A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Mayah stepped into the light. She looked equal parts scared and relieved. There were dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept in days. Her hair was twisted into a messy knot, and her once-elegant dress was even dirtier than the last time I had seen her. Her tentative smile wobbled as her gaze flickered over each of us.
The reason for Tannix's injury soon became clear. Mayah was holding what looked like the leg of a wooden chair, splintered at one end where it had been torn off. Her hands were covered in scrapes and cuts, likely from the process of yanking the leg free.
It clattered to the floor as Jalor wrapped his arms around her. Mayah turned in his arms to cup his cheeks with both hands. For a heartbeat they stared at each other, then Mayah slid her hands behind his neck, stood on the tips of her toes, and pulled him closer for a kiss.
They were both exhausted. They were both dirty and covered in little wounds. They had both been through something terrible. And yet, they both lit up the moment they kissed. When they broke apart, Mayah's smile was genuine and gorgeous. Jalor was beaming, all signs of worry temporarily gone.
Then reality caught up with both of them. Mayah settled back down on her heels and her attention landed on Tannix, although she made no attempt to step out of Jalor's arms. Her fingers fiddled with the green ribbon he was still wearing tied around his arm. "I thought you were a Deoran. I'm sorry, does it hurt? Is your eye all right?"
"Fine." He smiled reassuringly. "I'm impressed, actually."
"This is all very touching." Kassia sounded bored, even with Acen's arm still pinning her against the wall. "So maybe you could call off your guard dog before I decide to cut his arm off myself."
Tannix waved, and Acen stepped back. Kassia pushed herself off of the wall. "Thank you. Now, I'll be taking my leave. I trust you can find the way out on your own."
"You're not leaving," Tannix said.
Kassia slipped her knives away and didn't even both to look at Tannix when she replied. "Why not? I led you to Lady East Draulin. Now you're going to uphold your end of our agreement and I'm going to disappear."
In the blink of an eye, Tannix had Kassia pinned against the wall again, a knife against her throat. He had moved quickly, and still, Kassia was faster. One of her knives pricked under his armpit, where there was a gap in his armour. The knights tensed, Kor and Ender drew arrows, but nobody moved any closer to the pair.
"You killed my father," Tannix snarled. "And you've nearly killed Finn countless times."
Despite the knife against her throat, Kassia rolled her eyes. "The only time I ever truly planned to kill Finn, it was with mercy in mind. We're at an impasse here, Lord West Draulin. Just uphold your end of the agreement and let me go."
"I didn't agree to let you go."
"Finagale and I discussed it," Kassia said.
"I didn't agree to let you go," Tannix repeated. "Finn isn't in charge here."
Kassia smirked. "So you're going to ignore the promise he made me and kill me? He's your equal until you disagree with him, is that it?"
"I'm arresting you."
"Isn't that really just delaying the moment I escape?" Kassia asked. "You don't really expect to hold me in prison, do you? I'll get out, and I'll disappear. I can be anyone, you know. Deoran." Her eye flickered towards me, and when she spoke again it was with the Native accent she had tricked me with when we first met. "I can be a Native Zian." Her voice changed again, and she sounded eerily like Queen Navire. "Or Navirian. I can speak Navirian with a Teltish accent, or with a Deoran accent, or like a native speaker. I can do the same with Teltish and Deoran. When I get away from you, you'll never find me. Does that feel like defeat, Lord West Draulin?"
"You won't escape." Tannix managed to sound firm.
Kassia's shoulders lifted with a slight shrug. "Well, if that's how this is going to go, then I feel inclined to warn you that if I stab this knife into your armpit, you'll bleed out before your knights can get you out of this city. Do you really want to die in front of Finn?"
Tannix held her gaze for what felt like a moment too long, then he stepped back. He held up his hands in a way that looked half casual shrug, half gesturing at the twins on either side of him. "Do you really want to test them?"
It almost seemed like she was going to try. Her eyes flickered around, taking in every knight and probably imagining exactly what she would need to do to incapacitate them. I knew the knights were excellent fighters, but I had also seen the bodies in front of and in the throne room. Even so outnumbered, Kassia wasn't someone to be trifled with.
So, I didn't let it come to a fight. I moved into the space between Tannix and Kassia. I could almost feel Tannix's stare burning into my back as I turned to face Kassia.
"It isn't worth the fight," I said.
Kassia tilted her head and her flickering gaze paused on me. "Finagale." She said my name like she had in the throne room, stressing every syllable. "You're consistently a thorn in my side. I have no idea why I like you so much."
"Nobody wants a fight," I said. "You know you won't survive it, and we can't risk any injuries while we're still deep in Deorun. Just surrender, and once all of this is over, you can defend yourself and maybe go free."
"Finn," Tannix snarled.
