The Thread Of Fate

Chapter 53

Maria agreed, albeit reluctantly. It was understandable that she didn't want to leave me alone. Dominic's letter worked wonders in convincing her. The effect he had on people even in his absence was impressive to watch.

My plan was to send Maria to Aris if Nish's focus shifted from our borders to he palace. Aris had the best fighters, I remembered Dominic telling me so. If she could get to them in time somehow, we had hope. The council had other things on their plate so we didn't share our plans.

With only hours left, the palace was bustling about with a renewed sense of emergency. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. Even I had moments of absolute anxiety. Fortunately, they were fleeting and just enough to give me a sense of how dire the situation really was.

The letter we sent had not been met with a reply. Our messenger had returned alive though. Only because it was a bird and could quickly fly out of reach. I wasn't going to risk sending one of the civilians.

It had the opposite effect than intended. We had meant to stall him but word about their movement quickly got to us. Unfortunately, it was too soon to tell just which way they were headed.

There wasn't much time for a pep talk but I had tried. Before deploying them to their designated stations, we gathered all the spies and soldiers just outside the palace. The sun had set and the skies were clouded enough to block all moonlight. Our lamps and torches burned, giving us some way to counter the darkness.

The symbolism wasn't lost on me. Nish was the storm, our impending doom that had us surrounded and we were like mere torches on a stormy night, trying to beat the odds.

You can't let this get to you.

"Today we are all standing before an enemy of the nation. The most dangerous one yet. I won't waste words telling you how cruel he is or why he needs to die. What I will tell you is that this is the end. One way or another this war will end. And we have a chance to change the course of history." My words were met by solemn looking faces.

"I'll be honest, we don't have the numbers to go out and fight." I chuckled, nervously. "Our best chance is to hold Nish off from taking the castle for as long as possible. Know this, help is on the way."

I couldn't tell them that perhaps Jace and Ariadne hadn't succeeded, perhaps they would reach too late or worse, not reach Ralia at all. I couldn't tell them about Dominic when I didn't know how soon he could come. He had sent an encrypted letter. He wanted me to keep it a secret. There could be enemies anywhere.

Dahar gave a slight smile and Maria gave a nod, wanting me to continue. People were listening with rapt attention.

What do I tell them....

I questioned myself once again, looking at the number of people that were about to put their lives on the line. There were barely 5000 of us. Probably less.

What if it is in vain?

What kind of a person would I be if I lied to them, asked them to fight instead of running away despite knowing we would lose.

'Go Seraphina! Run!' Henry had said. I remembered Dominic telling me to run from Jace. I remembered running to Maria's house the day Torus forcibly made me confess my love for Dominic. The day he accused me of being a spy. I remembered running from the assassin who hurt Cleo. All my childhood had been spent running. All my life I'd run.

Where had it led me ? Away from trouble but only temporarily. Tragedy followed, heartbreaking. Nothing good ever came out of running. Perhaps, there was a lesson I was meant to learn all along.