Chapter 6 THE ENEMY'S GIFT

ETHAN'S POV

I stared at the documents until my eyes burned.

The candle had melted halfway down. Marcus snored softly in his bedroll. Outside the tent, soldiers talked and laughed around campfires, celebrating our "victory" today.

But I couldn't celebrate. Not after reading what Kiera had given me.

The evidence was damning. Undeniable. Horrifying.

Attack reports on villages that were hit months before the war officially started. Witness statements from orc scouts who saw humans in black armor—not orcs—burning settlements. Maps showing planned attack routes marked with the Silver Covenant symbol.

My hands shook as I turned to the final page.

It was a letter. Written in elegant handwriting on expensive paper.

"Phase One complete. Seventeen villages destroyed. Casualty reports successfully blamed on orc aggression. Public outrage growing as predicted. Ready to proceed to Phase Two: military draft and engagement. Target date for first major battle: three weeks. Expected casualties: acceptable range. - S"

S. Lady Seraphina.

The woman Captain Helena had mentioned. The one pulling the strings. The one whose "timeline" this war was following.

I felt sick. Actually sick.

Seventeen villages. How many people was that? Hundreds? Thousands? All murdered by their own kingdom to create an excuse for war.

And for what? What was worth all that death?

A noise outside made me jump. I quickly stuffed the documents back into the leather pouch and hid it under my bedroll, next to the Silver Covenant badge.

My heart hammered. If anyone found these papers, I'd be executed for treason. No trial. No explanation. Just dead.

But I couldn't destroy them. They were proof. Evidence that could stop this insane war and save countless lives.

The question was: what did I do with them?

Morning came too soon. My body ached from yesterday's battle. Every muscle screamed when I moved. But physical pain was nothing compared to the weight of what I now knew.

"You look terrible," Sarah said at breakfast. "Didn't sleep?"

"Nightmares," I lied. "First battle and all."

"Same," Thomas said, his usual grin gone. "I keep seeing the faces of the orcs I killed. Wondering if they had families. If someone is mourning them right now."

James pushed his food around his plate. "I thought it would feel different. More heroic. But it just feels... wrong. Like we're all making a terrible mistake."

Marcus looked up sharply. "What's wrong with you all? We won yesterday! We pushed back the enemy! We're protecting our kingdom!"

"By killing people who might not even be our real enemies," I said quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marcus asked.

I met his eyes. "That orc warrior yesterday. The one with red hair. She spoke perfect human language. She spared your life when she could have killed you. Does that sound like a savage monster to you?"

Marcus's jaw tightened. "Just because she speaks our language doesn't mean she's not dangerous. She's still the enemy."

"But what if she's not?" I pressed. "What if the orcs aren't the ones who started this war?"

"Then who did?" Marcus demanded.

I wanted to tell him. Wanted to show him the documents. But Father's warning echoed in my head: trust no one.

"I don't know," I said instead. "I just think we should ask more questions."

"Questions get soldiers killed," Sarah said, echoing what she'd told me before. "Just follow orders, Ethan. It's safer."

But following orders meant being part of a lie. Meant helping the Silver Covenant murder more innocent people.

I couldn't do that. Not anymore.

After breakfast, I found a quiet spot behind the medical tents. I pulled out the documents again, studying them more carefully in daylight.

The attack patterns were too organized to be random orc raids. Each village was hit in a specific sequence, creating a trail of destruction that pointed toward orc territory. Anyone looking at a map would assume the attacks came from the north—from orc lands.

But if you looked closer, the timing didn't work. Some villages were attacked on the same night, hundreds of miles apart. No orc raiding party could move that fast.

Unless there were multiple attack groups. Multiple teams of human soldiers in black armor, all working together, all following Lady Seraphina's plan.

I was so focused on the documents that I didn't hear footsteps approaching.

"Interesting reading material, soldier."

I spun around. Captain Helena stood three feet away, her cold eyes locked on the papers in my hands.

My blood turned to ice. I tried to hide the documents, but it was too late. She'd already seen them.

"I—these are just—" I stammered.

"Let me see them." It wasn't a request.

My mind raced. If I gave her the documents, the evidence would disappear. But if I refused, she'd know I was hiding something important.

I had no good choice.

Slowly, I handed her the papers.

Helena's face remained expressionless as she read. But her knuckles turned white as she gripped the documents. When she finished, she looked at me with eyes full of something I couldn't quite read. Anger? Fear? Both?

"Where did you get these?" she asked quietly.

"I found them," I lied. "On the battlefield yesterday. They were just... lying there."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth."

Helena stepped closer. "Do you have any idea how dangerous these papers are? How many people would kill to keep this information secret?"

"I'm starting to understand," I said, my voice shaking.

"Then you understand that having them makes you a target." She held up the documents. "These papers? They don't exist. You never saw them. You never read them. You know nothing about what they say. Is that clear?"

"But"

"IS THAT CLEAR?" Her voice cracked like a whip.

"Yes, Captain."

