Chapter 15 #2
I was closest so she hit me first, launching herself into my arms with enough force to stagger me backward. Her face was wet with tears, her whole body shaking as she clung to me like I might disappear if she let go.
"You came," she sobbed against my chest. "You actually came for me."
"Of course we came," I murmured, my own eyes pricking with moisture I wasn't prepared for. "Did you think we wouldn't? Did you think we'd just leave you?"
The sight of her, the feel of her in my arms was better than I had spent all these last weeks imagining.
It was like stepping from shadow into sunlight, feeling that connection snap back into place with an almost audible click.
The constant ache I'd carried for weeks simply vanished, replaced by the warm certainty of her presence in my mind.
She pulled back just enough to cup my face in her hands, studying me as if memorizing every detail. "I was so afraid something had happened to you. When I heard you'd been captured, when they wouldn't tell me anything..."
"We're fine," I assured her, though my voice came out rougher than I intended. "All of us. We're all fine."
She turned then, and I watched as she moved through our group like a woman starved, embracing each of the others in turn. Marcus lifted her off her feet, spinning her around despite the formal setting. Septimus held her with shaking hands, his usual stoic composure cracking completely.
When she reached Jalend, he pulled her into a fierce hug that spoke of depths of feeling I hadn't fully appreciated before. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered against her hair, and there was something in his voice that made me wonder what he wasn't telling us.
The reunion was interrupted by a polite cough from Aytara. "Perhaps we should conclude our business before continuing with personal matters."
Livia stepped back, but she remained close to our group, as if she couldn't bear to put distance between us again. I noticed that Tarshi and Taveth both watched her with an intensity that spoke of their own bonds with her, and I wondered how that dynamic was going to work in practice.
"Mira," Aytara said, turning back to the resistance leader. "You mentioned urgent news from the Empire. Perhaps now would be appropriate to share it with the full council."
Mira's expression sobered immediately. "The Emperor is planning something big," she said without preamble. "Massive games and entertainments in the Imperial City, supposedly to celebrate the 'victory' at the battle where most of you were captured."
"Victory?" Marcus snorted. "They retreated from the field."
"The Emperor's propaganda machine doesn't concern itself with facts," Mira replied grimly. "As far as the citizens know, Imperial forces dealt a crushing blow to the Talfen resistance. But that's not the real concern."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the assembled council members.
"The games are a cover," she continued. "While the citizens are distracted by bread and circuses, the Emperor is pulling legions from every corner of the Empire.
Every available soldier, every auxiliary unit, every mercenary company he can hire.
He's planning a final, decisive assault on Talfen lands. "
The chamber fell silent. Even the torches seemed to flicker more quietly, as if the flames themselves were holding their breath.
"How final?" Aytara asked quietly.
"Complete annihilation," Mira said bluntly. "No more skirmishes, no more raids. He wants to wipe our people from existence, claim your lands for the Empire, and eliminate the resistance threat permanently."
"And the prisoners?" Jalend asked. "The Talfen held in the Imperial dungeons?"
Mira's expression grew even darker. "Public executions. Part of the games. He plans to make a spectacle of it, turn their deaths into entertainment for the masses."
I felt the blood drain from my face. The Empire had been taking Talfen prisoners for months, capturing anyone suspected of resistance activity or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If the Emperor was planning to execute them all...
I glanced at Jalend and saw that he had gone completely pale, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He looked stricken, almost sick, and when his eyes met mine, I saw something that made my stomach clench with unease.
He knew something. Something he couldn't say in front of the council, something that made this news particularly devastating for him.
Marcus caught my look and followed my gaze to Jalend, his expression growing thoughtful. I could see him filing away the observation for later discussion, when we weren't surrounded by Talfen council members who might ask uncomfortable questions.
"How long do we have?" Aytara was asking.
"The games are scheduled to begin in six weeks," Mira replied.
"The executions will be the grand finale, which means the prisoners have perhaps two months to live.
As for the military assault, my sources suggest it will begin immediately after the games conclude.
Call it ten weeks, maybe twelve if we're lucky. "
The council erupted into urgent discussion, voices overlapping as members debated response strategies and defensive preparations. But Aytara raised her hand for silence, and the chamber quickly quieted.
"This changes everything," she said, her voice carrying absolute authority. "We will need to mobilize every available warrior, call up all reserves and conscripts. This will not be a guerrilla war—this will be a fight for our very survival."
She turned to look directly at Taveth, and I saw something pass between them, some communication that didn't require words.
"Taveth," she said formally. "Are you prepared to go to war?"
For a moment, he was silent, and I wondered what internal struggle was playing out behind those pale eyes. Then his shoulders straightened, and when he spoke, his voice carried the ring of absolute commitment.
"Yes," he said simply. "I am ready."
The finality in his tone sent a chill through me. This wasn't just a young man agreeing to fight for his people—this felt like something deeper, more permanent. Like a decision that couldn't be undone.
"Then we have much to discuss," Aytara said, rising from her seat. "Council members, we will reconvene in one hour to begin war preparations. Mira, your intelligence will be invaluable in our planning—I hope you will agree to remain and assist us."
"Of course," Mira replied. "I didn't travel this far just to deliver bad news and leave."
As the council began to disperse, Aytara approached our group. "You will be assigned new quarters in the temple proper," she said. "Comfortable accommodations, befitting allies rather than prisoners. Taveth will escort you there shortly."
She paused, her gaze settling on Livia. "I trust you understand the gravity of our situation. The weeks ahead will be difficult for all of us."
"I understand," Livia said quietly. "Whatever you need from us, from any of us, you have it."
Aytara nodded approvingly before turning away to deal with other council business. Around us, the chamber continued to empty as members hurried off to begin whatever preparations the coming war would require.
I found myself standing beside Tarshi as the crowd thinned. The resemblance to his twin was still startling, but I was beginning to notice the subtle differences—the way Tarshi carried himself, the warmth in his black eyes compared to Taveth's more distant pale gaze.
"How is she really?" I asked quietly, nodding toward Livia, who stood with Taveth near the centre of the chamber.
"Better now that you're all here," Tarshi replied. "Being separated from all of you was hard on her. Harder than she wanted to admit."
"And Taveth? How is he handling... all of this?"
Tarshi was quiet for a long moment. "He's struggling," he said finally, his voice so low I almost missed it. "The shadow magic takes a toll, and the emotional stress of the situation isn't helping."
Before I could ask what he meant, Taveth approached our group. "Are you ready?" he asked. "Your new quarters are prepared."
As we began to file out of the chamber, I caught sight of Jalend's face and felt that familiar twist of unease. Whatever Mira's news about the Imperial prisoners meant to him, it was clearly something more than general sympathy for captured Talfen.
The secrets we all carried were going to come to light eventually, especially if we were truly going to war against the Empire. I just hoped that when they did, they wouldn't tear apart the fragile alliances we were building.