Chapter 48
Iblink in shock, horror, and devastation.
Silas continues to hold Fenmore back, even though she screams, begging to go to Warrick—to help him. I slowly turn my gaze to Silas, and even though rage floods his eyes, they well with heavy tears.
“Silas,” Fen begs, sobs distorting her speech. “Help him. Please help him, brother.”
A shattered cry escapes her throat, and her entire body convulses.
Carobon just watches us with a blank stare, indifferent to the life he just took—the trauma he just caused—and the loving bond he just broke between two people. With the snap of a finger, Carobon created an everlasting pain that may heal over time, but will never fade.
Silas just holds her, his fingers clutching to her arms in a frantic attempt to keep her at a good distance from Warrick, and in turn Carobon, but I think he also holds her so tightly to keep himself from crumbling.
He holds onto her in hopes that she won’t have the same fate, and with each passing second that she can’t go to Warrick, I know the pain in her heart only grows.
“I can’t,” he whispers.
“Why?” she cries.
“I…I can’t help him, Fen.” Tears stain his cheek. “He’s gone.”
With a violent turn, Fenmore rips free from Silas’s grip and sprints toward Warrick’s fallen body.
She crashes to her knees, letting out a scream that shatters the fading ward surrounding the house.
With each blood-curdling scream, Carobon staggers away from her, as if her misery seeps into him—into Rohhit.
The Great Wiitch covers his ears as she continues to bawl, screaming into the air, allowing the sadness and grief to consume her completely, like the darkening shadows around her.
Sorrow fills the air, along with the smoke of the burning kingdom in the distance, and tears roll down my cheeks as I watch her process her pain.
I glance at Carobon in shock as his body contorts from her pain, but it isn’t Carobon that is suffering.
It’s Rohhit.
He isn’t gone; Rohhit’s still in there, hanging on, and he’s pushing with everything he has to come forward because he hears her screams. And, just like I would for Silas, he fights to get to her with all his strength.
Rohhit needs her.
She clutches Warrick’s broken body and places his head in her lap, gently stroking his hair. Fen falls forward, wrapping herself around him, holding onto any moment she can to still feel his presence. His motionless body appears so fragile, and she clings to him, unable to let go.
Tears fall like rain from her eyes as the sobs continue unabated.
Carobon steps closer to the cliff’s edge, watching Fenmore’s reaction in disbelief. No longer does contentment paint his face, but instead, a gritting pain as he attempts to fight back Rohhit in his own mind. I slowly gaze toward Silas, who watches his sister sob through uncontrollable pain.
Warrick, his longtime friend—his brother, and most trusted warrior—gone as quickly as he had run toward his sister, uncaring for his own life.
He is gone, and despite the recent pain, he cared more about saving her than he ever worried about himself.
A single tear rolls down Silas’s face as he watches one of his worst nightmares come to life.
Silas wipes the wetness from his cheeks and slowly turns toward the cliff’s edge. Shadows darker than the darkest realm flicker against his back, and he lowers his gaze, his blazing green eyes glowing in the night.
A voice I’ve never heard before leaves his lips. “Get out of here while you still have the fucking ability to do so.” His voice claps like thunder. “Because if I reach you, if my shadows touch you and I wrap my hands around your miserable throat, I will wipe you from this realm.”
Silas’s shadows grow even larger as the words leave his lips, and magic pours from his body, creating a threat of darkness in his wake.
“I will shatter your very fucking existence, whether the Prince of Eddris is there or not, Carobon.” Silas fumes as his voice becomes deeper. “That is a promise.”
Fen continues to cry behind him, and Carobon steps back one last time.
She raises her head and stares directly into Carobon’s wild eyes. “Help him, Rohhit. Please, help him.”
The plea is desperate and realm-shattering, and from a distance, I can see Carobon mumbling to himself, screaming at someone who isn’t physically there. I know for certain that Rohhit fights. We can do this. We can pull him forward with Fen’s help.
“Rohhit,” she whispers, reaching for him. “Help Warrick.”
Carobon gasps and takes one last look toward us before vanishing into thousands of blinding, bright lights.
Fen slowly bows her head again, aware that her pleas and begs will remain unanswered.
She caresses Warrick’s face with her trembling hands and rests her head against his as she rocks back and forth.
Through the chaos, through the howling wind that seems to lament his death alongside us, I hear her whisper, “I love you too, and I would have always chosen you, Warrick Pierce… always.”
Silas staggers backward, dropping his sword to the earth, letting the exhaustion of his outburst and emotions nearly take his strong body to the ground.
The sharp metal sticks into the soil, and I watch him.
His chest heaves, and his shadows don’t dim as I slowly walk to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.
The darkness emanating from him seeps into my hand, but I hold still.
He flinches from my touch and turns around, grabbing my wrist. Fury sits behind his glowing green eyes, which pulse between the Wielder I know and something else entirely.
My jaw slackens at his twisted, unfamiliar face.
“Breathe,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm. “Try to breathe.”
His hand stays wrapped around my wrist, and for a moment, he looks through me, like he doesn’t recognize my face through the anger, pain, and panic. His eyes shine into the darkness, and only chaos swirls behind his gaze.
“Silas,” I say, reaching forward with my free hand to cup his face. “Let go of my wrist.”
He blinks, coming to his senses once more, and drops my wrist. He fights back tears and collapses to his knees on the ground, weak from devastation and exhaustion. I fall alongside Silas and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him as close to me as possible.
“He’s gone.” Tears fall from Silas’s eyes. “Warrick. He’s…dead.”
