War (The True Reign Series) (29 page)

Two soldiers wearing the King
’s Army uniform crept past. “Are you sure you heard something?” one asked.

“
I thought I heard talking coming from this direction, but I must have been mistaken,” the other replied.

“
Let’s return to the rest of the squad.”

Darmik didn
’t hear any more of their conversation. Just to be certain the soldiers were gone, he remained in the tree, unmoving, for several minutes. When his arms and legs could no longer hold the position, he lowered himself to the ground. Savenek joined him a moment later. Darmik nodded in the direction of the soldiers, and the two of them silently went the same way through the forest. Darmik searched the ground, easily tracking the two men.

He followed the trail as it circled dangerously close to
the area where Darmik and Savenek had been hidden in the trees, and then it veered back toward the town. Darmik lost all traces of the men when he reached a dirt path. The road had several different footprints, and he guessed at least twenty had recently passed through there.

The two men were probably part of a squad of soldiers who were either scouting
ahead, or sent to reconnoiter when with they heard Darmik and Savenek talking. He looked to Savenek, who nodded in agreement—they needed to follow the soldiers to investigate. Perhaps they would shed some light on what was going on in the deserted town.

Darmik followed the dirt road in the direction of the footprints
—heading away from the village.

After a short distance, he heard the sound of boots crunching
on dirt. He moved to signal Savenek to leave the path so they could get ahead of the soldiers, but Savenek didn’t know the signals of the King’s Army. They would have to stay together then, instead of splitting up. This endeavor would have been much easier with Neco.

Darmik silently left the
path and headed deeper into the forest, Savenek following close behind. When he was a good fifty feet from the path, he preceded parallel to it, sprinting as fast as he could between the trees. Once he estimated he was far enough ahead of the soldiers, he slowed his pace and cautiously made his way back toward the road. Thankfully, Savenek had enough skill to remain quiet as well. When the path was in view, Darmik pointed up, and Savenek nodded in understanding. Darmik found a tree with a low enough branch to grab onto. He hoisted himself up the trunk, climbing until he found a solid branch to watch from. Savenek found a nearby tree and did the same.

After a few moments, the squad of soldiers
neared. They walked two wide and passed without speaking. Darmik recognized several of the faces. This was a squad from the Third Company. He wondered where they were heading because this particular company did not normally patrol this area. Once the squad was far enough away, Darmik climbed down, and Savenek joined him.

“
I want to follow them,” Darmik said.

“
Where does this road lead to?”

“
I’m not sure. I don’t know of any towns north of here.”

He recalled
docking at the fishing village he had been unaware of until only a few days ago. Feasibly, there could be others like that one.

“
Then let’s get moving,” Savenek said, “because they’re obviously going somewhere.”

They
headed away from the road about twenty feet and then walked parallel to the trail, remaining silent so the soldiers wouldn’t overhear them. Darmik thought back to when the squad passed by. They hadn’t been carrying any supplies, so they must be arriving at their destination soon.

After traveling about eight miles, t
he sun began to set. Darmik expected them to stop for the night, but the soldiers gave no indication of doing so. Instead, several of the soldiers gathered large sticks, wrapping green ferns around the tops and lighting them on fire. Once the torches were lit, the soldiers continued walking on the road. Darmik couldn’t light a torch or he’d be seen, and it was too dangerous to follow the squad in the dark. As much as he hated the idea of stopping, he and Savenek had to for their own safety.

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Wise decision,” Savenek whispered.

Darmik looked at him.
“Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”

“
I’m sure you’re right, but we need to focus on getting back to Rema. When we reach Werden, we can talk with Mako. Perhaps he knows what’s been going on since we left.”

“
I agree—it’s a better idea than us traipsing around out here in the pitch black forest. Let’s find a place to rest for the night. I’ll take the first watch.”

****

They veered further off course than Darmik realized. It took them an entire day just to backtrack enough to head in the right direction toward Werden. He estimated they were now two days behind Rema. He was eager to reach Trell’s home to ensure she made it safely. Thankfully, with Neco watching over her, there was little to worry about.

Soaking wet from the torrential downpour, Darmik and Savenek
climbed the last rise and descended into the valley where Trell’s house was located. Darmik’s body shook from being so cold. He could barely feel his hands. The Emperion uniform he wore was ill suited to Greenwood Island’s winter conditions. About a mile from the house, a group of Emperion soldiers stopped them. Once the soldiers realized it was their commander, they let him and Savenek pass. Darmik was glad the Emperions were there—that meant Rema was safely inside. He was also thankful a patrol had been set up.

When
he neared the front door, it flew open and Rema stormed out, Vesha and Ellie close behind her.

“
Where have you been?” she demanded, standing in the pouring rain. “I have been worried sick about you.” She pointed at him. The rain drenched her hair and clothes, but she gave no indication it bothered her.

He
opened his arms, and Rema rushed into them, kissing his cheek.

“
I thought something happened to you,” she said, holding on tight. He could feel the warmth of her body against his. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Before Darmik could respond, Savenek said,
“No, we’re fine. Thanks for your concern.” He pushed by them and went inside.

Rema ignored him.
“I want a full report.” He loved it when she fell into her role as empress and took control. “Why are you looking at me that way?” she asked.

There were too many people around, watching, so he just shook his head, giving her a devilish grin. Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of red.

