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I turned toward the fight, my back to Larkwood, staring out at the guards, at the shades who had become family, and I pulled my shoulders back.
A sound from behind me made me frown, but I didn’t get the chance to even look before bodies rushed past me. It took a moment to identify them.
Shades.
They were all from Level 1, people I had taught, who I had helped negotiate for, who I had worried for even if no one knew it. They didn’t stop next to me, didn’t hesitate for a moment before throwing themselves into the fray.
All I could do was stare. What I had said mattered, it had changed things, and now we had a chance…
I shook off the surprise and rushed forward, taking my own advice and refusing to give up.
Chapter Twenty
Hera
I yanked back, but nothing helped. The strong hands that held my arms wouldn’t relent. I’d thrown everything I had into the fight, but as it turned out, facing off directly against the Corrander soldiers was a hopeless battle.
I still fought it, though. If I didn’t, if I surrendered, these soldiers would head off to the fight, and I couldn’t let that happen. I needed to keep them here, focused on me, for as long as possible to give Kit and the others the best chance.
And yet that didn’t last that long. It hadn’t taken much before their numbers and power overwhelmed me, before the first lucky hit to my cheek had knocked me down and allowed them to close the distance.
They shoved me to my knees, my shoulders aching from the way they held my arms.
What was worse was the emptiness in their eyes. I never thought hatred would make me feel better, but it did. If I was going to die, I sure as hell wanted the person killing me to feel something, to care.
To be murdered by an empty shell felt like a hollow death.
“My name is Kit Porter.” Kit’s voice made me jerk my gaze up toward a speaker in the corner of the room.
He spoke to the residents of Larkwood, to the shades themselves. It wasn’t hard to hear it for the rallying cry it was, and it told me their fight wasn’t going well.
If it were, they wouldn’t need to appeal to others, to beg for backup.
I also doubted it would work. The shades of Larkwood had suffered so much, I doubted they trusted anyone enough to go head-to-head with the Warden and her guards.
Still, I couldn’t blame him for trying. When someone had no good options, bad ones started to look promising.
After a pause, Kit spoke again, this time to Lilianna. His words made my eyes sting, and I could only hope she heard. No matter what happened, no matter if we failed, she still had a future, a chance. Him sending her a message at the very least eased me.She deserved to have at least that much from her father.
In the end, he thanked me as well. It sapped my energy, made me give up and hang against the strong hands. I wanted to respond, to thank him as well, to thank them all.
I wanted to tell them all how much they’d changed me, how much they mattered to me.
Wade had taught me that life goes on, that a person can keep moving, can even smile at the worst of times. Brax taught me that even the toughest of people need others around, that isolating oneself isn’t really protection. Knox taught me that a person has to accept themselves, that they can’t live a life where they hate themselves. Deacon taught me that even people who don’t fit in can make a life and a family for themselves. And Kit? He taught me that we all do things we wish we didn’t have to, that we all face choices that seem impossible, and that all we can do is move forward and decide where we go from there.
I had gone from a spoiled rich girl who knew nothing of the world, who feared and hated everything different, to someone I was proud of. I wasn’t perfect, but I tried now. I didn’t let fear rule me and I was grateful for that.
Which meant I wasn’t sorry for coming back. I didn’t regret standing up against the Warden or risking my life or fighting. Even if we didn’t win, we might have planted the seeds of change. If the files Soshi had got to where they were going, it could be the spark that took down Larkwood.
If that happened, if what we did today finished this all, then I’d accept my own death without complaint.
Though I did wish I could seethemonce more.
One of the soldiers crouched down in front of me, his eyes empty and flat. He lifted his hand, which had vicious claws tipping each finger. I didn’t flinch away, staring right back at him. If this was the end, I wouldn’t cower.
His hand swung forward, and I braced myself for the pain.
“Stop.” The single word seemed to freeze time itself. The soldier’s hand hung mid-air, as if unable to ignore the order.
