A Reign of Steel (6 page)

He
paused, a long, heavy silence. In that grim silence, she felt her heart
breaking in two, hoping and praying that he would give her just one more
answer.

“Yes,”
he replied.

She
stood there, her heart pounding, craving more.

“Can
you tell me nothing more?”

He
turned and looked at her, sadness in his eyes.

“Remember
the choice you made. Not every love is meant to last forever.”

High
above, Gwen heard a falcon screech, and she looked to the sky, wondering.

She
turned to look back at Argon, but he was already gone.

She
clutched Guwayne tight and looked out at her kingdom, taking one long last
look, wanting to remember it like this, when it was still vibrant, alive.
Before it all turned to ash. She wondered with dread what danger so great could
be lurking beyond that veneer of beauty. She shuddered, as she knew, without a
doubt, that it would find them all very soon.

Stara
yelled as she plummeted through the air, flailing, Reece beside her, Matus and
Srog beside him, the four of them falling from the castle wall in the blinding
wind and rain, plunging toward the ground. She braced herself as she saw the
large bushes come up at her quickly, and she realized the only reason she might
survive this fall was because of them.

A
moment later, Stara felt as if every bone in her body was breaking as she
smashed into the bush—which barely broke her fall—and continued on until she
hit the ground. She felt the wind knocked out of her, and was sure she bruised
a rib. Yet at the same time, she sank several inches and realized the ground was
softer, muddier than she thought, and cushioned her fall.

The
others hit, too, beside her, and all of them began to tumble as the mud gave
way. Stara hadn’t anticipated they would land on a steep slope, and before she
could stop herself, she was sliding with the others, rushing downhill, all of
them caught up in a mudslide.

They
rolled and slid, and soon the gushing waters carried them, sliding down the
mountain at full speed. As she slid, Stara looked back over her shoulder and
saw her father’s castle quickly fading from view, and realized that at least it
was taking them away, far from their attackers.

Stara
looked back down and dodged as she narrowly avoided rocks in her path, going so
fast she could hardly catch her breath. The mud was unbelievably slick, and the
rain came down harder, her world spinning at lightning speed. She tried to slow,
grasping at the mud, but it was impossible.

Just
as Stara wondered if this would ever end, she was flooded with panic as she
remembered where this slope led: right off the side of a cliff. If they didn’t
stop themselves soon, she realized, they would all be dead.

Stara
saw that none of the others could stop the slide either, all of them flailing,
groaning, trying their hardest but helpless. Stara looked out and saw, with
dread, the drop-off fast approaching. With no way to stop themselves, they were
about to go right over the edge.

Suddenly
Stara saw Srog and Matus veer to the left, to a small cave perched at the edge
of the precipice. They somehow managed to smash into the rocks feet first,
coming to a standstill just before they went over the edge.

Stara
tried to dig her heels into the mud, but nothing was working; she merely spun
and tumbled, and seeing the precipice coming up on her, she yelled, knowing she’d
be over the edge in a second.

Suddenly,
Stara felt a rough hand grabbing the back of her shirt, slowing her speed, then
stopping her. She looked up to see Reece. He clung to a flimsy tree, one arm
wrapped around it, at the edge of the precipice, his other hand reaching out and
holding her as water and mud gushed, pulling her away. She was losing ground,
nearly dangling over the edge. He had stopped her fall, but she was losing
ground.

Reece
could not continue to hold her, and she knew that if he didn’t let go, soon
they would both go over together. They would both die.

“Let
me go!” she yelled up at him.

But
he shook his head adamantly.

“Never!”
he yelled back, his face dripping with water, over the rain.

Reece
suddenly let go of the tree so he could reach out and grab her wrists with both
hands; at the same time, he wrapped his legs around the tree, holding himself
from behind. He yanked her to him with all his might, his legs the only thing keeping
them both from going over.

