Chapter 18: The Grand Deception
From his perch high in the tree, Rhys looked down upon the campsite. It was a display of casual arrogance.
At least thirty cultivators were gathered, their tents arranged in a haphazard circle around a large bonfire.
The emblems of the Thorne and Sterling families were everywhere, stitched onto banners and armour.
They had set up a perimeter, but it was sloppy, full of blind spots that a child could exploit.
’Amateurs,’ Rhys thought, shaking his head. They were treating the Whisperwood like their family’s back garden.
At the centre of the camp, by the fire, stood the two leaders.
Tiberius Thorne, the ’Raging Bull’, was a mountain of a young man radiating brutish power.
But.
’Something is wrong,’ Rhys frowned. ’Why is Tiberius leading, instead of Aiden?’
He looked around hoping to see the presence of Aiden.
Lady Seraphina Sterling was his opposite, a picture of cool, aristocratic confidence.
’If I remember correctly, Anya Sterling is the leader of younger generation. She is even better than my father in talent.’