Chapter 24: Gareth's Last Warning

AVA

The camp was barely awake when Darius pushed open the flap of my tent.

I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to convince myself that the ache in my back was nothing worth mentioning, when he walked in and said, “I had some soldiers bring Kael to the camp.”

I looked up at him. “Kael?”

“He said he has information that could help us get into Silvercrest.”

That was not what I expected to hear. “Why would you bring him here?”

“Because he was right about the eastern border.”

I waited for him to explain.

Darius moved closer to the table where our maps were spread out. “Before we left, Kael told me Gareth may have prepared something along that route. He knows how his father thinks, and he believes the eastern border is too obvious for an army our size. That’s why I chose the longer road.”

“So you trust his judgment now?”

“I trust useful information when I can verify it.”

There was something very Darius about that answer. He wasn’t suddenly convinced that Kael had changed. He was simply willing to use whatever advantage we had.

Before I could ask anything else, a scout appeared at the entrance.

“My King, Kael is here.”

“Bring him in.”

The scout stepped aside, and Kael entered a few seconds later. His eyes went straight to me, and the question on his face softened when he saw me sitting there.

“How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better.”

He nodded, then reached beneath his coat and pulled out a folded map.

That immediately caught my attention.

Kael placed it on the table and opened it carefully, revealing a detailed drawing of Silvercrest Palace and the surrounding grounds. Several routes had been marked beneath the palace itself.

“There are tunnels under the palace,” he said. “More than Gareth would want anyone to know about.”

“Why tell us this now?”

Kael didn’t become defensive. He pointed to one of the markings beneath the western side of the palace.

“Because these entrances can get your people inside without forcing the army through the main gates. Gareth doesn’t know I’ve revealed them to you.”

“You’re certain?”

“No.”

I raised my eyebrows.

He gave a faint, humorless smile. “Gareth could have changed some of the defenses. He could have sealed one or two entrances after I left. I can’t promise that everything is exactly the way I remember it.”

At least he wasn’t pretending to know more than he did.

Kael traced another route with his finger. “This tunnel comes up near the old administrative wing. Another leads closer to the inner courtyard. A small group could use either route while the main army keeps Gareth’s soldiers occupied outside.”

I looked at the markings again, already seeing the possibilities.

“If these tunnels are still open, we could get inside without sacrificing hundreds of warriors at the gates.”

“That’s the point.”

I folded my arms. “And if they’re traps?”

“Then don’t send your entire force through them.”

His answer came so naturally that I almost smiled.

“That’s your advice?”

“It’s the only advice I have.”

The map remained between us, but my attention had shifted to Kael. He had given us something valuable, yet I still couldn’t forget who he had once served.

“I’ll use the information,” I told him. “That doesn’t mean I trust you completely.”

Kael gave a small nod. “I know.”

He didn’t argue, and somehow that made the conversation easier.

After he left, I carried the maps to Darius. We went over the tunnels together, marking which routes could be useful and which ones were too risky to depend on. Darius was particularly interested in the passage leading toward the inner courtyard because it could give a small strike team access to the palace while Gareth’s army was occupied at the gates.

“If this route is still open,” he said, tapping the map, “we won’t have to break through the entire palace from the outside.”

“And if Gareth has sealed it?”

“Then we use the army.”

I smiled despite myself. “So we have a plan either way.”

“We have options.”

That was enough for me.

The next two days passed with little rest. We moved whenever the road was safe, stopped when the scouts demanded it, and kept the different packs together despite the strain of traveling with so many warriors. By the fourth day, exhaustion had settled into everyone’s movements, but nobody complained when the first outline of Silvercrest appeared beyond the distant hills.

I sat beside Darius in the lead vehicle, staring at the walls that had once belonged to my family.

Silvercrest.

I had imagined seeing those walls again so many times, but none of those imaginings had prepared me for this. I wasn’t returning as the frightened girl who had lost everything. I was returning with an army behind me and Darius beside me.

Then a motorcycle appeared on the road ahead.

The rider was alone.

He slowed when he saw our forces and raised a white flag.

Darius immediately signaled for the convoy to stop.

Every vehicle came to a halt behind us, and warriors began stepping out. Nobody moved toward the rider until Darius gave the order.

The messenger stopped several yards away and raised both hands.

“I come with a message from King Gareth.”

Darius’s voice was cold. “Stay where you are.”

The messenger nodded and reached inside his coat slowly. He pulled out a sealed letter and held it toward us.

“It is for Queen Ava.”

I reached out and took it from him.

The seal carried Gareth’s mark.

Whatever he had written inside had been important enough for him to send a messenger under a white flag instead of waiting for us to reach his gates.

I broke the seal and unfolded the letter. The message contained only one sentence.

“Surrender, and we will let you live.”