With
one final move, he groaned and cried and managed to yank her out of the
current, to the side, and sent her rolling over to the cave with the others.
Reece tumbled with her as she went, rolling out of the current himself, and helping
her as she crawled.

When
they reached the safety of the cave Stara collapsed, exhausted, lying face-first
in the mud, and so grateful to be alive.

As
she lay there, breathing hard, dripping wet, she wondered not about how close
she’d come to death, but rather about one thing: did Reece still love her? She
realized she cared more about that than even whether or not she lived.

*

Stara
sat huddled around the small fire inside the cave, the others close by, finally
starting to dry off. She looked around and realized the four of them looked
like survivors of a war, cheeks sunken, all staring into the flames, holding up
their hands and rubbing them, trying to shelter themselves from the ceaseless wet
and cold. They listened to the wind and rain, the ever-present elements of the Upper
Isles, thrashing outside. It felt like it would never end.

It
was night now, and they had waited all day to light this fire, for fear of
being seen. Finally, they had all been so cold and tired and miserable, they
had risked it. Stara felt enough time had passed from their escape—and besides,
there was no way those men would dare to venture all the way down to these
cliffs. It was too steep and wet, and if they did, they would die trying.

Still,
the four of them were trapped in here, like prisoners. If they stepped foot
outside the cave, eventually an army of Upper Islanders would find them, and
kill them all. Her brother would have no mercy on her, either. It was hopeless.

She
sat near a distant, brooding Reece, and pondered the events. She had saved Reece’s
life back in the fort, but he had saved hers on the cliff. Did he still care
for her the way he once did? The way that she still cared for him? Or was he still
bitter over what had happened to Selese? Did he blame her? Would he ever
forgive her?

Stara
could not imagine the pain he was going through as he sat there, head in his
hands, staring into the fire like a man who was lost. She wondered what was
racing through his mind. He looked like a man with nothing left to lose, like a
man who had been to the edge of suffering and had not quite returned. A man wracked
by guilt. He did not look like the man she had once known, the man so full of
love and joy, so quick to smile, who’d showered her with love and affection. Now,
instead, he looked as if something had died inside of him.

Stara
looked up, afraid to meet Reece’s eyes, yet needing to see his face. She hoped
secretly that he would be staring at her, thinking of her. Yet when she saw
him, her heart broke to see that he was not looking at her at all. Instead, he
just stared into the flames, the loneliest look on his face that she had ever
seen.

Stara
could not help wondering for the millionth time if whatever had existed between
them was over, ruined by Selese’s death. For the millionth time, she cursed her
brothers—and her father—for putting into action such a devious plot. She had
always wanted Reece to herself, of course; but she would never have condoned
the subterfuge that had led to her demise. She had never wanted Selese to die,
or even to be hurt. She had hoped that Reece would break the news to her in a
gentle way, and that while upset, she would understand—and certainly not take
her own life. Or destroy Reece’s.

Now
all of Stara’s plans, her entire future, had crumbled before her eyes, thanks
to her awful family. Matus was the only rational one left of her bloodline. Yet
Stara wondered what would become of him, of the four of them. Would they just
rot and die here in this cave? Eventually they would have to leave it. And her
brother’s men, she knew, were relentless. He would not stop until he’d killed
them all—especially after Reece had killed her father.

Stara
knew she should feel some remorse at her father being dead—and yet she felt
none at all. She hated the man, and always had. If anything, she felt relieved,
even grateful to Reece for killing him. He had been a lying, honorless warrior
and king his entire life, and no father to her at all.

Stara
glanced at these three warriors, all sitting there looking distraught. They’d
been silent for hours, and she wondered if any them had a plan. Srog was badly
wounded, and Matus and Reece had been wounded as well, though their injuries
were minor. They all looked frozen to the bone, beaten down by the weather of
this place, by the odds against them.

“So
are we all going to sit in this cave forever, and die here?” Stara asked,
breaking the thick silence, no longer able to stand the monotony or the gloom.

