Chapter 59
Welcome back
Foreen looms ahead, all sharp buildings and bringing the smell of blood and death.
We are awkwardly herded over the collapsed wall of metal, the wall I so proudly escaped over such a short time ago.
Once on the other side, we’re met by the force of the Beta’s Path, staring at us in hate and rage.
The news has spread that the Beta’s Fang is dead, and they are livid.
“Welcome back,” a feminine voice shouts above the snarls and hisses of enraged betas.
The woman huffs and turns, her body jerking in that alien way of hers.
“I am the Beta Goddess!”
Mordecai presses against me from behind, the warmth of his body a comfort.
They tried to burn it. Foreen has singed and charred, but it’s still standing. What does that say about us? Is it a good omen or a bad one?
“Now, as so many of you are aware, you have escaped and ruined our fun. But this is a special year, so we’ve brought you back. A,” she tilts her head to the side with a demented smile, “two point oh, if you will.”
She looks around and then leans down to talk to her executioner.
“You killed my Fang?” She scowls, her beautiful face displaying her irritation before she shrugs it off. “Fine, choose another.”
A masked man is dragged out of the line and put before her.
“Who is he?”
“Serial killer, loves to work with fire and water. He’s particularly cruel to women.” The Claw intones with complete boredom. “We have high hopes for him.”
“Perfect. You are my new Fang.” She clicks her fingers, and a wooden box is rushed towards her. They open it, and she takes her time looking into it. I am not curious; whatever is in there will be foul.
After a couple of minutes, she nods her head and pulls one out.
“Come here, my child.”
The man comes and kneels at her feet, his head tilted back with rapture. I can’t see his face.
She puts the mask in a fire that is brought before her. She hums, waiting, and then pulls it out, ignoring her burning hand, and places it on the skin of her chosen.
He doesn’t make a sound, not even when we can all smell his face cooking. Several people vomit, but I just look away, refusing to react.
I glance out of the corner of my eye and see Cadel and Jarek just behind Mordecai.
“Good. Now, release the alphas and omegas. We need a good hunt. There’s no joy if we don’t get to play before we kill them.”
I stare at this new host of the mad goddess. Is that what it’s all come to now? We’re simply a way for her to amuse herself. Rage makes my insides roil.
Can gods go insane? Is that a thing?
I stand as still as I can while a beta comes and unlocks us all. We can’t move; they’ve got crossbows trained on us, but as soon as we’re all unlocked, the Beta’s Voice waves her hands, shooing us away.
“Go. Run.”
We stand still.
“Run!” She snaps her fingers, and an old female omega falls dead, a bolt sticking out from her forehead.
With another scornful glance at this insane deity, I run back into the city that has become as familiar as any place I’ve ever lived.
We race for what feels like days, but it’s only when I realise most people have peeled off that I stop. With a sob, I turn, throwing myself at my alphas.
“Are you okay?” I ask, running hands over them.
Jarek takes my hands and kisses my palms. “We’re fine.”
Legion leans against the wall, his eyes flat and exhausted. “He didn’t need to die like that.”
Theo, he’s talking about Theo.
Mordecai goes to him and hugs him, holds him while the omega falls apart. I thought I would feel jealous seeing my alpha with hands on another omega, but Legion is…family.
“Theo was a good alpha. He tried hard. Most of everyone got away, I bet he offered up for volunteers.” Legion wipes his face and sighs.
“Charlotte and Ava are gone, too,” I murmur.
His jaw drops, his gasp shattering the menacing stillness around us. “What?”
“They were in the forest, lying together. Just off the path we took.”
Legion sits down and weeps bitterly.
A scrape of stones has me whirling around, ready to attack. Mia jogs up, huffing and struggling to stay upright. Her face is red and splotchy, and I rush to her. Shame burns through me. I’d forgotten Mia was with us.
“Mia! Come on, come here,” I murmur.
“We have no supplies,” Mordecai says. “The soot and ash are going to leave tracks.”
“Do you remember where the safe houses are?” Mordecai asks Legion.
He shakes his head, but I reach into my pocket inside my jacket and drag out the letters from my mother and the map they gave me.
“I’ve still got the map.”
Mordecai kisses me hard and fast. “You are incredible.”
Mordecai and Legion pour over it, talking rapidly.
“We’re not going to survive this,” Mia says. “This is just a,” she waves her hand, trying to think of the word, “just a show.”
“Yes, it is, but I’m not going to just roll over and die for this bitch,” I say and cock my head, listening intently.
“What? Is someone coming?” Mia jumps up and gets eight feet away before I can stop her.
“It’s fine, Mia, I was listening for animals,” I reassure her.
“Oh, did you hear any?” she says, but she’s still looking around, and I don’t think she believes me.
“No,” I say, which has disturbed me far too much. I peer up at the sky.
But there’s something else that’s been bothering me, and that’s how quiet my alphas have been.
I watch Cadel out of the corner of my eye. He appears to be watching the buildings, but I think he’s actually watching me. I stand up and move until I’m in front of him.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head.
“Did you all dream of that omega again?” I say the word with utter loathing.
He raises an eyebrow. “It wouldn’t matter if we did; you don’t trust her, so you wouldn’t believe us.”
I scoff. “Are you avoiding me?”
“No.”
“You’re all being quiet and doing things without me.”
Cadel takes my face in his hands and kisses me. “You need to remember who you are, my love.”
I glare at him. “I’m Kaida Keres.”
