Page 88 of The Awakening of Essensia

He lay motionless.

It had happened too fast, over in the time it took to draw a breath.

She should move. Why couldn’t she move?

Ressa was at her side. “You saw it too?” Her voice cracked as she grabbed Vaelira’s shoulders. “Tell me I didn’t just see a demon in the middle of the day and inside the walls? Tell me I’m not losing my mind.”

Vaelira didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say. She’d just watched it happen. Had done nothing to stop it.

Across the field, the other recruits kept sparring, circling, and striking. No one even noticed.

“We need to tell the Commander,” Ressa said, jaw tight. She gave Vaelira one more glance then sprinted away.

Vaelira looked up at the thick blanket of clouds blotting out the sun. Not a single ray of light broke through, not a glimmer of warmth.

Someone had summoned a demon here, had done so knowing Kolborn would be standing apart from the others, taking shelter from the rain. What threat did he pose? He’d been watching her, reporting back to the Queen, but why would the summoners care about that?

But he wasn’t the only one watching. She didn’t know who was reporting to Elijah, and that terrified her more than the blood. What if Elijah had… No. Impossible.

Her legs buckled and she sank into the mud, leaning back on her arms as she tilted her face towards the sky and tried to imagine the rain washing it all away. The metallic taste. The blood. The questions. There was no space left for rational thought, only the echo of a wet slap in the mud.

Inside Jurah’s office, Vaelira sat in silence beside the fire, a thick blanket draped around her shoulders. The warmth did nothing to thaw the chill in her bones.

Jurah sat at his desk, drafting the official report. She’d already told him everything, every surreal moment, but she couldn’t make herself leave. The thought made her even more tired, and Jurah hadn’t asked her to go, so she stayed, reliving the last few moments of Kolborn’s life over and over until she started to question what she had seen.

She hadn’t even reached for her sword, or her new dagger. She could have thrown it, but she’d forgotten it was there. It still didn’t feel like a part of her, not in the way it should. If she’d had her bow she could have made the shot, but she’d never replaced it after losing it before they reached Allen, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have had it with her at the training field.

Even her power hadn’t answered her call.

Fear is the death of essensia.

A knock sounded. Jurah set down his pen and stood to answer it. He spoke quietly with someone in the hallway, stepped out, and shut the door behind him.

Vaelira glanced to the desk, then back to the door. Slowly, she let the blanket slip from her shoulders and crossed the room, then lowered herself into Jurah’s chair and began to read the report.

The longer she read, the more certain she was about what she had seen. He was making it sound like a freak accident, like Kolborn had tripped, his dagger drawn, and sliced his own throat. No one would believe it.

The door creaked open and Jurah stepped back inside. He paused when he saw her at his desk, then sighed.

Vaelira held the parchment in both hands, her fingers trembling with restrained heat. “This is a lie.”

“I’m following orders.” He didn’t return to the desk. Instead, he sank into the chair by the hearth, staring into the flames.

“Why?”

“Because it’s my job,” he snapped, turning to her. “I swore an oath to serve the Crown. You know nothing of it.” A pause. “The last reports had people spooked. If the Guard panics, the people panic, and scared people make poor choices.”

“They should be scared,” Vaelira said, flinging the parchment onto the desk. She rose to her feet, her voice rising with her. “Better fear than ignorance. Better a frightened city than a dead one.”

Jurah nodded slowly. “I know, but it’s not my call.”

Vaelira glared at him, and the man Axel had described, the man who had put orders over what was right, took shape. She crossed the room, making for the door.

“You are not to speak of it,” he said.

“I’m not the only one who saw.”

“That’s a direct order, recruit.”