A Royal Ransom

XXI

You broke my heart a million times
Can't count the ways I've made you cry
Always such a mess
But I get depressed at the thought of losing you

-Two Punks in Love, bülow

♛

"Where is Ryder?"

I frowned. "Back in the castle still."

Dahlia slammed her hand on the table as she stood up. "Are you useful for anything at all?"

We were back in John's house. Munching on some Fruit Loops. I'd taken the opportunity to freshen up, borrowing another set of clothes from Dahlia.

"Dahlia. My brother is alive."

"What?" She whispered. "Does that mean Ryder's no longer on the death row?"

I shook my head. "My mother has been planning this all along."

"Explain."

"I'm going to need a lot more than just Fruit Loops if I'm going to tell you the whole story."

She sent me a glare that shut me up.

"Okay, I'll just tell you. Could I have some water at least?" I asked, to which she complied.

♛

"So, to sum it up, Ryder isn't really your brother. He's the true heir to the throne. My brother is alive and I was conceived through a little love affair—"

"—If you keep talking, I think my head will explode." Dahlia gasped, pressing her temples.

I sealed my lips allowing her to process the information.

"So what you're saying is that if we can get Ronan to make an appearance Ryder will immediately be taken of the death row?"

I nodded my head. "It's our best and only option at the moment."

"We need to somehow expose my brother's existence to the whole village. Just telling the Royals won't do much because my parents will just shut them up."

"I think I know exactly where we should do this."

"Where?"

"At the hanging. Right before Ryder is brought up."

I nodded my head. "That's actually brilliant. A lot of villagers tend to witness hangings."

Dahlia nodded, pacing around. "So, where do we start?"

"Well. I need to get back to the castle and convince my brother to stop being a wimp so that he'll make an appearance. Then I'll inform Ryder and John about the whole plan. I'll try to see if I can get anyone else in the castle to help out, but at the moment there are a very limited number of people I trust."

Dahlia chewed on her lip in thought. "What can I do? I really want to help, please."

I paused to think. "We have less than twenty-four hours before the hanging ceremony is scheduled to begin. You could go around and make sure every single villager attends. If we manage that, no matter what my mother tries, we can create some mob against her to keep Ryder alive. Do you think you can manage that?"

"Not a problem. We have almost thrice as many villagers as there are guards in the castle, there's no way your mother will be able to control all of them."

And with that, she rushed out of the house, leaving me alone.

I shoved another mouthful of Fruit Loops into my mouth before making my way out of the house as well. I had no car, so my only option was to walk and hopefully avoid any unwanted attention.