Chapter 3
As the large golden doors swing open, I can feel the pounding of my heart begin to quicken. Sitting around the round table in the middle of the room are five hooded Circle members, Damien, and the king. I’m surprised to find Ryder missing, but he’s probably off doing his father’s bidding elsewhere.
“Please, join us.” King Cimmerian stands and motions to the open seat across from him.
Orien unlocks the shackles from my wrists and exits the room. When the giant doors close behind him, the spacious room suddenly feels smaller. This is the definition of being in enemy territory, and every cell in my body knows it.
“Cylas, do you have an update for me?”
One of the red-cloaked figures next to me tilts their head up, but it’s hard to make out what he looks like beneath the oversized hood.
“There’s a group in Nazrelia who have been meeting weekly.” He turns his head slightly, and I get a glimpse of his white eyes that stick out against his dark complexion. “I’ve been told they’re planning an attack. We’re unsure of when and where, but we do have the location of their meeting place.”
The king doesn’t seem too pleased with the lack of intel, but he doesn’t say anything. He simply nods to Damien as if to tell him it’s his turn.
“Trainees have started to return to the Sector. The overall consensus is that you have won the support of the parents. It won’t be long before they convince the others that the rebels are the true enemy.”
Hearing his voice is almost as hard as hearing what he has to say.
I’ve had two months to get used to the idea that the Damien I fell for was nothing more than a lie.
That he wasn’t real and nothing he felt for me was.
But time hasn’t healed the pain I still feel when I look at the man who once felt like home.
My throat suddenly feels tight as I fight the urge to fall apart. King Cimmerian turns his attention to me, and I’m almost thankful for it. Almost.
“I suppose you’re wondering what your role in all of this is.” When I don’t reply, he continues. “Your boyfriend here will be taking you to Nazrelia tomorrow.”
I hardly hear what he says after calling Damien my boyfriend. If I didn’t have the dampener keeping my power at bay, this entire room would’ve been decimated the moment the word left his lips.
“Cylas will debrief you on the location where the meetings have been taking place.” His words are now directed at Damien, who looks like a soldier waiting for orders. “Reign will use her powers to snuff out the traitors while you and a group of guards lie in wait, ready to seize them.”
“I won’t do it!” I shout from across the table.
The way the king’s head slowly turns to me is terrifying. “Do I need to remind you of what will happen if you disobey me?”
I’m instantly brought back to the moment Agatha’s life was taken. It doesn’t matter what I do now, people will die either way.
I don’t say anything else, and I can tell by the satisfied look on the king’s face that he accepts my silence as defeat.
As the meeting goes on, I don’t have it in me to listen.
All I can think about are the lives I’m going to take tomorrow.
Even if my fire doesn’t kill them, their blood is on my hands.
“Get dressed.” Damien tosses a set of Nazrelian-looking clothes at me and turns around.
The dismissiveness feels like a slap in the face, and I hate how hard the blow lands.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake the lingering feelings.
When I look into those warm, honey eyes, there’s a small sliver of me that sees the Damien I used to know.
It’s like mourning someone who is still alive.
I expect him to drag me through the palace, but he doesn’t. In fact, he doesn’t touch me at all, and it’s a small mercy I gladly accept. Feeling his hands on me just adds to the pain I still feel internally.
Cylas is already waiting for us when we near the archway that marks the entrance to the kingdom. While I’m dressed in Nazrelian clothing, the two of them are in their normal attire.
Cylas barely acknowledges our presence. Instead, he pulls a vial from his cloak and throws it onto the ground. Dark blue mist bursts around us, and the next thing I know, we’re standing in a lush green forest.
“We’re about two miles outside of Nazrelia. Their meeting point is just on the outskirts of the realm,” Cylas tells Damien.
Once we finally reach the edge of the tree line, the sun has already begun to set.
Just ahead of us are the same beautiful, cream-colored buildings I saw on Commencement Day.
Pink and purple flowers decorate the windows and balconies, while blossoming trees line the streets.
Everything about this realm is charming.
I can even hear the faint sound of music playing in the distance.
“Go ahead and get comfortable,” Damien orders, kneeling behind a tree. “It’s going to be a while.”
The three of us don’t say a word to one another as we wait for night to fall. I mostly pick at the grass and break twigs, trying to distract myself from all of the terrible thoughts running rampant in my mind.
“There,” Cylas finally says, pointing to the building several yards away from us.
