My hands were shaking,my adrenaline going haywire as I tried to collect myself. That should have made me feel better. I was glad he was gone, glad he was a pile of limbs on the floor, but I also felt like it wasn’t enough. I savored every moment of tearing him apart, but now that it was over, I came back to myself. The wound in my heart wasn’t healed like I thought it would be. I still felt hollow. I was still broken.
I had no idea how much time had passed before he took his last breath, but I was pretty certain I kept chopping into him long after he was dead. I inhaled, taking a moment for myself, before I got the courage to unlock the door.
Savannah stumbled forward, her fist fell into my chest instead of the wood as she pounded against it. She straightened, and I couldn’t help but notice her eyes bulge as she took in the room behind me.
I was drenched in blood. But the room was worse. I could already smell the stench of death taking over. I could still hear the screams coming from each of the men I just killed. I expected her to run away from me. I expected her to finally have the same fear that everyone in Brighta seemed to share.
Her hazel, lavender—whatever color they were—eyes finally landed on me. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t respond because who the fuck asks that after witnessing the horror behind me. I knew she heard everything. I knew she was aware of exactly what happened in this room because I heard her just as easily. I couldn’t block her out, not fully. Her pounding on the door and screaming my name was just as ingrained in my ears as their death wails were.
“Sie, are you hurt?”
“No.” I finally found my voice. I knew I was. I was covered in bruises. The blood coating me was just as much my own and every member of the Council. I just couldn’t feel the physical pain, not yet anyway, but I knew it would come.
“The fight is over,” she said softly. “Tezya… he came up to help you, but I told him…” She stopped abruptly. “When Tezya told the guards the Council was dead, most stopped fighting. The ones who didn’t are being escorted to the dungeons right now.” I nodded, only half paying attention to her words as she continued, “You should see a healer.”
“No,” I snapped before pushing her aside and walking downthe hall. I wanted to be alone, and I didn’t need her getting into my head.
No matter how badly I was injured I wasn’t planning on seeing a healer. There was only one I cared about anyway, and she was dead.
SIXTY-EIGHT
TEZYA
A day had passed,and I was finally starting to accept that staying in Tennebris wasn’t a death sentence. I understood the logic. It was easier to bring the healers here than portal everyone back to the too-cramped camp. It was also strategic to stay with the Tennebrisians, to make sure no one had the opportunity to spew more lies, and if we were lucky, more would want to fight with us when the time came to go to Lux.
I met with Rumor’s old guard yesterday after the fighting ended. His men would be joining us, and so far that alone was worth coming here first. We wouldn’t have won in Tennebris if it weren’t for them. I was so thankful for my sister’s visions. I couldn’t stomach thinking about what would have happened if we spread ourselves thin and attacked both kingdoms at once. There would have been a lot more deaths and bodies to burn…
Besides not particularly liking the constant cold and darkness of the place, I was worried we were leaving everyone vulnerable, but Dovelyn was right, the Lux King wouldn’t leave his city unprotected. When it came down to it, he’d sacrifice Tennebris again and again. We were safe here,for now, whileutilizing the kingdom’s resources and still able to hide Brighta’s location as a safe haven if needed.
Wells was able to disconnect the kingdom’s broadcast from Lux’s so we could make our own announcement. One that wasn’t filled with lies and deception, and I was surprised by how well it went. There were a few hiccups, a few groups that fought back—mostly people from Palm and Kitlarn—but everyone that did was brought into the dungeons—just until we could figure out what to do with them. We didn’t want any more blood spilled, but we couldn’t risk them turning against us and fighting with Lux.
The new laws Synder had implemented in the past couple of months helped us. The people were mad. Most were more than ready for things to change.
All in all, it was a success. The healers were tending to the wounded and everyone was taking a much deserved rest. Everyone but us.
We were leaving Palm today to check out the spacecraft. Sie told us Miles’ research was valid, and that we’d be able to go back to Allium, but everyone wanted to see it for themselves.
Backerly was a half day’s travel by the monorail, and Kallon was slowly setting up portals throughout the kingdom. We stopped seven times already, but it didn’t take more than fifteen minutes at each one. Sie would teleport Kallon to a new location, she’d create a portal, and then we’d be moving again.
Rumor and I were in a compartment by ourselves, and I tried to soak in the moment, holding her while we watched the snow drift by the darkened window.
“Are you ready?” I asked as I kissed the top of her head. She was nestled between my legs, both of us opting to sit on the floor with a bunch of blankets laid out before us.
She nodded but didn’t speak. I knew her mind was drifting toward her friends. Vallie was somewhere on the monorail, apparently sitting with Peter and Savannah.
I hated how much it was affecting her. I understood the redhead. I knew firsthand that trauma takes time to heal from and the girl went through a lot. I just hated how it was seeping into Scotlind. She tried desperately to hide it from everyone. But it was moments like this, when we were alone, that her mind wandered, and I knew it still hurt her.
“I’m scared that Sie will be right,” she finally admitted.
“You don’t want to return to Allium?” I asked, genuinely curious. We’d been having more and more meetings about what to do if—when—we won, and everyone was onboard with returning, pending Miles’ research. It was the right thing to do for both Advenians and mortals. We deserved a fresh start, one without the tainted world the current kingdoms created. We would no longer need to be confined to small territories. We could expand, live anywhere we wanted within Allium.
And the mortals deserved to live without us. They shouldn’t be dragged into a war and forced to accept changes because of our mistakes.
I just prayed it wasn’t too late. The newspapers Savannah had been collecting were unsettling as more and moredisasterskept occurring. I was starting to believe that the Lux King really was collecting humans.
Arcane admitted to creating a compulsion serum, although he said it wasn’t finished yet. It was only ninety percent done and never tested, but I didn’t put it past the King to use it anyway.
