for capturing the rebels and leading the interrogations afterwards.

Darmik and Neco
walked to the front of the military compound where their horses stood, waiting. The rest of Darmik’s personal squad was mounted. Nightsky pranced in place, uneasy. Darmik patted the stallion’s nose, talking in a soothing voice. He mounted, raised his hand, and they were off.