We watch as a man walks around to the back.
He knocks on the door five times before it opens.
As he walks through the threshold, the sound of breaking twigs draws our attention.
We turn to find six Royal Guards in the trees behind us.
Just seeing them makes my stomach churn.
Now that they’re here, I know it won’t be long.
One by one, the rebels show up and knock on the door in that same five-knock sequence.
After half an hour passes and no one else shows up, Damien decides that must be the last of them.
By now it’s completely dark out, and everyone who was previously mingling outside has turned in for the night.
Damien says something to the guards, and they disperse, leaving just the three of us again.
“How close do you need to get in order to start a fire inside?”
“I’m not sure. I could probably do it from that light post.” I point to a dimly lit streetlight wrapped in ivy right across from where the rebels just entered.
“Okay, go there and wait for my signal,” Damien orders.
Every bone in my body is telling me that this is wrong.
For all I know, these people only want a better future for the Great Six Realms. After spending so much time in the kingdom, I’m no longer na?ve to the king’s ways.
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see, but now that I’ve been on the inside, I know how he works.
He withholds medicine, forces welders to work overtime to create more weaponry for the armory, hoards food for those in Strellesia.
He’s strategic, only giving the realms enough to keep them in line.
He gives certain realms more when he needs their expertise, then turns around and takes, so that they feel grateful for his generosity.
He’s calculated and manipulative, and it’s worked well until now.
Finally, people are seeing him for who he truly is.
It’s not the realms that need him, but he who needs the realms.
Cylas steps out from the tree line but doesn’t stray too far.
I’m waiting for Damien’s command when Cylas removes his hood.
It’s the first time I’ve really gotten a good look at him.
Three white lines run down the middle of his smooth scalp.
He puts two fingers on each of his temples and closes his eyes.
A second later, the side of the building I’m facing vanishes.
I expect the rebels inside to disperse into chaos, but they don’t even seem to notice.
His power must create some sort of window that allows me to look through the wall.
I glance at Damien, whose eyes are already trained on me.
He nods, and I know it’s my turn. I send up one last prayer to The Mother before I begin.
There’s a candlestick in the middle of a wooden table.
I decide to start there, letting the flame flicker wildly.
The table quickly catches fire, and I move on to the tapestries framing the window.
Using my power, I guide the flames, sweeping them across the room.
The ten people inside work to put the fires out, but the smoke has become too thick for them.
They run out the back door, coughing and choking on the fumes.
By the time they are able to catch their breath, it’s too late.
It takes barely any effort for the Royal Guards to seize them.
I spot a pair of guards take four of the Nazrelians with them as they disappear into the dark mist. The other six are lifted off their knees and cuffed. I’m so distracted by everything going on that I don’t notice Damien approaching me from behind.
He orders the guards to follow, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
A moment later, everyone, including myself, trails behind him into the realm’s center.
By now, crowds of Nazrelians have started pouring out onto the cobblestone streets.
One of the Royal Guards instructs them all to organize around a stage that must be used during the many festivals thrown here.
Damien and I stand off to the side of it as the rest of the guards drag the rebels up the stairs. The guard who seems to have taken charge, steps to the front, commanding the crowd’s attention.
“These are the faces of the traitors who attacked the Training Sector. These are the individuals who killed your sons and daughters!”
Outbursts of cries scatter throughout the growing crowd.
They’re falling for it. They really believe that what he’s saying is true and that these people are responsible for the attack.
I want to run onto the stage and tell them it was the king who ordered the attack, but I know they won’t listen to me. To them, I’m just some girl playing dress-up in their clothes. My word is nothing compared to the man in the Royal Guard uniform.
“Your king will protect you from these terrorists! They won’t get away with this treachery.”
Disgust seeps from me as the mob of Nazrelians cheer in response. The few of them who seem to disagree are hidden within the sea of anger.
The six rebels still on the stage begin to convulse violently. They look like fish flopping around, gasping for air. Blood starts to slowly drip from their eyes, ears, and noses while foam seeps from their mouths. Eventually, they all fall still.
“It is done!” The Royal Guard claps his hands once. “I urge anyone who knows more information to come forward. This is your home. These are your children. It is your duty to protect the Great Six Realms.”
Damien pulls me away, back into the tree line where Cylas is waiting with another vial. As the mist explodes around us, I can still hear the faint sound of chants coming from the heart of the realm.