Page 74 of Before We Burn

Build it up with iron bars,

My fair lady.

Once I finish, tears begin to fall at a rapid pace, my mental state more than fragile. This all started because I wanted to protect Bunny. I didn’t want her to die; I didn’t want her to hurt. She just got here.

I lie down next to her, her dark eyes returning to that hue of blue I remembered. There was something wrong, and I didn’t notice it sooner. This is my fault.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Her voice is faint and rough. I see how she’s struggling to keep her eyes open. I want to tell her it’s okay to let go, but I’m not ready for that. It’s a selfish act, but the words hurt too much. I nod my head, unable to form the words.

“I was supposed to die a long time ago. But because of your—” Her eyes go distant for a moment, but she comes back. “Because of your sacrifices, I have been spared over and over again. So now I have shown that you are loved. That you are cared for. Especially by me.”

Sobs wrack my body. I can’t hold myself together, and I can’t pretend this doesn’t hurt anymore. Losing people in threes feels like a curse, and though I was too blind to see it, I had created a tight knit group—a family not tied by blood but by simple acts of humanity. We loved each other in our own way.

“There’s not enough time to say goodbye, but there are things I need to tell you. All of them are safe. Nadiya’s magic is strong. You just stepped forward and it put you out—” Bunny takes a large, strained breath. Her eyes close again, but this time she doesn’t open them as she continues.

“Nadiya couldn’t get to you in time. Benny shifted out, but Arthur—the Premier Leader—took Everett. He’s fine. One council member is dead—Williamson—which means his kin is likely to find out their life will end next. It’s your job to gather people like us—just as broken, just as odd. You’ve shown me there is always someone out there who will at the very least care about us.”

Her voice breaks as she opens her eyes. I see her own tears beginning to form. It’s like she is reverting back to her human self. She glances upward, the thrones right above our heads as she breathes out in peril. “You should be on the throne. If there is one at the end. You, Benny, Connie, and Everett. The council redone, made of humans, vampires, and witches.”

The time is coming, and I can’t stomach it. I can’t watch as she dies here in front of me. “I’m so sorry, Bunny.” My voice cracks as I lie on the dirty, broken floor with her. For a moment, we’re together, and I take in her beautiful mahogany skin, the two pigtails she styled to look like stars with purple and pink bubbles in them. She’s wearing a teal clip with a star, and her edges are styled effortlessly.

I place my hand on her cheeks as the burnt parts of her body begin to spread. First her legs, then her midsection, until the only thing left is her face. Her eyes open for the last time, a flash of her life there, then her body crumbles like burning wood in a campfire. Her hums are now haunted by the wind while I lie there in disbelief.

“Bunny?” I question in grief, delirium most likely setting in at this point. I have lost so much. “Bunny?” I scream this time as sobs wrack through my body and my mind spins, landing on the first time I met her. Then when she told me her human life was unfortunate. I never asked her how—or why. I never tried to get to know her. I was too focused on saving her. Too focused on my own retribution. Too selfish.

I stand. My face is covered in tears and the ash of the person who so quickly became my family. I can’t leave. I can’t pull my eyes away. She jumped on top of me, saving me for a reason. Her sacrifice—no, her murder—will not be taken lightly. The Premier Leader has led the majority of this war because vampires were being slaughtered at devastating rates. There is no telling how he was doing it, but now I know I can combat it.

He wants to use witches against us as well as vampires ready to betray their kind. So be it. But now he’s forced me out of the ignorance vampirism has granted me. I know this is his fault. Alexander's fault. Onyx’s fault. And the Council of Five—now four. My memories fuel me, each terrible one I have, and I let them. They flow freely, and I grant them my acceptance.

Yes, terrible things happened to me. Yes, I did awful things to others who may not have deserved it. But now my focus has shifted. Now I feel my power building under my skin like an electrical current. My chest heaves, and the wind somehow enters the closed-off room.

I turn around and walk over the broken, cracked concrete, around the black iron thrones thrown around the room, until I’m outside. The sun is out, and the low sizzle on my skin irritates me. I look down the long road I have to walk and close my eyes. I can sense them all. Everett, Nadiya, Ciro—all of them. I let my energy flow, feeling more than just my family, but feeling other witches—other vampires.

Thunder cracks above my head and dark heavy clouds begin to form. The sun is completely blocked out and rain begins to pour. I can’t help but smile. Religion has been lost for a long time, the Premier Leader making sure to let everyone know he was their new lord and savior. I’m going to show the world differently. I’m going to make him so helpless he’ll beg for my mercy; he’ll kiss and wash my feet. I will show him that hell is a real place, and I’m the fucking ring leader.

I slowly begin to walk, my pace even and controlled. A smile pulls at my lips as I begin to whistle, ‘Pop, goes the weasel.’

32

‘TIL THE END

BENNY

We shift back to the brownstone safe house. I had a feeling we should’ve never left. The other place was in the center of a wealthy neighborhood, and those were always the ones Premier Leader appealed to. Sometimes I found myself aggravated that I had to go through what I went through to get here, but I’m happy I’m here and not in the barracks.

Constantine paces the small living area. No one can get her to calm down, and her fidgeting is out of control. She mumbles things too fast for me to understand and screams at anyone who tries to speak to her. She’s trying to find a way to get Marz back, but we all saw it. We saw her go down with the council members and Bunny, saw the blinding white light that threatened to obliterate her. Some of the others did get burned, but Connie didn’t, because I threw whatever power I had out at that moment to protect her.

It’s not every day a male witch is able to cast as strongly as I was able to. I think it had something to do with being so close to an anchor, because I even shifted here myself. I just thought about going wherever Constantine went, and well, I’m here.

Nadiya and Ciro are going back and forth, both of them firing off ways they knew about the safehouse. They were helpful, but not the smartest in the bunch when it came to tactical information. Malcolm had the answers, though. They must’ve followed us from the club, and that’s why this house is still safe. The Premier Leader would’ve taken down any and every house we thought was safe. He would’ve wanted to make a statement.

“I need to go back. I need to tell Marz where we are. She won’t know.” Constantine is out of it. I step closer to her and pull her into my chest.

I’m feeling the same way as Connie. I thought my best friend—my brother—had gone back to the side we escaped. I had been so angry with him as I moved to the Premier Leader’s side. I should’ve known better. Everett doesn’t forgive easily at all. He played the Premier Leader, just needing to get close enough to try to get the detonator away from him. The Premier Leader was just faster.

When we first got back, everyone was cursing Everett’s name, and I had to tell them what he actually did. It was a tactic we’ve seen witches use before. They would pretend to give up or want to give us information, just to disappear or throw a curse to hurt us. Constantine didn’t care about any of that. She was ready to kill Nadiya for not grabbing Marz or Bunny when she had the chance.

Nadiya had an explanation, though. One I understood. Marz and Bunny stepped out of reach. Magic is an extension of yourself, and you have to stretch your mind thin in order to cast farther. She shifted four people out of there safely. If she stretched any farther, everyone would be dead.