War of the Princes 03: Monarch by A. R. Ivanovich Page B

Overjoyed,” Dylan snorted, then backpedaled. “Fine, fine. I'll do it. I'm doing it.”
    “ Of course you will. Your things have already been stowed aboard with the rest.” Brendon pivoted to face us again. “Thayer. It wasn't an easy conclusion, but I think you'd better travel with the Flying Fish. As much as I'd be glad to have your skills available to me in Breakwater, I'm afraid you'd attract too much unwanted attention to yourself. No one has ever heard of a Dragoon defector who lived longer than an hour. Best that you go with Kestrel.”
    I wondered if Rune was relieved that we'd be sticking together for once. You couldn't see it by looking at him. “Yes, sir.”
    “ Whatever happens, remember, the two of you stay on the boat until you're sent for. You may be a defector, Thayer, but you were still a Dragoon and that will make you twice the enemy. The same goes for you, Dylan. Behave, and they'll have no reason to learn of your secret. And brother, if you use the Command in the North, they will kill you. Without hesitation. Your life is in your own hands.”
    Dylan swallowed, and I could see the apple bob in his throat.
    “One thing,” I said, fidgeting with the paper in my hands. When I'd met him, Prince Raserion didn't say anything about Breakwater stealing their children back. He'd known that Rune had survived and escaped. That Hest and Sterling were dead. Wouldn't he have mentioned Breakwater? Added it to the mix if he'd known? No, I figured Lord Brendon still had time. But what about my home? What if he lied about not wanting to invade? What if I failed to help him find Varion?
    “ Raserion... the prince, he knows how to get to us.” The double meaning in my statement was accidental. He certainly knew how to get to me. “Haven needs to be warned.”
    Brendon's brown eyes were honest, but they were shrewd too. “Tell me the way, and I will send a messenger.”
    “ No,” I said reflexively.
    The Common-Lord frowned. “I'm sorry, Katelyn, you are essential for this voyage. You have two powerful Abilities to aid you in proving that you are a Lodestone. If the North hears you out, they'll find that you truly are neutral. They're unlikely to risk war with your people.”
    “ I wouldn't take long. Just let me tell them what's happening here. I'd come back right away.”
    “ I know that you would, but we simply don't have the time. Raserion...”
    To my shame, I interrupted him. “Doesn't know that the children of Penalty were returned.”
    Vexation rolled off of him. “How do you know that? Conjecture? Hope?”
    What could I say? Don't worry, I spoke with him last night and he didn't mention you?
    I faltered.
    “ Really, Miss Kestrel, I thought you'd overcome your naiveté by now.” His disappointment wounded me. Brendon was a good man and a better leader. I'd come to respect him a great deal. And I couldn't tell him the truth.
    “ I'll go,” Professor Block said, breaking his long silence. “I work with the Historical Society. Sandra Loring, sent you looking for me. They want to know what I've learned. As unfair as it is, they'd be more likely to listen to an adult than a teenager with a penchant for troublemaking. No offense.”
    I was only a little offended. Professor Berry Block had once been a troublemaking teenager like me. “None taken. Professor, I'm sorry, but you're not exactly in the position to take the high-road here.”
    Kyle backed me up. “You're the one who sent Eddie Elm back to Haven with a death wish. How do we know you won't just do what he did?”
    “ What they…” Professor Block looked down at his feet and began to blink rapidly. “What they did to me. I said things I didn't think I was capable of saying. I thought things–” There were tears in his eyes. “I thought I was alone in this fight. I was wrong. All of this is my responsibility. Please, let me make it right.”
    Kyle was uneasy. “Look, Professor, I believe you, but an apology just isn't enough after