“We’ll be okay,” Sophia said gently.
I took a cautious step forward. “What happened last night? How did Jaymin capture you?”
“Hmph,” Liam grumbled, but Sophia didn’t seem bothered by the question.
“We extended our stay on the island so we could take you all home for winter break,” she said. “We heard about the Elves being captured, and we were worried about Ava. We came to the Institute the moment we got the news, and we had the guards check your room. But you must’ve been gone by that time, because the guards started making excuses. We knew something bad had happened. We don’t have cell phone service on the island, so we snuck to the payphones and called the Elders back in Kinpago. We were able to reach Chieftess Vanessa and tell her what was going on, but Jaymin captured us before we finished.”
“She hit us with some nasty spells, too,” Liam added.
“The chieftess must’ve heard you get captured, then,” I said.
“She had to,” Sophia confirmed. “I went back to the phone room this morning to update her, but the lines are down. They’re saying it’s because of the sinkhole, but I think Jaymin must’ve ordered someone to cut the lines last night.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked desperately. “The Warden isn’t willing to step on the Union’s toes, because he knows he’ll go down if he does. We can go to them. They’ll have the upper hand.”
“We plan on it,” Liam stated. “As soon as we can get in touch with the Union, we’ll—”
“Breaking news!” the TV blared.
“Turn it up,” Sophia said quickly.
The volume grew as the broadcast began. “We have just received confirmation that a bombing has occurred on the southwest side of Celestial City, near the angels’ governing headquarters. As of now, casualties are estimated in the hundreds, though reports are still coming in. Our sources say the origin of the attack is unknown, though witnesses confirm sightings of dragons flying above Celestial City minutes before the attack, ridden by Koigni riders…”
“Fuck. Dragons,” Liam growled. “It was Vanessa. She hadn’t heard from us, so she launched an attack.”
“No. It can’t be true,” Sophia argued. “Vanessa wouldn’t—”
“Itistrue, Soph. Vanessa was looking for a reason to make the first move. She didn’t want the Hawkei to be a target like we were in the last war, and she wanted to get on the offense against the angels before they came for us,” Liam said tiredly. “What else can we say? We knew this was coming eventually.”
My blood ran cold. The next great war had started, and it was the tribe’s fault.
Hell, what had we done?
Sophia gasped. “The kids, Liam! If the angels launch a counter-attack on Kinpago—”
A chair skittered to the side as Liam stood up. “I won’t let them get hurt,” he stated firmly.
“You can’t promise that!” she shouted. “Two of our children are in prison— one is lying in the intensive care unit. Alana and Maverick are alone and helpless.”
“I’ll go to them,” Liam decided. “I’ll make sure they get somewhere safe, then I’ll return with them.”
“You need to stay in Kinpago. The tribe’s going to need you. You’re the Toaqua chief,” Sophia insisted. “You need to protect the tribe. You can’t abandon them.”
“I can’t abandon my daughter, either,” he raged.
“We have other children you need to protect. I’ll stay here with Ava,” Sophia said. “If we go to the Union now, it will divide them. The Hawkei attacked the angels first, so they’re not going to believe what we know about the Warden.”
“The angels might not, but we’ll have others on our side,” Liam said. “We have to tell them what we know.”
“We’ll go to the parents. Those who lost their children in the Underground deserve to know what happened. We’ll get their support. But Ican’tleave.” Sophia’s voice cracked. “Ava needs treatment. I have to be here to heal her. If I don’t, she may not make it…”
Their words seemed to disappear into the back of my mind. I was barely aware of Liam rushing out of the room, then Sophia saying something to me before she followed him. I couldn’t make heads or tails of what had happened. It was all too much at once.
Was this part of Ava’s prophecy? Was this the choice she’d had to make— to sacrifice herself and bring down the Underground? It had led to this attack. And I hadn’t stopped her, so I was to blame. Hell, how many people were going to die for us? First in Forevermore, now in Celestial City. Even people at the Institute had died at our hand. Would the carnage ever end?
It didn’t seem to matter, to be honest. Ava-Marie was lying in a coma. I could feel the void inside of me where her spirit should be. It seemed her fate was already sealed. Nothing mattered if she wasn’t here.
But I couldn’t give up on her yet. I held on to the hope that Ava-Marie would pull through. I’d heard her voice, seen her spirit return to her body.