Slowly,
Srog and Matus looked over at her. But Reece still would not look up and meet
her eyes.

“And
where would you have us go?” Srog asked, defensive. “The entire island is
crawling with your brother’s men. What chance do we hold against them?
Especially with them enraged at our escape and your father’s death.”

“You
got us into a pickle, my cousin,” Matus said, smiling, putting a hand on Reece’s
shoulder. “That was a bold act of yours. Possibly the boldest act I’ve seen in
my life.”

Reece
shrugged.

“He
stole my bride. He deserved to die.”

Stara
bristled at the word
bride
. It broke her heart. His choice of that word
told her everything—clearly, Reece was still in love with Selese. He would not
even meet Stara’s eyes. She felt like crying.

“Do
not worry, cousin,” Matus said. “I rejoice my father is dead, and I am glad
that you are the one who killed him. I do not blame you. I admire you. Even if
you nearly got us all killed in the process.”

Reece
nodded, clearly appreciating Matus’s words.

“But
no one answered me,” Stara said. “What is the plan? For us all to die here?”

“What
is
your
plan?” Reece shot back at her.

“I
have none,” she said. “I did my part. I rescued us all from that place.”

“Yes,
you did,” Reece admitted, still looking into the flames rather than at her. “I
owe you my life.”

Stara
felt a glimmer of hope at Reece’s words, even if he would still not meet her
eyes. She wondered if maybe he did not hate her after all.

“And
you saved mine,” she replied. “From the edge of the cliff. We are even.”

Reece
still stared into to the flames.

She
waited for him to say something back, to say that he loved her, to say
anything. But he said nothing. Stara found herself reddening.

“Is
that it then?” she said. “Have we nothing else to say to each other? Is our
business done?”

Reece
raised his head, meeting her eyes for the first time with a puzzled expression.

Stara
could stand it no more. She jumped to her feet and stormed away from the
others, standing at the edge of the cave, her back to all of them. She looked
out at the night, the rain, the wind, and she wondered: was everything over
between her and Reece? If it was, she felt no reason to go on living.

“We
can escape to the ships,” Reece finally said, after an interminable silence, his
terse words cutting through the night.

Stara
turned and looked at him.

“Escape
to the ships?” she asked.

Reece
nodded.

“Our
men are down there, in the harbor below. We must go to them. It is the last MacGil
territory left in this place.”

Stara
shook her head.

“A
reckless plan,” she said. “The ships will be surrounded, if they have not
already been destroyed. We’d have to get through all of my brother’s men to get
there. Better to hide out somewhere else on the island.”

Reece
shook his head, determined.

“No,”
he said. “Those are
our
men. We must go to them, whatever the cost. If they
are attacked, then we will go down fighting with them.”

“You
don’t seem to understand,” she said, equally determined. “At morning light,
thousands of my brother’s men will litter the shores. There is no way past
them.”

Reece
stood, brushing off the dampness, a fire in his eyes.

“Then
we shall not wait for morning light,” he said. “We will go now. Before the sun
rises.”

Matus
slowly stood, too, and Reece looked down at Srog.

“Srog?”
Matus asked. “Can you make it?”

Srog
grimaced as he stumbled to his feet, Matus lending a hand.

“I
will not hold you back,” Srog said. “Go without me. I will stay here in this
cave.”

“You
will die here in this cave,” Matus said.

“Well
then you will not die with me,” he replied.

Reece
shook his head.

“
No
man left behind
,” he said. “You will join us, no matter what it takes.”

Reece,
Matus, and Srog walked up beside Stara at the edge of the cave, gazing out into
the howling wind and rain. Stara looked the three men over, wondering if they
were crazy.

“You
wanted a plan,” Reece said, turning to her. “Well, now we have one.”

She
shook her head slowly.

“Reckless,”
she said. “That is the way of men. We will likely die on the way to the ships.”

Reece
shrugged.

“We
will all die one day anyway.”