“All this time, you were treating us like cattle being lead for slaughter. Was there truly never any love you wished to give us? It was all a lie?”
“Do you honestly think I would have wasted over twenty years keeping this friendship, having mysongrow close to one of you, and bringing you into the fold of this rebellion, if not for this? Your power is special, I will admit, but not enough for me to want you anywhere near my family. The child of the woman who ruined all of us, had us all killed by her greed and dreams of a better world.”
All these years. All the kindness and the willingness to help her learn to develop her power, Wellyn and Enid’s love, all of his words of encouragement…they were all lies. Fabricated by his own hatred.
Henry shoved her back down, making the wounds on her side burn in agony. He stared down his nose at her. “We shall rid ourselves of the book and overthrow the king, just as I promised. I am a man of my word, Anya. The king and his council will all pay for the destruction they brought onto us, all the countless lives lost for the sake of man’s greed to lift Samca’s curse.”
He turned toward the platform, the dagger coated in Enid’s blood dripping over the steps.
“Then we shall rid ourselves of every powerless fool who dared to claim we do not belong. We will make Elvir—the rest of Madic—a home for the Vedrans.Justthe Vedrans. We will show them all what it means when the blade is turned onto them.”
“You would do the same thing the king has been doing to us for twenty years? Tormenting innocents? All because they are not like us?” Anelize asked incredulously.
“There is nothing innocent about fools ruled by their prejudice and pious nature. Thinking themselves superior from us because they do not know the meaning of true suffering. What it means to hide in the shadows. I intend to show them.”
As Gabriel rose, he strode over toward Henry. Stopping his healing of Enid, causing her wound to open once more and a gurgling, choking sound to fill the chamber.
“Enid,” Anelize said desperately, fighting through her pain as she rushed back to her side and took hold of her hand once more. Hearing her heart still beating faintly. Enid’s face had gone pale, white as snow. Her eyes searched for her as if she was the one with the strange curse that ate away at her sight like a leach. Anelize ran her bloodied hands over her cheeks, coaxing her to stay with her. “Enid, look at me.”
“Anya?”
“I’m here. You’re going to be all right. Do you hear me? I need you to stay with me.”
Enid swallowed thickly, rivulets of blood running down the corners of her lips. When she spoke, her voice was a delicate rasp. “I’m tired, Anya…”
“No,” Anelize asserted. “No, you can’t be tired. I know you’re in pain, but you need to stay with me. We’re going home, remember? I’m taking you home.”
Tears pooled in Enid’s eyes as they found hers. “I dreamed of the flowers we would see on that field. We were running and happy…father was there. Yes, it was a good dream. One of the best ones…”
Voices echoed through the tunnels beyond the chamber, several footsteps stomping against the ground. Strained and loud. Familiar, yet not at all. Behind her, Henry and Gabriel cursed, their voices overlapping in their urgency.
“You don’t need to dream anymore. I’ll bring the flowers to you. As often as you want until you’re sick of them. You just have to promise you’ll stay with me. Can you do that? Just a little longer?” Anelize asked, wiping away the blood and tears streaking her sister’s face.
“I’ll be here. Waiting for you,” Enid whispered, her eyes sliding closed. Her heart slowing.
Anelize suddenly felt cold as the light pulsing within Enid’s chest slowly dimmed.
“Enid? No. Please, open your eyes!” She swayed, her breaths sawing out of her as she tried to wake her sister. Tried and…
Anelize realized that she was also dying. Slowly, but surely, dying as more blood left her body. Yet, she did not fear death. Not this time. Not when it didn’t matter if she was left in a world without Enid.
“It’s not working!” Gabriel barked. “Why isn’t it working?”
The sound of a dagger clattering to the ground was followed by a snarl of frustration. Footsteps approached her from behind and she was kicked onto her side. A hand gripped her side hard, nails sinking into the gashes on her side. Anelize screamed as Henry retrieved his hand which was now covered in her blood, his eyes wild and desperate.
“Then we’ll have to make use of the other one,” he snarled.
The ground beneath her spun as Anelize lost all the strength in her body. Laying on her back, she watched through bleary eyes as Henry trudged back up the steps and held his hand over the book. Watched as droplets of her blood fell upon the pages.
Nothing happened. Nothing at all.
The bellows of men coming from the tunnels echoedtoward her. Calling her name, though it could have all been in her head. Wishful thinking. Dreaming.
Then the glimmering lights across the walls and ceiling suddenly dimmed. Casting them all into utter darkness.
And then…
Blinding light surged, filling the room with it. So much of it, there was no end or beginning.
