Chapter 27
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
Iwatch her all night. She barely sleeps, even if she keeps her eyes closed. I don’t know who she is trying to fool, herself or us, but it’s useless. I am attuned to every aspect of her.
She did not tell us her plan for the day, but that does not matter to me. She simply needs to point out those who harmed her and her people, and I will rip their souls from their bodies. She is overthinking it, but I understand her fear of losing and what it would mean for those she cares about.
She does not wish to lose one more life, but in battle, it is not something you can control. Dying for someone you love and respect is the best way to go. If her people die reclaiming their freedom, then they will die an honourable death, and that is something she needs to understand.
Winning requires sacrifice. She has already shown she is willing to do what it takes, but will her people?
Her eyelids finally flutter open, as if she has given up pretending, her face tight.
When this is through, she will die by my hand, yet as her eyes meet mine, regret briefly fills me. We both have our places in this world, and I will never be free while she is alive.
“It’s happening,” Luan says as he sits up. Standing, he presses his hands to the mirror, and images are projected on the surface.
We watch as women in chains discreetly pass keys and weapons in the hallway, cages, and rooms their masters are in. Unseen and unnoticed, they pass along their freedom in preparation to remove their chains.
The image flickers to a big room. There’s a huge forge in the back, the flames licking at the black metal as the women pull keys from it then plunge them into ice water before placing them into boxes, which are handed off at the door to distribute.
“She did it. Piper got the keys for them to copy.” Elara sighs in relief.
We watch as they work silently and quickly, until the doors bust open. Women scream and scatter, forced back into the room. Boxes of keys drop to the floor, forgotten, as boots crunch across them.
“There they are!” Soldiers rush in, finding the women and their next box of keys.
More soldiers than I can count surround them, and one woman looks around at her fellow freedom fighters, her eyes closing for a moment before she kicks the forge’s door open, looks at them again, and with a nod that speaks more than words, turns and plunges into the flames.
“No, no, no.” Elara races towards the images like she can stop it from happening as the women look at each other and, with a resigned sort of strength, turn and step into the flames until none remain. The soldiers stand frozen in shock as the women’s screams fill the room.
Elara tumbles to her knees before the projection.
They chose to die rather than be captured, knowing what it would mean for them and Elara. They chose to die rather than betray their queen, facing a painful, excruciating death.
Her horror-filled scream echoes around the walls, sending a wave of power through us and into the court. Her pain and grief scar the world, and I know the ones who did this sense it and are afraid.
It’s ragged as she beats at the floor until her hands bleed, and then she pushes to her feet and races for the door, her destination clear.
I capture her, holding her as she roars and fights. “I’m going to kill them!”
“We will,” I snap as I press my forehead to hers as she sags. “We will kill them. I vow it. We will make them pay.”
She cries and thrashes, and I hold her through it, the others surrounding us. Their solemn faces are reflected back at us as they create a barrier, protecting her as she slumps into us.
“We will make them pay,” I repeat, stroking her hair. “We will, but do not dishonour their sacrifice, not when you are so close.”
Her tear-stained face lifts, and my heart aches at the agony I see in her eyes. “I’m going to make them wish they stepped into the flames with them by the time I’m through.”
She means it.
“I will help you. I will torture them for centuries if you wish. Tell us what you need and we will do it.”
She swallows, looking at us. “Hold me together.”
We brace her between us, foes turning to friends for her.