Rebellion: Prince of Dawn

Chapter 2.3: Declaration of Lies

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DECAN LANCASTER

With no sun or moon to mark the start or the end of a day, I lost track of time. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Or so it seemed.

For all I knew, I could've been here for only a couple of hours or I'd been here a year. My mind was never sure.

Once in a while, someone would come down and hand me a tray of food.

I sat there, waiting, thinking, feeling like I was about to lose my mind.

From afar, an orange light appeared, growing closer until I could make out a torch. The man who held it wore a hood to hide his face, but just from his walk, it wasn't hard to tell that it was someone who was always expecting a fight. It was the walk of a warrior.

It's not food.

The guard who gave me food always bore a different face and they walked in darkness.

The hooded man knelt beside me and offered waterskin.

It was Salazar's voice that spoke, his green eyes pulling me in as I'd forgotten the sight of trees and grass. "You better drink, Decan. Men have been known to die of thirst down here. Dying of thirst is a bad way to go."

"It's you." I stared at the stone walls. "Why do you care if I die?"

"You are my brother. Of course I care. Why do you think I prevented you from attacking your father? If you charged at him with your sword, he wouldn't have hesitated to end you." He uncorked the waterskin and took a sip. "See? Believe me, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have stopped you from attacking the king."

I started chugging. "How long have I been down here?"

"A little over a fortnight now."

"What took you so long? Shouldn't I have been your first priority?"

"Your father sent me to take control of Harkhall. With that context, I know that you wouldn't have wanted me to put you first."

"What happened?"

"Harkhall was given up without a fight, especially with no one there to enforce order. And don't worry. Joy was gone before we arrived. Valentine too, she was returned to Lord Vargo."

"Thank the gods."

"Ser Castell and your squire are wanted. You ordered them to protect her, didn't you?"

"What if I did?"

"You're right. That doesn't matter. I'll be keeping my mouth shut."

"How do I look?"

"This is clearly the worst of your days. Your clean-shaven face now has stubble. Your golden hair is a shrivelled mess. And you're skinnier."

"How are the people?"

"The city was affected by the ritual. During the eclipse, everyone passed out, which was because their souls were being taken. I saw it with my own eyes. It was just a phenomenon at first, but the city is now split. Some believe you, some don't."

I chuckled. "Why'd you betray me?"

"I didn't betray you," he sighed. "It was a failsafe. I pretended to be on your father's side to keep us safe."

"Since when?"

"The beginning."

"What did you tell him?"