Chapter 73
KALLIE
Kallie was seeing things. She was having another nightmare, and any second, she would wake up. There was no other explanation for the sight before her.
A cold sweat slicked Kallie’s palms as she ran, struggling to breathe.
Each inhale was a desperate plea for air as she gaped at the pale body on the ground.
Myra lay face-up, her blonde hair draped over a woman’s lap and the moon’s glow kissing her freckled cheeks.
Blood dripped from her nose, and the woman cradling Myra’s head dabbed her face with a stained cloth.
"No, no, no," Kallie repeated as she ran.
Myra was not dead. She couldn’t be. They hadn’t resolved things yet. They hadn’t had time to discuss everything they had gone through, everything they had put each other through. Even though Kallie was still angry at Myra, she had never wished for this.
Kallie pressed her hand to her chest as the years of manipulation, lies, and hidden abilities squeezed her heart. They were both victims. Two children taken by a heartless man.
Her nails dug into her chest, nearly tearing her blouse.
She could hear Graeson on her heels and the gasps of horror coming from the strangers they passed, but she didn’t stop. She had to know the truth.
She crashed on the ground beside Myra’s body. Questions tumbled from Kallie’s mouth in a flurry, so fast the woman struggled to answer a single one. Kallie’s hand hovered above Myra’s face. Her cheeks were smeared with soot, and her normally bright blonde hair was dull from the ash.
An arm wrapped around her waist. Graeson tried to pull her away, saying something about giving Myra space. Kallie shoved him away. Teardrops lined Kallie’s bottom lash-line, their weight tugging on her lashes and blurring her vision.
They were too late. They were—
Kallie’s breath hitched. She choked back her tears as she tore her gaze from Myra and looked at the woman. She had to have misheard her.
"Phaia?" Kallie croaked, finally recognizing the woman.
The handmaiden gave her a weak smile.
Kallie shook her head, struggling to understand. "W-what did you say?"
Phaia exhaled, exhaustion tinting the warm beige skin beneath her eyes. "She’s not dead."
"Sh-she’s not?" Kallie’s arms buckled beneath her, but Graeson was there to catch her before she collapsed.
There was still time. She could still fix this. They could fix it.
Phaia wiped away the blood from Myra’s nose, and Kallie finally noticed Myra’s chest rising slowly, as if she was in a deep slumber.
"No, she’s not. I think she pushed herself too far. She was running around, helping as many of the wounded as she could. Then she passed out. I think that’s why she’s bleeding—" Phaia paused. A line formed between her brows. "Why are you here?"
Kallie looked at Graeson, her words jumbling in her mouth.
"We were in the area. When we saw the smoke, we came as fast as we could," Graeson explained, leaving out the fact that they had flown here after hearing about the Royal Seer’s vision.
Kallie nodded absentmindedly as Graeson helped her to her feet.
"Why were you in the area?" Phaia asked, skeptical.
Kallie didn’t hear Graeson’s response as she inhaled a shuddering breath.
The coppery tang of blood and smoke overwhelmed her.
Around them, hundreds of people rested, an orchestra of moans filling the forest. The gentle pressure of Graeson’s hand was a comforting contrast to the icy chill that clung to her skin as she took in the injuries of the wounded.
Nearby, a man slept on the ground, his pant leg ripped off, revealing a ghastly burn.
He should have been screaming, yet he slept, his features only marginally twisted.
Several others had similar injuries, yet none screamed.
It was as if their pain had been sedated.
"Kals?" a quiet voice croaked.
Kallie fell to her knees.
"Mys?" she called out, grabbing Myra’s limp hand. Had Myra used her gift to lessen the pain of the wounded? How many had she helped soothe to sleep? Was her state the result of burning out?
Myra blinked, her hazel eyes unsteady. For right now, they would put the past behind them. When the war was over, they would have that talk.
"Are you—are you all right?"
Wrinkles creased Myra’s forehead as she looked around. "Laurince? Wh-where is Laurince?"
Kallie’s lips parted, but she quickly shut them, peering up at Phaia for an answer.
"He and King Rian are still in the capital fighting," Phaia said, gently brushing a strand of hair away from Myra’s face.
"I—I have to help—" Myra tried to get up, but her limbs were too weak. They wobbled beneath her, and she fell back onto Phaia’s lap.
Kallie placed her hand atop Myra’s. "We’re here, Mys. We’ll help him," she whispered.
Myra nodded haphazardly before exhaustion pulled her back under, her hand once again going limp.
Kallie looked toward the capital, where smoke filled the sky. The tips of the flames peeked over the walls, their torrent unending.
"What happened?" Kallie asked Phaia.
Hesitation shone brightly in the handmaiden’s eyes, her fear of trusting them and telling them the wrong thing evident.
"We’re on their side, Phaia," Kallie urged, gesturing to Myra. "We came to help. But we can only do that if we know what happened."
Phaia took a deep breath and nodded. "After the trial, we—"
"What trial?"
Phaia blinked. "You don’t know?"
Kalie and Graeson shook their heads.
"Sebastian captured King Rian, Laurince, and Myra when they snuck into the castle. Someone betrayed them. Sebastian made the king stand before everyone and blamed him for the creation of the drakonises."
Kallie gaped. "That’s absurd! He had nothing to do with them."
Phaia frowned. "Not everyone believes Sebastian’s claims, but he was able to turn many against the king by calling Myra up as a witness."
"Myra betrayed Rian?" Kallie asked, apprehensive. Was Myra still working for Domitius? Had she tricked them again? Kallie’s suspicion was hard to swallow, yet somehow she knew she was wrong even before Phaia shook her head.
"She hadn’t meant to. Sebastian and the judge twisted her words somehow and tricked her into speaking lies."
The ground shook, and Graeson’s grip on her tightened.
Phaia barely flinched from the quake and continued, forcing Kallie to tuck away her questions. "I think even more distrust Sebastian now after the drakonises escaped from confinement during the trial and then again today. Some even believe Sebastian released the drakonises intentionally."
Phaia then told them how the fight broke out after the soldiers began raiding the capital in search of Rian. The capital was quick to fall into mayhem. Brawls broke out, the Frenzian grenades tore through the city, and then the drakonises were let loose.
When she finished, Kallie and Graeson struggled to formulate a response. As Graeson’s lips parted, a scream ripped through the forest, pulling their attention away.
"Traitor!" a man shouted. "We have a traitor in our midst!"