34. Barrett
BARRETT
F or too long had Lucia held the minds of the humans in her command, bending them to her will so they might escape what was coming.
It had taken longer than we had hoped to get every survivor out of the valley; over thirty thousand humans had lived in this city, and while Lucia was powerful, her reach only went so far.
When the fatigue had begun to show on her face, Damien had tried to stop her from continuing, stressing that she had done enough.
She wouldn’t budge, though, refusing to quit until she had located nearly every surviving soul to evacuate before the flood devoured what remained of the city, of the destructive evidence of the darklings.
There was no way she had managed to get everyone, though. There were far too many, some likely trapped in the debris, unconscious and unreachable by her mind. I wouldn’t voice it, refused for her to push herself any more than she already had.
I lifted my eyes to the cloudy sky, water soaking through my leathers, filling my boots.
The rain helped a little, washing away some of the dirt and grime from the battle two nights prior, but it wasn’t enough to wash away everything.
I wanted to change, wanted to feel clean again, but we were far from finished—too many bodies still unaccounted for in the aftermath of the battle, too few hands to recover them in a timely manner.
The torrential downpour didn’t help, leaving the battle-scarred earth a pit of mud, swelling corpses, and stench of death.
And still, the rain continued.
“How is she holding up?” I asked as Zephyr sat down beside me, his tawny skin pale.
“She’s exhausted,” he muttered, looking to where Lucia stood, Damien at her back as he helped support her while she worked.
Her eyes remained closed, as they had been the better part of a day and a half, focused on maintaining her connection with the humans gathering on the edges of the valley.
How could one person manipulate the minds of so many?
I grimaced at the deep ache in my stomach where my wound still healed but thankfully remained sealed due to Lucia’s healing abilities. No one could spare any blood. Too many were injured, so it would be some time before I could feed and properly heal. “Any word from Thalia and Micah?”
He shook his head. “Still waiting for them to check in. They should have made it there by now.”
“What if this doesn’t work?” I muttered, unease coiling in my gut. “What happens if we can’t make it convincing to the humans?”
“Damien has connections to ensure the truth remains hidden if they fail,” Zephyr said, and I arched a brow at him before he shook his head. “Need to know.”
I glanced at Damien, wondering just what connections he might have.
Was it with the humans? With the gods? I couldn’t help but scoff at the idea.
What would the gods do for us? They had remained silent on this side of the veil ever since our kind had been banished over six hundred years ago, Selene our only remaining connection to the Godsrealm.
Zephyr tensed for a moment, his brows furrowing in concentration. He shot to his feet. “They’ve done it! The water is already starting to spill over the top of the dam.”
Something deep within me stirred as the words left his lips, the flames sparking to attention beneath my skin at the thought of Thalia and Micah at the dam.
I should have been there with them, helping them, but I’d barely been able to make my way across the killing field to search for survivors with the wound in my gut, let alone keep up with crossing the mountains.
I closed my eyes, praying The Fates would spare them from harm, that they would make it back to us safely.
She would be all right.
I turned to look down into the destroyed city nestled in the valley, avoiding thoughts of the female who had somehow claimed my thoughts.
The river was already flowing fuller than I had ever seen as it carved a path through the valley.
Dread crawled into the pit of my stomach at the thought of what we would witness when the flood came.
This town had been our home for centuries. I knew every street, every home and business. It was as if I was staring at the remains of Moonhaven again. Despite the destruction, we couldn’t leave, not with the darklings still lingering somewhere nearby.
We wouldn’t be free until they were destroyed.
Silence stretched on for hours as we waited for Thalia to return, for the destruction of the flood to come, and my mind only spiraled in the deafening quiet.
The storm eased, but the sky remained just as dull as we all felt.
Zephyr paced before me, passing nervous glances at Lucia, who had finally lowered to her knees but remained in deep concentration.
With each passing moment, I worried more for her, for the babe growing in her womb, for Thalia and Micah.
I was desperate to see their faces, to know they were all right, that nothing had gone wrong in the hours since they had departed.
“Thalia’s team is back!” a voice rang out, and I shot to my feet, twisting around to look.
A small group of leather-clad warriors approached, and the sight of her drenched cornsilk hair in the distance nearly brought me to my knees.
I ran, my boots sloshing through mud with each step, my hand clutching my stomach as it protested, but I needed to see them, the flames within me reaching out to some intangible connection...
To her.
Relief washed over me to see them again as our gazes met, despite how pale her skin appeared, how dull and weary her eyes were. Her pace quickened, her face lighting up a fraction as she caught sight of me. Our steps slowed as we neared one another, and Micah came up to a stop beside her.
“You’re all right? It worked?” I asked on shallow breaths, gaze sweeping between them.
Thalia nodded, offering me an exhausted smile. “No casualties.”
Micah came to a stop at her side, his breathing labored.
“Nicholas and the others stayed behind to ensure no humans interfere with the dam failing and that everything goes according to plan. He just confirmed about twenty minutes ago that the dam collapsed, and the flooding is making its way down the Conemaugh.”
Gods, they were filthy, mud in every nook and crevice of their leather armor, their weapons.
I pulled them both into a hug. Thalia melted against me, her body fitting so perfectly against mine, and Micah caged her between us, squeezing tightly as I took what felt like the first breath of relief after stepping into the hell we’d faced.
“It’s coming!” Zephyr shouted, and I released Thalia and Micah as I twisted around to see the waters explode from the ravine north of the city, devouring the valley like a ravenous beast .
“Hold!” Lucia shouted, her closed eyes tightening, her teeth grounding together as her focus on maintaining control of the countless humans wavered the moment the shouts of agony and sorrow cut through the air, as warriors watched their homes fall to destruction.
“Everyone remain quiet!” Damien shouted, and my stomach twisted as distant screams pierced the air amidst the crashing waves and rushing water.
“No,” Lucia whimpered under her breath.
“You saved enough,” Damien said, holding her tightly. “You did enough.”
“Gods,” Micah breathed from the other side of Thalia, watching as the wave rushed over the houses, the buildings, what few humans had awoken after Lucia had completed the evacuation barely visible as they ran for higher ground, only to be swept up into the wave of water as it came for all that remained.
And within minutes, everything was gone, swallowed whole by the water, debris and remnants of homes floating on the waves, fires still clutching whatever wood they could before the water snuffed their lives out as well.
Thalia’s hand clasped over her mouth as a cry broke from her lips, tears welling in her eyes as we watched our home fall once again. Micah and I leaned into her, our arms coming around one another as we held her, offering her any comfort we could.
Because we were all that was left.