Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
ALINA
My body was shaking as I walked through the cellar, trying to show confidence I did not feel. Grace was carefully covered with a blanket and there was an empty area around her, as if her passing would somehow invite more death into our secluded space.
Some women were holding on to their kids and crying, others wrapped their arms around themselves chanting. One elderly man paced the walkway, his hand gripping a cane.
“What’s happening?” someone asked in a loud whisper.
The sound broke something in the silence.
“Where’s my husband?” another woman added.
“Mama, I’m scared!” a child cried.
“Please. Remain calm. Our defenders know what to do. They have a way of killing the monsters,” I said, trying my best to sound calm.
“What if they find us here?” a loud voice squeaked out.
“Please keep your voice down!” I tried to quell her anxiety.
“What if they get through the door?”
“Stay calm!” I repeated.
“Who’s going to protect us?” The same hysterical woman raised her voice higher, looking at the others, creating unrest.
“They can only find us if they hear you through the walls,” I scolded her, immediately regretting the sharpness of my voice.
A shocked silence followed, only broken when a child cried in the distance. I bit my lip, blaming myself for it. I knew I sounded harsh, intolerant, and not very understanding, but they had to realize that this was serious and all our lives depended on it.
A heavy thump sounded outside of the door and someone screamed.
“Quiet!” I tried to stop the wailing without much success.
The door to the cellar shook, and clumps of dust fell to the floor.
The room fell unnervingly quiet. Children whimpered in their mothers' arms, and I rushed toward the sword I had left leaning against the wall.
In my panic, I fumbled to unsheathe it. Sweat beaded on my skin as I finally drew the blade, turning my attention back to the door.
“We’re all going to die!” someone shouted, and the next blow followed immediately after.
I clenched the handle of my sword, bracing myself for whatever was to come.
In those last moments, my thoughts drifted to my family’s castle, to my brother, and to Tynan.
The way he had made me feel these past few months, more alive than I had ever known.
It was everything, the pleasure and the pain, intertwined with the sharp realization of what my life had become with him by my side.
He had brought me back, given me hope. And if this was the end, I would cherish these moments, because for the first time, I truly lived.
My eyes focused on the door. The door splintered, rippling the wooden panels. I pointed my sword forward, readying myself for the last and most important battle.