The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 40

Kye—five hours earlier

"A week from now, no guest will leave this inn alive. We'll slaughter them all, and show the people of Trivette that we are not here to play games. We are here to secure this kingdom for the Mighty Dark King of Rurik, and we will not fail."

I don't know what I was expecting General Andras to say, but certainly not that. Killing over a hundred innocent people just to make a statement and instill fear....

This is bad.

With one glance at my friends, I can tell that they feel the same. Neve somehow has managed to plaster an excited smile on her face, clapping along with the rest of the spies, but Lake sits still, frozen in horror. Neve nudges him, trying to mask the dread in her expression, and he forces himself to smile as well.

Neve takes his hand under the table, squeezing it and directing her smile at him. His own smile seems to become a bit less forced. As Andras's eyes raze over us, I'd say we look fairly convincing.

Suddenly, just as the General's inquisitive gaze stops on me, there's a pounding on the locked wooden door. He gives Arden a slight nod, and his Second stalks over to the door, drawing the Lychnus sword strapped to his side. "Yes?" he asks roughly.

"I was sent across the border by His Majesty," comes an equally rough voice from the other side of the door. "I have an important message for the General."

Arden quickly opens the door and ushers a cloaked man inside. A soldier, I realize, when he slips his cloak off, revealing his forest-green uniform, stitched with Rurik's ebony insignia of a blade surrounded by silver laurels, pointing at a crescent moon.

Andras strides over to the soldier and takes him politely by the arm, leading him to a secluded table at the corner of the bar. Before sitting, he sweeps a hand toward everyone else in the room. "Carry on."

Conversation begins once again, most of the tension ebbing from the room. I sigh, leaning back in my chair. Lake steeples his fingers, pressing them against his temples. Neve just mutters a few choice words under her breath. I glance to the table in the corner of the room, where Andras, Arden, Lucine, and the soldier sit. The General holds a letter in his hands, brows furrowed, reading it intently.

"Do you think Val will come tonight?" Neve whispers at last. "The others definitely need to learn about this little massacre the spies have planned, sooner than later."

"The massacre that we'll have to participate in," Lake says quietly. The realization dawns over us with terrible certainty. There's no way we'll get out of taking part in the bloodbath without seeming suspicious.

"We'll figure it out," Neve says quickly, before any of us can truly process the new information. "We'll tell Val about this, and her and Zyair will be able to come up with some sort of plan. Maybe that will turn into the night we....do it." Kill the General. And Arden. And Lucine. And as many spies as possible.

"That's a good idea," I tell her, making sure to still keep my voice as low as possible. I look at Lake. "See? We'll figure it out. I promise. There will be no unnecessary killing."

"Is any killing truly necessary?" he says after a long moment.

Yes. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. "I don't know. What if we just--"

The room goes completely silent, as General Andras has stood. He looks angry. His face is literally bright red, his eyes narrowed. But he just takes a deep breath and calmly addresses everyone. I notice that Lucine is staring at me, her expression blank, tinged with the slightest hint of....disappointment?