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3.

We reach the town around late afternoon.

The road is warm from the hot noon sun and the local merchants are fanning themselves under their tents. Children are laughing and playing in the alleys and on the streets. There is a hum in the air that is unlike Breen, filled with anticipation, anxiety, and fear. I don’t realize this until I see the looks the locals are giving me. They whisper to each other as we pass them, glaring with looks of disgust while others, with looks of confusion.

I understand how they feel, and my stomach twists with anxiety for the moment Captain Jace announces the King’s decree. I have to get out of town before he says anything, knowing that the people of Breen will cause a riot. I do not wish to be in the middle of it. After all, these men are not my friends.

“Well, this is me.” I stop and get off the horse but Captain Jace follows suit and catches my wrist, which surprisingly doesn't burn me. I yank myself free and whip around to him. He isn’t that much taller than me but his broad shoulders make me feel shorter.

“You do realize you will be taken to the palace with all the other young maidens of Breen, don’t you?” He asks, brows furrowed.

I lean forward. “What makes you think the people of Breen will give the King their daughters?” I’m not going to be nice anymore. I am safe, Kas is safe, that’s all that matters. Let Breen defend itself.

Captain Jace pulls back just a bit, as if surprised by my harsh tone and looks at me for a moment. I can see the wheels turning in his head, then he leans in close to my ear.

“You do wish to save Kas, do you not?” I reel back. I almost slap him. His face is so close to mine; I can see how serious he is. How could he have known? No one has ever gotten past my mental wall, and I would have felt him if he did. My mind is racing as well as my heart. Perhaps it is a shot in the dark for him.

“I don’t know who that is.” My voice is but a whisper, and a shaky one at that. He couldn’t have known, not from me at least.

How does he know about Kas? That is the only thought screaming in my mind. I want to ask, but I know better than to walk into that trap.

The captain narrows his eyes. “Indeed? Then it would be no concern of yours if my men search every inch of this town for her? Your foster sister?”

Anger. All I feel is anger and fear. “What are you implying, Captain Jace?” The hostility is raw in my voice.

“Nothing, Remi. Only that every maiden will be taken to the palace. That is the King’s decree. I’m just following orders.” I do not miss the way the captain calls me by my first name, making my heart beat faster. But his voice is not mean, it does not hold the same anger or hostility as mine does. Instead, it is soft and gentle, as if comforting an upset child.

Being this close to him, he smells like an on-coming thunderstorm and summer rain. That does not match the traditional firewood and smoke of the Fire folk. Is he a Fire element? If so, what sub-element is he? There’s no heat coming off of him either, just coolness, like a breeze right before it rains.

I look at him and he holds my eyes, almost pleading with me to understand that he doesn’t want to do this, just as much as the people don’t want this to be done. He is doing what his King is demanding of him.

I look away for a moment. I cannot stand the look in his eyes. Sympathy for the King’s captain? What kind of fool does he take me for? Or maybe he’s not looking for sympathy but understanding.

“How far can you bend the rules?” It is a question I never thought I’d hear myself ask.

“If you go, I will make sure my men do not go after Kas.” I don’t like the fact that Captain Jace is using Kas’ name so candidly. It sounds so simple. If I go, but what happens if I don’t go? What would he do if I disappear with Kas? Perhaps nothing, or something. Anyone in Breen who feels their life is threatened would tell the captain anything to feel safe again. Perhaps they would go after my foster parents.

That thought brings me to a halt. No, not Papa Roen and Mama Cherish.

“I will need a few hours to get ready.” The things I would do for the Lakewood’s. They have been good to me for the past 13 years. If I can protect them, now is the time to do it.

Like a bell ringing, Old Yawna’s voice pipes up. “Do not get attached to people, Remi Rose. Do not love anyone and do not care for anyone. They will make you weak and vulnerable. They will become your weakness and a Pearl cannot have weaknesses.” Old Yawna, dear Old Yawna. What riddles you have told me throughout the years, but I could not help it, loving the Lakewood’s.

“Yes, as will the rest of Breen. I will need something of value from you then.” I look at him, raising one brow. “To make sure you’ll actually come back.” The tension eases a bit.

“You don’t trust me?” I blink innocently at him. He grins his signature grin.

“I trust maidens with pearly white hair and silvery pink eyes as much as I trust a shark in blood infested water.”

I sigh. “Indeed. Well then, I will need to use this horse.” He mimics my earlier action and raises one brow in question. “You did not think I’d actually take you to my home, did you?”

“You are stretching your good graces, Remi.” Captain Jace, even though he tries to sound stern, fails and that grin is doing him no justice. “Quickly then. I was not lying when I said my men and I are weary from our travel.”

What do I have on me that is valuable?

I look down for a moment, assessing. I have my armlet, my anklet and my necklace. They are all very important to me, and I won’t part with them for anything in the world. Maybe I can give him nothing, just my promise that I’d be back. But then again, if our roles were switched, I wouldn’t trust any promise that came out of his mouth.

“I’ll make this easy for you. Give me your necklace.” My hand immediately goes up to it, pressing it against my collarbone.

“No.”

“You’re taking my horse. I think it’s a fair trade. You’re sure to return with my horse and yourself, and that is what we agreed upon, is it not?” I scowl at him.

19 white, perfectly round and sharp, reflective, lustered pearls sit on a red ribbon tied around my neck. A white scallop shell, with red and orange stripes, hangs in the middle of my necklace. The shell is my emblem, as are the colors. Old Yawna had me pick it out when I was ten. The pearls on my necklace represent every year I have been alive, but pearls are not common and are extremely rare to come by, especially in a Fire kingdom.

My necklace is worth a fortune. Anyone with eyes can see that.

“How do I know you won’t sell it?” I ask, skeptical.

“How do I know you’ll come back? With the same horse and not some sickly donkey?” He shoots back, just as skeptical.

Fair point.

I grit my teeth and carefully untie the ribbon. I hold it out to him, my necklace hovering above his hand. In the back of my mind, I hear Old Yawna howling at me not to give him my necklace. I knew she would rap my knuckles until I bled.

For a moment, I don’t see my hand hovering over the captain’s. I see my hand on a tree stump, red knuckled with pearly white ooze streaming out. I can hear Mama Cherish screaming at Old Yawna, telling her never to touch me again. That is the only time I have ever seen her angry.

How Old Yawna would beat me when I forgot or did something wrong and how she would beat me now if she saw me. But she isn’t here, and neither is anyone else. I’m on my own.

I drop my necklace into Captain Jace’s hand, and it feels like I have released a breath I have been holding for too long. I watch, as if in slow motion, the pearls fold neatly into his hand. The sunlight bounces off a few and it seems like they are winking at me, wondering why I let them go.

I’m about to reach out and take them back, but it’s too late. The captain already closes his hand and carefully puts my necklace into a little pouch.

“You have until sunset to come back. We’ll be at the Inn.” Captain Jace says, then swings back up onto his horse. He gives an order to his men and they continue down the street, into the heart of Breen.

I pull myself up onto the horse and spur it into a full gallop.

The Lakewood’s home is a ways away and I have to get there, pack and get back by sunset. I pray I will have enough time.

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