“Let’s go inside,” he said. “I’m freezing.”

****

After changing into dry clothes, Darmik made his way to the sitting room. He found Savenek and Mako talking in front of the fireplace while Rema sat on the sofa next to Neco. Darmik stepped into the room, and Neco rushed over.

“It
’s good to see you.” Neco patted him on the shoulder. “I’m not used to you being on a mission without me.”

“It was a different experience,” he admitted. “I want to thank you for bringing Rema here safely.”

Mako cleared his throat. “I’d like to thank you for doing the impossible and saving Rema from an Emperion assassin.” He came over and shook hands with Darmik. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad to see you.”

Darmik chuckled,
“Likewise.”

Rema stood. “I
’d like to know what you and Savenek discovered.”

Darmik quickly told them what happened in the town. He also explained how they ran into the squad of soldiers and followed them. Mako suggested a group be sent to investigate.
Savenek offered to organize two dozen soldiers and show them where to go. Darmik agreed, but insisted Savenek remain at the house; there was a lot of planning to do, and Savenek was a captain of the rebels. He was needed here to help organize. After Savenek left the room to get to work, Rema took hold of Darmik’s hand, pulling him to the sofa.

Mako and Neco sat on the sofa opposite them.

“I’m surprised everyone fits inside Trell’s home,” Darmik commented. The house was quite large; however, there was no way it could hold more than five hundred people. Where was everyone?

Mako sighed, leaning back on the sofa.
“Not all my men are here. There are two-hundred fifty on patrol at any given time, and another ten groups of twenty from here to King’s City are spread out, watching. I don’t want to be taken by surprise. That leaves approximately six hundred people here, in the house. I also have a few hundred scattered throughout the kingdom. I didn’t want to consolidate all my resources and have something happen that I’m unaware of.”

“
And my men?” Darmik asked. He’d sent his trusted soldier, Traco, here to Werden to organize the soldiers loyal to him from the King’s Army.

Mako shook his head.
“There were only a couple of squads when we arrived.”

That didn
’t make any sense. His army consisted of over ten thousand men. He knew that some would have a hard time deciding whether to remain loyal to King Barjon, or side with Darmik, but he assumed most would pledge allegiance to him, and not his father. He dropped his head into his hands. How could they defeat Barjon and Lennek with less than a thousand men?

“
Where’s Traco?” Darmik asked.

“
He’s here,” Neco said. “I’ve spoken to him. Only a couple of hundred men from the Fifth Company arrived. That’s all.”

“
If Darmik’s men aren’t here, where are they?” Rema asked.

Mako shook his head.

“What about the deserted town?” Darmik asked. “Have you heard of any other cities or villages with people hiding indoors?”

“
I haven’t,” Mako responded. “But I didn’t receive any reports during the last week either.”

“
What are you indicating?” Was there nothing to report? Or had something happened to Mako’s men that prevented them from returning?

“
That something is amiss,” Mako admitted.

Hopefully
, the two dozen men being sent to investigate those soldiers would uncover something.

****

In order to build morale, Darmik suggested they have a celebration in the large, underground room Mako referred to as the gathering hall. Even though only a couple of hundred men had arrived from the King’s Army, Darmik still wanted to unify them with the rebels and the Emperions.

Looking in the mirror, he adjusted his tunic. This was an important even
t, and he wanted to look like a respectable soldier who knew what he was doing. Although he didn’t recognize any members from the Emperion Army, he was sure most had heard of him as the
soft prince
who came to train in Emperion, and on the mainland, his reputation was one of little authority.

It was strange to no longer be a prince or commander
of his own army. He was supposed to be in charge of Rema’s royal guard, but for the time being, he was serving as commander alongside Mako. Most valued his opinion and he had an esteemed position there; yet, Darmik found it difficult to give up the army he had worked so hard to put together and build.

He ran his hands through his hair, pushing it away from his face. He was
finally ready for the celebration. Since there wasn’t enough room for everyone in Trell’s home, Mako assigned four to five people per bedchamber. Darmik shared a space with Neco, Savenek, and Audek, who all stood at the door waiting for him.

“
I’m ready,” Darmik mumbled.

Neco smiled and opened the door.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Audek said. “Because we can all wait here for you to run your hands through your hair and adjust your tunic a few more times. It’s not like we have anything better to do than to stand here watching you.”

Darmik grabbed him by the back of the neck as they headed down the hallway.
“I am not one to joke with,” he said, his tone harsh. They came to the railing overlooking the floor below. Darmik released Audek’s neck and swiftly grabbed his legs, hanging him over the side, head down.

Audek screamed.
“I was only joking! You can take as long as you like to get ready! Please don’t drop me!”

Darmik lowered him a bit.
“You need to learn to keep your mouth shut.”

“
I’ll try, I swear. I won’t talk so much. Really, I promise. I think I can do that.”

Neco laughed. Darmik
worked to keep his face blank as he brought Audek back onto solid ground. Audek’s face was red from hanging upside down.

“
I’m truly sorry, sir—I…” He stopped, at a loss for words.

Darmik leaned in.
“You’re not the only one who knows how to make a joke.” He started laughing, slapping Audek on the back.

“
What?” Audek asked, dumbfounded.

Darmik wrapped his arm around hi
s shoulders. “How does it feel to be on the receiving end for a change?”