Behind Ardim, Jaden could now make out bodies lying down, sleeping, he hoped. It was still early morning, they would need their rest after the shock and terrible images had been burnt into their memories. Those who could not sleep simply sat with their heads hung low, still ignorant of Jaden’s arrival. It pained him to see this, even though they were his rivals, he did not like that they had been treated in this manner. He would never have wished such a fate, even on them, the ones that had made his days more difficult than they should have been for his entire life. For all their wrongs, they were still his people, and this was not a just punishment.
‘I am going to find my father,’ he said, as carefully as he could manage, deciding now that he needed a new plan of action. He was not alone. There was still hope. ‘I last saw him on the road to the west. I think he’ll be going for help. We’ll bring an army to fight the Alliance.’
There was silence. None even seemed to hear him, let alone understand.
‘You are all welcome to join me,’ he went on. ‘Together we can bring them to justice.’
Again there was no reply. Jaden began to wonder if they were ignoring him on purpose, or if they had been made deaf by the explosions. He softened his tone further as he realised they may have been in too much pain to give him their attention.
‘Who will come with me?’ he asked.
‘Your father is dead, Jaden,’ said a man abruptly.
Jaden searched for the voice. It had come from near Ardim, almost sounding like Ardim’s voice but different somehow, deeper, raspier, more mature. Jaden first guessed it was the eldest brother, but soon saw it was actually Kal, the father of the two.
‘No,’ said Jaden confidently, now able to reveal his own father’s secrets freely. There was no need for secrecy any longer. ‘He is still on the road. He has been negotiating with the greater nations to protect Callibra, but now they will fight for us.’
Jaden stopped as he saw the faint outline of Kal’s head shaking from side to side.
‘Your innocence is a terrible thing. The fool was not bringing an army for protection—he was leading them to conquest.’
‘My father is not a traitor,’ said Jaden sharply.
‘No. For all his ignorance, he was not a bad man, but he was used. Of that we can be sure.’
‘You can’t be sure of what is not true,’ Jaden interrupted quickly, shocked at the disrespect being shown toward his father.
‘Your father told you he was brilliant, no doubt. He was not. We all knew what he was doing. The ones that destroyed our home were the same ones he was in talks with, of that I can assure you.’
‘Then why didn’t you stop him?’
‘We tried, boy,’ said Kal harshly. ‘He fought us. We let him win thinking he would not succeed. We are too far from any threat to the Alliance. There was no advantage to take our land. Your father must have been more gifted in speech than we gave him credit for.’
Despite his distaste for such petty insults, Jaden felt slight relief. It didn’t make sense. He could breathe. For a moment he had almost thought it could be true. ‘I don’t believe you,’ he said, his tone containing the previous venom of hatred used between the social clans.
But Kal was indifferent to it. ‘Believe what you wish. Your home, my home, they are no more. They came from the west, the same way your father had left. If he were not killed then, he would have been by one of their scouts. Go after him if you must, but he is dead.’
Jaden fought hard at the feelings of despair rising inside. It was hard to oppose one older than he was, even if it was a man he despised. And worst of all, there was logic behind those words. Deep inside, at the core of his being, he could feel himself being persuaded to believe the same, no matter how much he didn’t want to. The fact of the matter was that he didn’t know what had happened to his father, who he had been talking to in the other nations or if this army was the one he was hoping would protect Callibra. For a moment Jaden had found himself believing that this army was from Kobin’s doing, while his father had another on its way. One thing Jaden and Kal seemed to agree on, though, was that this army was of the World Protection Alliance, and if that were true, any army his father could bring now would most likely have little to no chance of success.
‘So you’ll just sit here and wait for death?’ Jaden asked desperately. ‘I will not stand around while the Alliance goes unpunished.’
‘And what would you do?’ asked Kal, now showing slight agitation. ‘They are a trained military force. We are but humble farmers at best.’