To the Sun, To the Stars, To the Sky

13: We Start the Trek

Will POV

We were informed that we would be packing up the camp in order to attack the castle. It was a shock to a lot of the camp, which was a relief to know I was not the only one unprepared for this. The news came to us through a short address given by Reyna on Monday. She was teaming up with rebel groups all over the country, and we were meeting outside the capital. We had a long way to go, so we were packing up tonight.

It was terrifying. It had been terrifying to join the rebellion in the first place, but this more so. The realization that I was really doing this, that I or anyone else here could easily lose their life. Before, I was preparing for war—now I was actually marching into it, with little warning and little knowledge about what the heck I was supposed to be doing.

We were packed up by dawn on Tuesday. Nico held his sleeping bag and extra pair of clothes with a surprising calm on his face that left me with an ugly jealousy in my stomach. Of course he wouldn't be afraid of fighting the crown. Of course he wouldn't be fazed by a war, while I struggle to keep myself from falling apart.

Right.

The capital was called Zeuskeepurpanceon. It was set up with the castle in the center, and military forts surrounding the castle. From there, it was only nobles and merchants who we were fairly certain wouldn't put up much of a fight. The most difficult part would be getting through the military bases—and we had enough former soldiers that we were fairly certain we could blend in.

But Reyna brought up a fair point as we marched through the woods. Well—Nico and I marched with most of the soldiers, and Reyna rode a horse since she was the leader. Also to annoy Octavian by riding too close to him. Nico and I had stuck near her ever since Octavian's outbursts.

She glanced back at us for a millisecond before talking. "I've been thinking, Nico."

Nico's hair was perfect today—he'd fixed it this morning and I'd been admiring him as discreetly as I could all day. "Thinking about what, ma'am?"

Her face was stolid. She'd been stressed ever since we received the letter, and while I'm sure being around Nico and I all the time couldn't help considering we're suspects, but she never told us to leave and we knew she would if she wanted to—Reyna's not one for politeness.

"About getting through those bases. I used to be a soldier, but as we saw that first night you were with us, there are things I've forgotten, and you suffered from that as much as anyone."

Nico's cheeks went a little pink, utterly destroying his I-have-a-scary-man-bun aesthetic and putting butterflies in my stomach not for the first time that day. "I'm sure you're a terrific soldier, Ma'am, and it was really okay. I was fine."

She frowned. "Not really. But as I was saying, I'm not caught up on everything and I don't want to let it affect our attack. I think...I think you should take the lead when we get there."

Nico seemed to choke, and I laughed at him a little before asking if he was alright.

His eyes were glued to Reyna. "I'm sorry, are you serious?"

I thought I saw an amused smile cross Reyna's face for a moment. "You're the most recent soldier we have. And you obviously memorized the rules well; you still haven't broken off from them entirely." Something else flickered across her face for a moment, something dark. It left me with a bad feeling in my stomach.

Nico's eyes were huge. Kinda dreamy, I'm not gonna lie. "I'd be honored to accept that position, Reyna, but are you sure it's a good idea? I have no leadership training. No...no training with anything like this except for just a normal, rank-three soldier. I don't think I could do as well as you."