Page 156 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“I’m so sorry. I don’t want to.” My nose twitched as I fought off the burning in the backs of my eyes. “But what would you do if you were in my position? If you had to choose between your own life and the lives of those you loved?”

Tears swam in her dark eyes as she looked at me. “I am in your position, Vera. Because you’re one of the ones I love. And now you’re asking me to let you die for us.”

Pressure rose in my chest. I threw my arms around her neck and crushed her to me. She jolted at the sudden contact, then returned the embrace. “We don’t know that it’ll kill me,” I said, clutching her tight. “No matter what it tries to take, I will fight with everything I have. This is just a last resort.” I pulled away, wiping a tear from my cheek. “Promise me, Tessa.”

She sniffed. “I don’t like this.”

“Now you sound like Everett,” I said with a faint smile.

She exhaled and wiped her own tears away. “Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll get the three amulets and figure out how to finish it.”

“And?” I prodded.

Pursing her lips, she said, “And I’ll make sure Everett doesn’t try to stop your stupid, stubborn, ridiculously noble plan.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Thank you, Tessa.”

“But he deserves to know,” she added softly.

“It wouldn’t change anything.” I averted my gaze. “And it would only make things harder.”

She looked at me, keen eyes piercing. “Harder for who, you or him?”

I didn’t answer. I turned around and dabbed at my eyes again as footsteps sounded outside the curtain. A moment later, Dom and Everett entered the bunk room.

“Ready to go?” Everett asked, a borrowed sword at his back and a couple of daggers in his belt. I nodded, wiping any hint of my conversation with Tessa from my face.

“It’s been an honor to stand by you, if only for a short time,” Dom said, holding out his hand to me.

I grasped it. “Take care of yourselves. I don’t know what to expect in the coming hours or how the Elders might retaliate if we fail. Just be prepared for anything.”

“We’re always ready. I hope we meet again, Vera.”

I swallowed. “Thank you for—for everything. I couldn’t have done this without you and Sloane.” Her name caught in my throat.

“She died knowing our revolution had finally come.” Dom gave me a sad smile. “She was right, you know. All we’ve done is wait for our deaths, and now the rest of us have hope beyond that, thanks in part to her. She’ll never be forgotten.”

We said our goodbyes, and I turned to Tessa and Everett, taking their hands. For the second time that day, we strode back to the entrance of the catacombs. My muscles tensed as my feet hit the stone floor. All three of us were ready for a fight, but no guards were there to stop us. No wards, no flying arrows, no fire wraiths. We passed the same obstacles we faced before, now covered in ash from the fires, some areas still smoking.

But it was deathly still. Too still. The spikes didn’t jump up from the floor to impale us. The chasm from earlier was still there, empty and abandoned. There was no strange freezing magic, no obsidian blades threatening to slice us to pieces, and no shadowy, mysterious storm cloud.

Absolutely nothing but quiet. The fact that there were no defenses made me more wary than any enchantment could.

“Well, that was easy. I love a good trap,” Tessa said sarcastically at my side, twirling her twin daggers in the air.

“We don’t know it’s a trap,” I countered.

Everett quirked an eyebrow. “The Elders burned this place down just to stop you from leaving last time.”

“And they took Starke. Probably as leverage,” Tessa added. “It’s a classic trap move.”

“Fine.” I waved a hand in the air. “It’s a trap. I’m sure they’ll be smarter about it now. They didn’t expect me to show up last time.”

“They still need you,” Everett said. “That makes them desperate.”

“That makes them dangerous,” Tessa emphasized.

“I’m dangerous, too,” I said, straightening my spine. “Especially when they threaten my people.” I glanced at Everett. He nodded, but at the last second, he winced. My eyes instantly fell to his infected shoulder.