“You are more,” he says and passes me into Jarek’s arms. “Take care of her. I’m going to scout around.”
“Cadel,” I snap, but he doesn’t turn back to me; he just keeps going, which leaves me with a hollow feeling.
“There’s a place where we can go that’s close,” Legion says at last.
We follow him single file through the blackened city streets. The green is gone. It’s apocalyptic now.
“It really feels like a cemetery,” I murmur, saying my internal thought out loud before I can stop myself.
“That is not helpful, Keres,” Mia snaps.
“Sorry. It just feels weird being here while it’s like this.”
The place we are going to is a brick house, but it’s the basement that is our actual destination, and when we get in there, it’s relatively untouched. I grab a bottle of water and a packet of ancient chips and go and sit down.
I drink some of the water and stare into space.
Mordecai and Jarek sit beside me.
I drink and eat, numb, mindless.
I fall asleep, but every time I close my eyes, I see that old man dying right in front of me. I see the agony on his lover’s face, the desperation, and I watch him die. Every person who died in that camp comes back to me over and over. Then there’s Theo.
I’ve seen gruesome deaths, but I have never seen anything like what happened to him. He was still alive. How can you live with your body missing that much skin?
“Kaida,” he whispers in my mind.
I jerk awake.
Jarek pulls me into his arms. “It’s okay.”
I shake my head. “It’s not. Everyone’s dead.”
“Not everyone,” Jarek whispers. “I’m alive, and I’m here with you. Even if I die, I will still be with you.”
I curl my fingers around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder. “We’re going to escape,” I say mournfully. “We have to.”
“Of course, we are,” Jarek says and kisses my temple.
“I’ve just never seen anything like that. They didn’t need to kill them; they were harmless; they were dying anyway. There was no point.” The vision of the Resistance falling around us won’t leave my head.
Mordecai grumbles and reaches out, dragging us both down. Cadel appears from the shadows, gets on the other side, and leans into us. His fingers tangling with mine. We’re all together, and I love how right it feels.
Good things never last, my mind whispers.
I’m just so afraid that I won’t get to keep it. My fear is tainting it.
“Stop thinking, Kaida.”
I dig deeper, burying myself in their limbs. Despite my despair, it’s the first time I’ve felt really, truly complete and safe.
“I never got to have a nest,” I whisper.
“We’ll get you a nest.”
“No soft things. I was too busy running.”
“Kaida,” Cadel warns.
“Okay, I’m going to sleep.”
I don’t dream.
Mia is crying. Legion is distant and not himself, and no one seems to know what we should do. Part of me thinks we should just go out and see what we can find, kill betas if we can.
“It would be easier if we could control these wolves,” I grumble.
I stand up and pace the basement.
“We need to move. We can’t stay here,” I snap when no one answers me.
“There’s nowhere to go,” Legion says flatly.
“Don’t be like that, Legion, there has to be somewhere,” Mia says with false enthusiasm.
I appreciate her efforts, even if he doesn’t.
“Do you think Bear got Sophie and the kids out?” Mia asks suddenly.
“I really hope so,” I say softly. The thought of them sitting, waiting for rescue, and dying in that cave has haunted me.
“I’m glad we saved the kids.” I turn to look at her. “Why weren’t you in there?”
She shrugs but looks away.
“Mia, did you dream of that prophet?” I snarl.
“She said I was needed.”
“Screw her and her opinions!” I stand up and start pacing again. “You could have been safe; why did you even listen to her?”
“She had a very convincing argument.”
I open my mouth to ask what could possibly be so convincing when Legion stands up.
“I’m going.”
“Finally,” I say. “Let’s get going, then. Do you know where? Have you picked a direction yet?”
Legion looks back at me. “No, I’m going alone.” His announcement startles me.
“No.”
He bares his teeth. “I want to be alone.”
“So you can die? Absolutely not.”
He snarls at me, but I just snarl back.
“You’re an omega the same as me, I can growl, too!”
We stand there glaring at each until he finally looks away, shaking his head.
“We’d be better off alone, then if one gets caught, we don’t all get caught.”
“Life wasn’t supposed to be lived alone,” Jarek says cheerfully as he, Mordecai, and Cadel return from their scouting mission. “That was very cute and entertaining, my omega.”
I snap my teeth in his direction, trying to ignore the wounded look that Mia is sending Legion.
“I think I should go with Legion to check out this next safe house while you guys go to the other one, though,” Mia says, tugging lightly at her hair and shifting her feet.
Mordecai sniffs. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a terrible idea,” I protest, but they all agree.
From the decision to the deed, it all happens incredibly quickly. Legion and Mia leave, and I’m caught in Cadel’s arms as he turns and walks us away.
“Why did you want us alone?” I growl at him.
“Because we’re being hunted,” he says, looking down at me with those deep red eyes. How did I ever mistake them for brown?
“Oh.”
“So where are we going to go?”
“There’s a place we can hide for a few days, but we have to keep moving.”
I struggle to keep up with them; their expressions are grim and devoid of emotion.
“Enough” I snarl and stop, refusing to move even an inch forward.
“What?”
“What is this?” I say, looking between them. “You said you weren’t keeping any secrets.”
Jarek closes his eyes, while Mordecai looks away. Only Cadel holds my gaze.
“I’m asking you to trust me when I say you don’t need to know this.”
I study his face for a long minute and shake my head. “No, I want to know.”
Jarek makes a long, low moan like he’s in pain. “We found the omegas, the last of them.”
My stomach fills with dread. “Show me.”