“What if I did?” Conner asked. “How far would you go to win?”
“The better question, sir, is how far you will go to win.” I looked him steadily in the eyes as I spoke, although his back was to the fire and his eyes were set in shadow. “You killed Latamer. So we know you’re willing to murder to win.”
“I am.” Conner backed up, speaking to all of us again. “And I’m willing to lie, to cheat, and to steal. I’m willing to commend my soul to the devils if necessary because I believe there is exoneration in my cause. I need one of you to conduct the greatest fraud ever perpetrated within the country of Carthya. This is a lifetime commitment. It will never be safe to back down from my plan and tell the truth. To do so would destroy not only you but the entire country. And you will do it to save Carthya.”
“To save Carthya?” Tobias asked. “How?”
“Later, later,” Conner said. “Until then, boys, Mott has laid out a blanket for each of you by the fire. Tonight we sleep, and sleep well, because tomorrow our work will begin.”
I chose the blanket closest to me. Roden lay near me and wrapped his blanket tightly around him.
“Remember when I said I never won rounds against that old soldier?” he asked. Without waiting for an answer, Roden added, “It’s because I knew he’d stop if I won. I’m good with a sword.”
“Maybe you can use some of those skills to get us out of here,” I mumbled.
“You saw what he did to Latamer.” Roden was silent for several minutes, then whispered, “They just killed him. Told him he was safe to go, then they killed him. What is Conner planning that would make him willing to kill?”
“He’s planning a revolution,” I whispered back. “Conner is going to use one of us to overthrow the kingdom.”
Sometime during the night, I tried to roll over in my blanket. A tug on my ankle awoke me and I sat up to find myself chained to Mott, who was sleeping beside me. I grabbed a pebble and flung it at Mott’s face. His eyes flew open and he sat up, glaring at me.
“What?” he snarled.
“You chained me up?” I said. “Not the others, only me?”
“The others won’t run. You might.” Mott lay back down. “Go to sleep, or I’ll knock you out cold.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“Go where?”
“To go. I’d have just taken care of it myself, but it looks like you want to come along.”
Mott cursed. “Wait for morning.”
“Wish I could. I’ve been cursed with my mother’s pea-size bladder.”
Mott sat up again, fumbled on the ground for the keys to the chain, then unlocked himself. He grabbed his sword and directed me to stand, then escorted me over the cold ground to some bushes a little ways from camp.
“Go here.”
I did my business, then we walked back to camp. Mott grabbed the collar of my shirt and shoved me back onto my blanket. “You ever wake me in the night again and I’ll hurt you.”
“As long as you have me chained, prepare for waking up a lot in the night,” I said. “I’m not a quiet sleeper.”
He replaced the chain, tightening it, I noticed, from what it had been before. I stretched and yawned and rolled over, pulling my chained leg as far forward as I could. Mott yanked it back. Even though I knew I’d pay for it the next day, I couldn’t help but grin as I pulled my leg forward again.
Surprisingly, that morning Mott made no mention of the previous night. I got a kick awake, but so did Roden. Tobias was up walking around, so he must have been awake already, and smirked a little to see Roden and me groan in our blankets.
Roden seemed to have recovered from the shock of Latamer’s murder last night, or at least, he was back to his old self, assuring Tobias and me as we cleaned up that he intended to be the boy Conner chose. Tobias and I glanced at each other. Tobias’s expression was clear — he intended to win too, only he clearly planned on pursuing that goal more quietly than Roden.
“I have bread for breakfast,” Conner announced. “A mouthful for any boy who correctly answers my questions.” He broke off a piece of bread and asked, “Who are the current king and queen of Carthya?”
“Eckbert and Corinne,” I said quickly.
Tobias laughed. “King Eckbert is correct, but the queen is Erin.”
Conner tossed the bread to Tobias, which I thought was unfair. I’d already given him half the answer, yet he got the entire bite. Conner broke off another piece, then asked, “How many regents sit in King Eckbert’s court?”