Chapter 34 #3
Aiden stepped forward, hand out. “Ruin, let’s just get to the castle. We’ll talk there.”
“Don’t.” My voice was sharp, cracked. I pulled away and walked ahead into the dark, the weight of it all threatening to drown me.
When we arrived at the castle, I remembered this place vaguely from when I was little.
Aiden, Alaric, and I all came here a couple of times.
We found it while exploring Arcanna’s grounds and found the secret tunnels that led us to this.
Its once-grand foyer has now transformed into an area of survival.
The air reeked of blood, smoke, and healing salves. Nurses from Arcanna moved between the wounded, their hands glowing faintly as they worked to mend what could be mended. My eyes landed on Aunt Mira.
Relief softened her face when she spotted me, only for it to falter as her gaze slid past me and landed on Derek.
My stomach turned. Even though she already knew, the reality of it still slammed into me.
I glanced back. Derek shifted uncomfortably under her stare.
Mira handed the salve she was carrying to another nurse and, to my shock, stepped forward and wrapped him in a fierce embrace.
“I thought you died,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she held him tight. Derek’s arms came up slowly, then firmly, his face burying into her neck.
“I missed you, Aunt Mira,” he said softly.
My heart clenched at the sound. Why had my memory been erased?
Why had everyone known, but me? Behind me, Aiden laid Alaric down on an empty cot.
My chest seized again. He looked too still, too quiet.
Like he was only sleeping, that any moment he’d wake, flash that cheeky grin, and make some smart remark. But he didn’t.
“Listen up.” Aiden’s voice rang out, steady and commanding, cutting through the chaos.
The entire room turned toward him. Shadows curled faintly at his feet, amplifying his presence.
“We’ve lost many tonight,” he said, his tone carrying the weight of it.
“But today also proves we survived. The academy may be gone, but together we remain. From this day forward, we will fight not as divided cadets and assassins, but as one. Because the real enemy is Erebus. The High King, who’s been drawing black magic from Celetian. ”
His voice rose, thrumming with power. “Today we are the rebellion. Today we rest, rebuild, and grow stronger because we will not let this darkness claim our world.” The survivors raised their fists, voices uniting in a shaky but determined cheer.
We will fight. Gia barreled into me, Luna close behind.
Their arms wrapped around me, warm and tight.
I let out a broken laugh, relief surging that they were alive. But the moment didn’t last.
“Alaric is…” My voice cracked. I tried to steady it, but the words still fractured. “He’s dead.” Gia gasped and crushed me tighter, while Luna’s arms came around both of us. Their comfort only deepened the ache.
I glanced toward Aunt Mira and Derek, both watching me with heavy eyes. Mira stepped forward, words trembling on her lips. “Rynlee, I—”
I shook my head, voice barely above a whisper.
“Please. I just need to rest.” I slipped from Gia and Luna’s embrace and crossed to Alaric’s cot.
Sitting beside him, I took his cold hand into mine.
My other hand pressed over his heart, as if sheer will could bring it back to life.
Tears blurred my vision until all I could see was his face, still and pale.
Gia sat next to me, placing her hand over mine that lay on Alaric’s chest. That was when the dam broke.
My grief poured out in gasps and sobs. I didn’t understand why he had to be taken, why it was him and not me.
All I knew was that the world had shifted, and nothing would ever be the same.
Aiden sat at my other side, his arm slipping around my waist, pulling me into his side.
His grief was there, too, raw and jagged, crashing into mine through the bond.
I had lost Alaric, my best friend. But Aiden… he had lost his little brother.
“Rynlee,” he murmured, his voice rough with sorrow, “let me take you to your room.”
I shook my head, clutching Alaric’s cold hand tighter. “I-I can’t,” I whispered, the words breaking apart in my throat. I wasn’t ready to leave him. Not yet. Luna knelt behind me, her hand rubbing soft circles across my back. Then I felt it: the presence of the others, my friends gathering close.
One by one, they stood by my side. Their silence said more than words ever could.
That was when the sobs came harder, spilling from me until I couldn’t hold them in.
Aiden’s arm tightened, anchoring me against him.
He didn’t say anything more. He just held me while I fell apart.
I didn’t know how long I cried—minutes, hours, forever but eventually, the exhaustion drowned everything.
My vision blurred, my breaths grew shallow, and the weight of grief pulled me under. Darkness finally claimed me.