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“THE WAY OUR passive magic works is it identifies threats in time for us to move to a safe location.” The firelight flickered over people’s faces, barely visible in the dark, but they were all listening intently. Braxton sat on Caro’s left, Fen just past him. The rest of the group were the people tasked with infiltrating the royal apartments and capturing or killing King Cyphus and Prince Cadell. “If your intent is to take your belt knife and stab me, and you’re thinking about doing just that, my magic will warn me. The important bit is when the magic warns me. If you’re two rooms away and thinking about stabbing me, then I have the length of time it will take for you to traverse those rooms to flee. If you start thinking about it right now, when you’re five feet away, I might have enough warning to dodge, but not enough to escape ahead of time. That means you cannot even think about harming one of us until you’re close enough to strike or you’ll never get close enough.”
“Damn,” Grall said, groaning. “My pre-battle mental focus would ruin our plot completely.”
“Mine too,” Thris admitted. “How do we get around that magic?”
“And isn’t talking about it right now going to warn them?” Fen added, glancing to his left, across the field of low brush and grass where they were camping, toward the direction of where Svental was located only a few miles away.
Caro shook his head. “There’s an outer limit to our power. Otherwise, we would never get any peace. I promise you, my father and brother likely think about killing me regularly, and I didn’t notice until the assassins were in the castle in Etoval about two minutes away. Like I said when we were planning this, I can guide you through the secret passages.” In fact, the plan was based heavily on Namin’s most recent attempt at killing the Tovalian royal family, minus the poisoning, of course. Caro’s group would copy their use of the secret passages to sneak into the royal chambers and get close to King Cyphus and Prince Cadell. “What we need to do is think innocent thoughts as we approach. How nice the walls look or how clean the floors are. Sing a song in your head or think about the good you’re doing to support Toval and Namin. When you draw your weapon, only think that you’re checking to see how shiny it is. One stray thought about killing them could ruin it.”
“Tough not to think about why we’re creeping up on them,” Thris said, frowning. “But if that’s the only way to actually win, we’ll have to succeed. Is there any other way they might notice us?”
“Only if they actively call on their magic.” Caro shrugged. “When I’m using my magic, I can see through walls and hear conversations in other rooms. But only when I’m actively using it or I’m alerted to a threat. It’s not something automatic, otherwise. As long as we’re quiet and thinking innocent thoughts, we shouldn’t have any issues.”
Thris let out a heavy sigh, but a moment later, he grinned. “Right. We’re going to have some fun tomorrow. We leave as soon as it’s light enough for the horses, so let’s get some shut-eye.” He clapped his hands on his knees and stood, then ambled off toward his bedroll.
Caro also thought it was time to try getting some sleep. He stood as well, and Braxton, who so far had only been a supporting presence at Caro’s side, joined him. They walked together toward where they, Fen, and Char had laid out their bedrolls. Char would remain behind at this camp with Alina and the handful of other supporting staff but had cooked for them the last few nights as they traveled through Namin. Caro wasn’t certain he would ever be able to eat regular food again.
His bedroll was exactly as he left it. Caro sat on top of it to take off his boots, but paused midway through loosening the laces to let out a heavy sigh.
“You going to be okay tomorrow?” Braxton asked, settling onto the bedroll next to him.
Caro sighed again. “My father and brother earned everything coming to them, and considering how they treated me, it’s almost poetic that I’m the one leading their doom to their doorstep. Just…” He shrugged, unsure how to put all the thoughts swirling through his head into words.
“They’re your only family. Even if they are terrible people, we’re still talking about killing your father and your brother.”
“I don’t love them. I don’t even like them,” Caro said, trying to explain but mostly relieved Braxton had yet again divined his thoughts and helped Caro get them out in the open.
“But that doesn’t mean they don’t hold some level of import to you, even if it’s in the role of a bogeyman.” Braxton wrapped his arm over Caro’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug. “If you weren’t finding this difficult, I would be concerned.”
Caro tried to relax into Braxton’s embrace, into the warmth and comfort he exuded. He tried to still his mind, pushing every worry and fear to the background, but he failed. The night surrounding them was soothing, at least. Darkness, punctuated by stars far overhead, gave the illusion that they were home in Etoval, sitting in the royal garden on top of the palace. Now they were done talking, and the crickets and frogs had resumed chirping, until it seemed as if Caro and Braxton were the only two people for miles around.
It was only when Braxton gently shook him awake, revealing the first hints of dawn just beginning to glow low on the horizon, that Caro realized he had somehow managed to fall asleep. Braxton pressed a warm bowl into Caro’s hands, and after blinking blearily at it for a long minute, Caro realized it was full of oatmeal.
“Eat up. Once everyone’s ready, we’ll head out.”
Caro obeyed, and even though his stomach immediately soured at the memory of where they were going and why, one spoonful of Char’s cooking led to an empty bowl far too quickly. Horses were being saddled when Caro went over to the kitchen area to return the bowl, and he found Fen and Char holding hands and looking far too ooey-gooey for such an early hour.
“You’ll be safe?” Fen asked Char as Caro hurried to locate the drop-off spot for dirty dishes.
Char nodded. “As soon as you’re gone, we’ll pack up camp and head out too. The big trading city of Talvn is a couple miles that way,” he added, pointing south. “That’s where I completed my apprenticeship after school, so I know the area well, and I have friends who will help. I’ll hide there until we get word to come meet you.”
Caro scurried away as Fen bent to take a kiss, glad to find his horse and Braxton, and to disappear amid the bustle of the soldiers around him.
“Right!” Thris called, clapping his hands to bring everyone to order. “You all know the plan. Last night, the majority of our forces snuck into the city, where they are ready to attack the castle from multiple gates as loudly as possible. We won’t know whether they will only serve as a distraction for us, whether they’ll be able to breech the gates, or whether any townspeople will join in or fight back. Either way, we need to be inside the castle before they begin. Remember, from here on out, the only thing you should be thinking about is how this is a lovely day to go visit grandma. One stray thought of our real objective could ruin it all. But you soldiers are the best of the best. That’s why you were hand-picked to be here! We are going to go kick ass and take back our country from the tyrant running it!”
The answering roar startled a few roosting birds, who flew off chirping indignantly.
“Mount up!” Thris finished, putting words to action as he slid a foot into the high stirrup of his horse and heaved himself into the saddle. Caro obeyed, climbing onto his own horse.
Thris rode over to Caro, stopping at his side and waiting patiently as Caro got the reins situated.
“Right. Show us the way to the hidden entrance.”
Caro grabbed onto his resolve and nodded firmly. “This way.” He walked his horse through the crowd until he was in the lead, then settled into a ground-eating trot on the path to destroying his past and hopefully ensuring his future.