Page 121 of Us Defiant Few

Adan’s arms swooped around her, his cries joining hers, and she couldn’t tell who was screaming or trembling anymore.

Around them, the surviving Desert Spring warriors shouted names, searching for fallen comrades. Serene and Brock quietly walked over, their bloodstained faces unable to hide their shock and despair.

Khalani sensed Takeshi’s presence before she saw him.

He let her friends hold her, respectfully keeping his distance. But when he saw Elise’s body on the ground, his fists clenched and he cursed into the storm, like he wanted to resurrect the dead Sinners and kill them all over again.

They appeared to have won the battle. But at what cost?

Their loved ones?

Their humanity?

When was it ever enough?

Khalani stood, unable to witness the sight any longer.

Takeshi carefully watched as she backed away, shadowing Khalani’s steps as if he knew she couldn’t be trusted with herself in that moment.

She had too much guilt and wrath billowing inside her, like a wooden cup that’d been filled with too much blood. She needed an outlet. An escape. Someone to blame before she picked up a gun and stuck it in her own mouth.

Her eyes caught on the bloody scythe on the ground. She picked it up, twirling it in her hands, unable to see her reflection in the metal. It was better that way. She feared what she would find if she did.

Wordlessly, Khalani marched over to Ansel’s lifeless frame and brought the scythe crashing over his body. She lifted the weapon to strike again, but strong arms clamped around her waist, wrenching the scythe from her deadly grip.

“Stop it, Takeshi,” she pleaded as he lifted her into his hold.

He ignored her wrestling and tucked her into his chest, pulling her away from all the carnage.

“Let me go,” she choked out.

Tears poured down her face as she burrowed her head into his neck.

“Just let me fucking go,” she sobbed.

But Takeshi didn’t put her down.

He didn’t say everything was going to be okay.

He knew, just like her, that words would never bring back the dead.

Takeshi simply held her in his arms as she fell apart, a silent promise in his eyes that he’d carry her weight, even when she couldn’t carry herself.

30

I shout for help, but the words keep flying away on invisible wings.

“Khalani, are you ready?”

Serene’s voice cut through the dim haze.

Khalani stared out the gray window, the same spot she’d been standing in the last few hours. Takeshi had carried her all the way back to the house like a thief in the night. He’d sat with her on the couch, holding her in his protective arms while she sobbed.

At some point, every tear had drained from her face, and Khalani sat completely still, numb and cold like a statue.

But statues had beauty. She was twisted and gnarled inside, like a rotting tree had branched from her heart. Blood stained her skin and clothing. Even if she scrubbed her body until her skin was raw, the stench of so many deaths would remain.

And Elise…