My hand slides up, and I place it on the back of his head while he weeps into the crook of my neck. His desperate sobs fill the air, and my heart shatters, feeling his entire body tremble against mine.
“I’m sorry.” I begin to cry with him, squeezing him tighter. “I’m so sorry, Silas.”
With the ward gone, the house comes into view along with the rising sun. The screams coming from the kingdom are replaced with cheers from the Andorwood civilians. A thick smoke fills the air, and a blazing fire roars from the ship of the resurrected—they’ve set it on fire.
The Kingdom of Andorwood has survived this battle. We’ve won, and we can rebuild this kingdom, but the damage done to Silas and Fen can never be repaired.
Fen softly kisses Warrick’s cheek, whispering something only she can hear, before standing, a numbness settling behind her dull eyes.
She turns, and her bloodshot eyes land on us. Fen crosses the yard and reaches for Silas’s hand, pulling him to stand. He follows her lead and stands, slipping from my embrace, and turning to face the house.
Oak races out of the house and freezes when he sees Warrick’s body on the ground.
He slows but makes his way toward me, his face paling.
“Fuck.” Oak grabs my hand. “We need to get them inside. Larkin can’t see this, not after tonight.”
I nod and glance toward Fen and Silas. They stand hand in hand, staring at Warrick’s lifeless body on the ground in silence.
Never have I seen Silas appear so tired—so defeated—as his shoulders curl in.
His head drops as his messy hair falls across his face, and his hand wraps tighter against Fenmore’s.
She doesn’t break her forward gaze, only focused on the last few moments she has with him.
“I’m going to get something to cover him up,” Oak says, and rushes back into the house, leaving me outside with Fen and Silas.
I slowly approach them.
“Let’s get you two inside,” I whisper, and wipe the falling tear from my eye.
Fen looks at me with a blank stare and nods, pulling Silas to follow her. The rising sun casts hues of pink, orange, and red across the sky, and I grimace. Red—always so much red—and I’m sick of the color always surrounding me. I turn, and my gaze lands on something glowing in the yard—the stone.
Carobon, so distracted by the sobs coming from Fen, left the stone. I pick it up and pocket it before I follow them into the house.
We pass Oak on the way in, and he carries a white sheet—his face frantic and filled with grief.
Silas and Fen walk down the staircase, and Oak grabs my arm, making me stop a few stairs up.
“What the fuck happened?” Oak’s eyes flash concern.
“Carobon,” I muster the words out. “He killed him without even touching him.”
“My Gods,” he responds.
“But…” I stumble over the words. “Rohhit. He’s not gone, Oak. He’s in there, holding on. Fen’s cries shocked Carobon, like Rohhit was fighting to come forward.”
Oak mumbles. “She can help us pull him back, then.”
I glance down the stairs, and dread settles into my core like a brick. “I don’t think she’ll help us do anything regarding Carobon again.”
Oak makes a pained face before rushing from the house to attend to Warrick.
I move down the stairs to find Fen curled in on herself before the roaring fire, her bright green eyes contrasting with the reddened skin around them.
Her blank stare tells me she’s in shock, but at least the numbness has taken over.
I think back to my times of grief, and being dazed is the only reason I made it out a few times.
Rose stands in the kitchen, doing what she does best—making food.
She shows her love that way, and in a few hours, every open space in this house will be covered in treats.
She gives me a relieved nod and continues her work.
Maines’s bedroom door is shut, and I pray she’s sleeping peacefully, unaware of what’s happened.
I look toward the balcony, and I see two figures standing there—Silas and Larkin.
I tiptoe to the edge of the threshold, and they speak quietly. Larkin’s arm is in a sling, tightly placed against his body, but it’s okay and will heal.
Their whispers fill the air, and I hear Silas say, “He’s gone, Larkin.”
Larkin’s head drops forward, and his eyes close tightly as he grips the edge of the railing to steady himself. He curses under his breath, and I watch a tear fall and soak the concrete railing of the balcony.
Their friend, after all these years, is gone. After they have always protected one another.
Silas places his hand across Larkin’s back and squeezes.
“How?” Larkin’s voice cracks, as a near-silent sob leaves his lips.
“Protecting her,” Silas whispers. “Like he always did.”
I walk to the edge of the railing and remain silent on the other side of Larkin.
I hear quiet sniffles come from his lowered head, and he doesn’t raise it when I join them.
Instead, Larkin’s hand slowly slides toward mine and wraps around it tightly.
I glance on the other side of Larkin and gaze into Silas’s bloodshot eyes.
Silas’s face harbors such sadness, but for the moment, I’m glad the rage is gone.
He needs to feel something—anything—other than fury in this moment.
The three of us stand there together, gazing at the vast world before us, hand in hand.
Together.
We have many things ahead of us—pain, suffering, and endless worries—that stack higher than the surrounding mountains. We will endure exhaustion, sadness, and maybe, just maybe, we will have a few moments of togetherness—moments where the pain seems worthwhile.
We will have our time to fight back, to reclaim what we lost, and we will have our time when peace falls over this land once more.
I have no idea how we are going to get there, but I look around me and see a group of people who want the same things that I do.
They desire peace, love, and a world where no suffering falls upon those who wish to thrive in a simple life.
I glance at Silas, and he looks at me intensely, our souls connecting for a moment. Neither of us speaks, hoping not to disturb Larkin in this moment of pure silence.
“We will get through this,” I say in my mind.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because we have to.” I attempt to smile. “And because we have each other.”
Silas nods, glancing back to the sea and the rising sun on the horizon.
“We can do this.”
“Together,” he responds.
“Together.”