Bravura by Sara Kingsley

Author:Sara Kingsley [Kingsley, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Fern Books

If someone stumbled upon our camp that night, they would think we were a traveling band of merrymakers. Not a group of orphans and widows, our very lives threatened by the terrible rule of our King. I decide to forget that for a while too, and I settle in next to the roaring bonfire. There is music and a delicious smell permeating the air, leaking out from the underground oven. The sky is clear, and a nearly full moon has just cleared the tops of the trees.

Rosie brings me a plate of food. I thank her, and she runs off again, proud to be helping the older girls serve everyone.

“You and Leif have sure been busy.” Catriona appears next to me, her auburn curls shining in the firelight. I hope the glow is covering up how red my face is from her comment. She sits down on the log next to me and plucks a piece of potato from my plate, popping it into her mouth. “I’m kidding, you know. Who’s the kid? And where’s Leif?”

“Leif’s looking for his father, Nile.” Confusion crosses her face, so I tell her the rest, ending with the fact that I have no idea at all where Leif is now.

The alarm on her face is clear, even in the darkness. “If he’s still in the Bastion, he’s got to get out. Everyone knows you’re back. They’re locking up anyone who’s suspected of supporting you, but I’ve heard anyone who’s known to be helping you personally … well, let me just say they’d be lucky to end up in a prison camp. It’s a good thing you got out of there, at any rate. We’ll keep you protected.” Catriona steals a bit of carrot.

I look down at my plate of food. My own hunger has completely vanished, along with any coherent thoughts. I say the only word that comes to mind: “Why?”

Catriona shrugs. “Why not? We’ve got nothing to lose and our lives to gain back if—”

“If what, Catriona?”

“If we succeed in throwing King Araroa out. He’s old. He’s cruel. And his son is not the legitimate heir. You are.”

My heart leaps at that. It’s what I’ve suspected has been building. Hearing it stated out loud and so succinctly fills me with fear. But there’s something else too: a small feeling that starts in my pounding heart and spreads through my chest like warmth. Pride. That the people of Nadir are willing to stand up for their rights. I despise Araroa as well; he might be my biological parent, but he’s certainly not my father. He killed Seraphine, my beautiful mother and beloved Queen to the people of Nadir. He’s tearing families apart right this minute, no doubt. He does not deserve to rule any longer.

Another feeling begins to take root. It is a tiny seedling, but I’m certain it’s there. It’s what Leif has been telling me all this time, and suddenly I believe it a tiny bit now. That maybe, perhaps, I could help the people of Nadir.

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