"Good." She tucked the documents inside her jacket. "Because asking the wrong questions can get a soldier executed for treason. And right now, soldier, you're asking very wrong questions."

She turned to leave, then paused. "Your father was a good man, Blackwood. Smart enough to know when to speak up and when to stay quiet. I suggest you learn the same lesson. For your own survival."

She walked away, leaving me standing there with my heart pounding.

The evidence was gone. The proof I needed to expose the conspiracy had just been confiscated by the very person who was part of it.

I was back to having nothing except the Silver Covenant badge hidden in my tent. A badge that proved something was wrong but couldn't prove what or why.

That night, I couldn't eat. Couldn't sleep. Couldn't stop thinking about those documents now in Helena's possession.

Marcus noticed. "You've been weird all day. What's going on?"

I wanted to tell him everything. But what if he didn't believe me? What if he reported me to Helena?

"Just tired," I said.

"Liar." Marcus sat down beside me. "We've been friends since we met. I know when something's bothering you. Talk to me."

I looked at my best friend. At the person who'd saved my life in battle yesterday. Who'd stood by me through training and fear and doubt.

Could I trust him with the truth?

"If I told you something that sounded crazy," I said carefully, "would you at least listen? Even if you didn't believe me?"

Marcus frowned. "How crazy are we talking?"

"Crazy enough to get us both killed if I'm wrong. Or crazy enough to save thousands of lives if I'm right."

His frown deepened. "Ethan, you're scaring me."

"I'm scared too," I admitted. "But I need someone I can trust. Someone who'll help me figure out what's real and what's a lie."

"Okay," Marcus said slowly. "I'm listening."

I took a deep breath and made my decision.

I told him everything.

About the Silver Covenant badge I found at Thornhill. About overhearing Helena's conversation. About Kiera giving me documents. About the evidence showing villages were attacked before the war started. About Lady Seraphina's letter talking about "acceptable casualties."

Marcus listened without interrupting. His face went from confused to shocked to angry to disbelieving.

When I finished, he sat in silence for a long time.

"That's insane," he finally said. "You're saying our own military is burning our own villages and blaming orcs to justify a fake war?"

"Yes."

"That's..." He struggled for words. "That's impossible. Why would anyone do that?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I know what I saw. What I heard. What I read."

"The documents are gone now," Marcus pointed out. "Helena took them. You have no proof."

"I still have the badge."

"A badge you claim to have found. That proves nothing."

I felt frustration rising. "So you don't believe me?"

"I don't know what to believe!" Marcus stood up, agitated. "You're my best friend, Ethan, but you're asking me to believe that everything we've been told is a lie. That the people we trust are murderers. That we're fighting a war that shouldn't exist."

"I know how it sounds—"

"It sounds crazy!" Marcus ran his hands through his hair. "It sounds like battle stress or paranoia or—"

"Or the truth," I said quietly.

Marcus stared at me. "If you're wrong about this, you'll be executed for treason."

"And if I'm right, thousands more people will die in a war built on lies."

He shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry, Ethan, but I can't help you with this. It's too dangerous. Too insane."

"Marcus—"

"No." He backed toward the tent flap. "You're my friend, and I don't want to see you hurt. So I'm going to pretend we never had this conversation. I'm going to forget everything you just told me. And I'm asking you—as your friend—to do the same. Drop this before it gets you killed."

He left the tent, leaving me alone with my dangerous knowledge and no one to share it with.

I lay down on my bedroll, staring at the tent ceiling. I'd lost the documents. Lost Marcus's support. Lost any chance of proving what I knew.

The smart thing would be to listen to Marcus. Drop it. Forget. Survive.

But I couldn't.

Because tomorrow, another battle would happen. More soldiers would die. More families would lose sons and brothers and fathers.

All for a lie.

I pulled out my grandfather's journal and read his words about orcs being honorable people, not monsters. About how understanding prevents war.

If only he were here. He'd know what to do.

I was just about to put the journal away when I noticed something. A loose page tucked in the back. A page I'd never seen before.

I pulled it out. It was a letter. Addressed to me.

"My dear Ethan," it began in my grandfather's handwriting. "If you're reading this, it means you've started asking the dangerous questions. The ones about what's really true and who's really lying. I hoped you'd never need this letter, but I prepared it just in case. There are forces in our kingdom that profit from war. Forces that will do anything—even murder innocents—to keep power and wealth. They call themselves the Silver Covenant, and they are more dangerous than any orc army. If they discover you know their secrets, they will kill you. But I believe you're brave enough and smart enough to expose them. Trust your instincts. Question everything. And when the time comes, seek out the ones who also search for truth. You're not alone, even when it feels that way. Be careful, grandson. The path you're on is treacherous. But it's also the only path that leads to real peace."

My hands shook as I read the letter three times.

Grandfather knew. He knew about the Silver Covenant. Knew about the conspiracy. And somehow, he knew I'd discover it too.

Which meant this was bigger than I'd thought. Older. Deeper.

And somewhere out there were others who knew t

he truth. Others who were fighting the same fight.

I just had to find them before the Silver Covenant found me.