Chapter 46: In The Dark Of Night
Chapter 46: In The Dark Of Night
Ren sat near the flickering light of the lantern in his room, fingers drumming lightly on the wooden table as his thoughts wandered.
His eyes were fixated on the small map on the table in front of him but he clearly wasn’t actually seeing it. His mind was elsewhere.
The inn was silent, save for the occasional rustling of wind through the trees outside.
Sleep seemed to have forgotten him as he sat, his mind too preoccupied with what he had to do.
Three very important things, each one important enough to put him ahead of the coming disasters. If he failed even one, things could get very hard for him in the future.
The capital was still weeks away, but it felt like with every step he took towards it, the more he could feel the pressure of what needed to be done.
Without the people connecting Fuchsia to the nobility, the war could be delayed. With the destruction of the barbarian clan at the border, the Ross family wouldn’t have to fight on two fronts.
And with the accumulation of money, the Ross family wouldn’t be caught between a rock and a hard place when the war eventually came.
Not to mention the added bonus of if they tied themselves to the Penny Prince. It’ll take convincing to get his father to agree but that was a problem for future Ren.
There was a soft knock on the door, breaking his thoughts.
"Come in." Ren said quietly.
Thorn stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a low creak. His usual smirk was absent, replaced by a more serious expression.
He dropped onto the chair opposite Ren, stretching his arms and letting out a tired sigh.
"The soldiers finished scouting the immediate area. No threats, human or otherwise. Though, not like we expected much. Monsters are pretty rare in Albion."
Not for long. The fourth and fifth Minor Calamities would definitely change that.
Ren nodded. "Good. At least we won’t have any surprises."
Thorn leaned forward, elbows on the table. "But there’s something else we need to talk about. Lilith’s elder brother."
"Who?" Ren’s brow furrowed slightly as he
Thorn leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Well, that’s one piece set. You think this will work?"
Ren exhaled. "It has to. The more we can control every situation around us, the better."
Thorn pushed off the wall and stretched. "We need to be careful. Going by everything you’ve said, Fuchsia isn’t some street gang. They have reach."
"If they find out you were behind the deaths of their members, they’ll come at you hard."
"They won’t find out it was me. And if it stays that way, they’ll even be glad I took out their competition for them and the infighting will begin." Ren tapped a finger on the map.
"Besides, we don’t need to wipe them out completely. Just cut off the head. Without leadership, they’ll fragment. And that will buy us time."
Thorn sighed. "Fine. But if we’re doing this, we need a fallback plan. If the soldier we sent ahead gets caught or turns on us—"
"Then I’ll make sure no one can trace anything back to us." Ren interrupted. "I’ll be careful."
Thorn ran a hand through his hair. "You always say that."
Ren smirked. "And I’m still alive, aren’t I?"
Thorn snorted. "Barely."
There was a moment of silence between them as both considered the consequences of failure.
Ren knew that even if this failed, the greatest threat was still the coming Red Plague. But he definitely would not fail.
Thorn sighed. "Guess I better get some sleep while I still can."
Ren nodded. "We’ll need it."
Thorn left, and Ren sat alone in the dim light of the lantern, staring at the map.
The capital was getting closer, and with it, the storm that would change everything.
activa-t