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And one way or another, tonight we’re going to wipe the slate clean, destroy the legacy they created before the results of that legacy ravage even more of our world.
And that wiping of the slate might include destroying even ourselves.
It wasn’t my decision alone. I barely needed to touch on the subject with the guys before they understood what I meant—and agreed wholeheartedly.
We’re going to take every possible measure to ensure that Balthazar’s insanity and the guardians’ cruelty end here and now.
With that knowledge tight as a vise around my lungs, I give myself one last glance over the forest and the sense of freedom it offers before shutting the door for what should be the last time. Then I hurry over to the stairwell.
On the landing inside, Sorsha is waiting for me. When I nod, she lifts her hands and lets loose a controlled spout of flame that melds the lock and deadbolt into a solid lump.
The guardians won’t be able to open it, no matter what keys or codes they bring. They’ll come inside when they arrive, but they won’t get past the first floor.
They might not even try, with the fodder we’ve left in the rooms above to keep them busy while the rogue shadowbloods make their final approach, but it seemed best to take a precaution just in case.
Sorsha grasps my shoulder before we head down the stairs side by side. Her head sways a little with the movement, even though we’re keeping our steps slow and steady to try not to provoke too much dizziness.
Even after a few days to recover from the last attack, she’s too disoriented to fly.
My concern must show on my face. She shoots me a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. I’m already a lot better than I was that first day afterward. I couldn’t stand up without puking then.”
I let out a laugh that doesn’t hold much humor. “Okay, I’ll agree that’s an improvement. I just hope the effects don’t take too much longer to completely wear off.”
“You and me both. Sweet simmering soda-pop, that was a brutal blow, whatever the power was.” She rubs her forehead for a second before her hand darts to the railing to catch her balance. “But you came up with the perfect plan. No moving at all! Just charbroiling.”
I restrain a wince at her flippant tone. From her grim expression, I don’t think she really thinks so lightly about potentially incinerating a few dozen fellow hybrids.
We talked about the direst aspect of our plan with her ahead of time too, of course, but I can’t help prodding at the subject. “You’re prepared for all of it—everything you might have to do?”
Sorsha pauses at the bottom of the flight and looks over at me with the bright brown eyes I’ve come to realize hold a lot of compassion behind their frequent gleams of mischief. She gives my hair a gentle pat.
Even though she doesn’t look more than ten years older than me, I’m struck by the idea that if Iwasgoing to have a mother—one who was alive and who wouldn’t be horrified by my existence—I wouldn’t mind it being her.
Not that the phoenix strikes me as particularly maternal. But there’s a warmth to her that’s more than just fire.
And she understands.
“If things start to get out of control and it looks like they’re going to escape, I’ll burn the whole place down,” she says. “But I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure itdoesn’tcome to that, okay?”
“I just…” My mind swims with images from the news over the recent weeks. All the rubble, all the bloody corpses. “This is the best we can do. If it isn’t enough, I’d rather not make it than know we let them go off to kill more people so that we could spare ourselves. So don’t hesitate.”
Sorsha nods solemnly. “They won’t hurt anyone else after today, one way or another.”
She’s the only one who can ensure that, if worse comes to worst. With her phoenix fire, she can turn the entire facility into an inferno and emerge from the flames just fine herself.
It’d only be us shadowbloods who ended up ashes.
I push that knowledge away and heave open the door.
The idea of my potentially imminent death has plenty of other uncomfortable thoughts to compete with. As we walk together down the hall toward the gymnasium where the guys and I spent so many of our days, impressions of the past flit through my awareness, as if I can see our history as well as Andreas can read it out of someone’s minds.
The rap of the guardians’ boots against the tiled floor. The disinfectant tang to the air that still lingers after years of disuse—or maybe I’m only hallucinating it.
Yells and yelps, protests bit back. The gnawing loneliness every time our keepers marched us away from the training rooms and I knew it’d be hours and hours before I got to see the boys I loved again.
Even if our plan succeeds and we can leave this place alive, I think I’ll ask Sorsha to flambee the building once we’re all out. I wish we could burn away every physical trace of the Guardianship’s presence in this world.
But ensuring the damage they’ve done is over with will be enough.