I ignored him. "I know what you're thinking, Kassia. You were following orders. It isn't fair to hold you accountable. You did what you could to protect Mayah, the first time and this time. You let me escape. Maybe Tandrin and Queen Navire will agree to let you go, when they hear about what you've done. But right now, we can't fight. Don't you want the knights in top form so they can get Vali out of the city?"
Kassia narrowed her eyes. "If anyone but you said that, I would think it was a threat. Luckily, I know you really do want to help him escape. Fine." Abruptly, she tossed her knives to the ground. "I'm surrendering to you, Finn. Not him."
I nodded. "I understand."
Kassia held my gaze as Acen pulled her arms behind her back and tied them together. Once she was bound, I almost relaxed. Then I remembered that we were still in the middle of Deorun, and we still had to get to the front gate. Everything we had just gone through had been a detour.
I stifled a sigh and turned around, only to wince when I caught sight of the way Tannix was staring at me. I'd overstepped, I knew that. But it wasn't the time to discuss it or to apologize. "She would have killed someone," I said. "Now, we need to get to the gate. While dragging her along as a prisoner, and while protecting me, Mayah, and Vali. What's the plan?"
There wasn't one, that was the simple answer. Nothing about our mission had gone the way we expected. The best we could do was work our way back through the castle halls to the tunnel that ran to the prison. I led the way, ignoring every snarky comment from Kassia at every fork in the path, where she claimed I was going the wrong way.
We made it back to the prison, only having been spotted once. An arrow zipping past my shoulder quickly negated the problem, and we carried on. Kassia came along shockingly amicably, quiet except for her taunts and the occasional Deoran whisper to Vali.
When we reached part of the prison that was familiar to everyone, we paused. Everyone knew there was a decision to be made. Ender spoke up before an argument could break out again.
"I'll take them," he said. All eyes turned to him, and he shrugged with fake indifference. "Lady Mayah, Vali, Finn and her." Kassia only got a sharp nod in her direction. "Someone has to take them back through the river."
"I—" Jalor started to protest.
"I know you want to," Ender said. "But Tannix needs to get to the city gate, and he needs his best." He looked at Tannix. "You don't need two archers, and Kor's in better condition than I am."
"I'll go, too," Joen spoke up. "I'm not one of the best, either."
Ender flashed Joen a smile, then his gaze flickered over to Tannix again. "Do you agree?"
There was no doubt that Tannix hated that the group had to split up. He took a deep breath before nodding curtly. "Reluctantly, I do. I'd be much happier with both of you along, but they do need an escort." He stepped forward, one hand outstretched.
Ender grasped it firmly. "They'll be safe with us."
"I've no doubt." Tannix let go of his hand and reached to shake Joen's. "Gentlemen, be careful, and don't trust a word out of Kassia's mouth. Goddess willing, we'll all see you on the other side. But if this goes badly, remember that you're leaving us for a very noble cause."
They both nodded. Ender immediately turned to Kor and they embraced, talking too quietly and quickly for anyone else to follow. Joen shook hands with Acen, Evrik and Mandell. Jalor swept Mayah into his arms and kissed her. Tannix turned to me.
I crossed my arms. "I hope you're not thinking about some emotional goodbye. I'm not going with them."
"Finn." He slipped his fingers under my hand and tugged, unraveling my arms gently. "Joen and Ender are going to survive this war. I can't say the same for the rest of us."
I squeezed his fingers. "I understand that."
"I want to know that you're going to survive."
"You can't do any of this without me," I said. "You left me behind for the army campaign and I understood, because I'm not a soldier. But right now, you don't need a soldier, you need someone who can sneak around and climb walls. You need me."
Tannix shook his head. "At some point we're going to get caught in a fight, and I can't be distracted trying to protect you."
"You won't have to. I'll get out of the way." I moved closer and slipped my arms around his waist as best I could, considering his leather armour. "You need me. You can't send me away just because you love me. Right now, I need to be one of your men. There's a reason we all have different skills."
After a moment, he wrapped his arms around my back. "The moment fighting breaks out, you'll get out of the way."
"I will," I promised.
Acen, always the voice of reason, interrupted all three hugs with four simple words. "We need to go."
And that was that. Joen took the rope that was binding Kassia's hands while Ender started down the right hall. Mayah and Vali followed him, Joen and Kassia brought up the end of the line. Kor and Jalor stared after them longer than the rest of us, similar looks of anguish and longing on their faces. If everything went well, it wouldn't be long before they were reunited. I chose to focus on that fact as I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention.
I gestured over my shoulder. "It's this way. Out through the courtyard where I got shot, then straight through the city to the front gate. Tandrin's waiting."
Tannix looked at each of his remaining knights, who nodded in turn. "Well," he finally said. "We can't keep Tandrin waiting, can we? Finn, lead the way."