Chapter 43
Reign
This can’t be happening again.
Blood, burning flesh, and cries of pain surround us. My body feels frozen, taking in the sight of it all. Meeka’s face flashes in my mind, and I watch her turn into nothing but a cloud of mist all over again. The lump in my throat grows as I try to fight back tears.
“Reign, are you okay?” Amaya steps in front of me, blocking my view of the fallen soldiers.
“I’m good.” I choke down whatever feelings are trying to come to the surface and focus on the task at hand. “I’ll start cauterizing.”
“Good call. I’ll cast whatever spells I can to help alleviate the pain.” We both quickly get to work while Elias barks orders to others, telling them to move on when someone is past saving.
“Can you help me?”
The woman looking up at me with tear-filled eyes motions to the woman in front of her with half of her face blown off. My stomach churns looking at the skeletal outline of her jaw and the melted flesh running down the right side of her face.
“I—I don’t know.” Her head drops and the tears begin to fall. “I’ll do my best to try, though.”
Mother, I don’t even know where to start.
I kneel down beside her hurt friend and see that her right arm is completely missing. I had been so distracted by her face that I hadn’t noticed the other damage. My eyes dart back and forth between both injuries before I decide that the arm is more important right now.
“What are you doing?” The woman’s voice is accusatory as she monitors my movements closely. “Her face—”
“Her face will have to wait,” I interrupt. “If I don’t stop the bleeding coming from her arm, she’ll die.” The woman quiets and does her best to comfort her friend who is still somehow awake.
I spend the next few minutes cauterizing the wound around her shoulder and ribcage.
Once I’ve done all I can, I yell to a couple of others who have made some kind of stretcher out of bed sheets.
It’s impressive how fast everyone moves.
I suppose it helps that some of them are able to run on all fours.
There aren’t many supplies up here so I do what I can with the gauze bandages. I’m not sure how long it takes, but eventually we’re left with only the dead, lying around us in bits and pieces.
“We can’t leave them here like this,” I say, turning to Elias.
“I know. What are you thinking?”
“I need witches. A lot of them.” He nods and calls someone over I don’t know. They lean down to him, and he whispers something in their ear before they take off, shifting into some kind of tiger-bird chimera.
I direct everyone else to begin moving the dead to the cemetery. It’s far from where we are, but the wolves and fae that have been searching below for explosives have now returned to help.
“Did they find anything?” I hear Amaya ask Elias.
He shakes his head. “I don’t think Nexus brought any back with him. They would’ve been caught when he and Zane were searched upon arrival. I think it was already embedded in him somehow.”
“But that doesn’t mean the same has happened to Zane,” I jump in.
Two handfuls of witches show up and their magic helps the transportation process.
Once we make it to the cemetery, I call the witches over.
As I tell them my idea, they all look around at one another with smiling faces.
Amaya isn’t yet experienced enough to help, so she watches from the sidelines, asking questions as they work.
When they’re done, the bodies that once had missing limbs and organs showing, now look like they’re sleeping. Only restored by temporary magic, but enough for their loved ones to say goodbye, remembering them as they once were.
I turn to Amaya. “Help me plan a memorial service for tonight?”
“Of course,” she says, looping her arm through mine.
Elias orders a few to stay back and keep an eye on the dead while the rest go see about assisting the injured and anything else Ryder decides.
Amaya and I begin our long walk back to Grimstone, taking the time to lean on each other for support from the emotional day.
While Amaya battles with the idea that Zane may be in just as much danger as Nexus was, I’m still reeling from the effects of the Sector bombings.
It feels like it’s happening all over again, bringing back all the nightmares I thought I had moved on from.
When we finally make it to Grimstone, we both seem to welcome the distraction of planning the memorial. As heartbreaking as it is, it’s better than the constant flow of dark thoughts currently flooding both of our minds.
A wall of vertical waves of light line the walkway.
Images of the lost play out on them. Memories copied from the minds of their loved ones.
It’s incredible what the witches can do.
We’re mostly taught to use our powers for battle or to provide, but there is so much more we can accomplish if given the opportunity.
Family and friends visit their dead, decorating them with flowers and keepsakes.
Amaya insisted on having a cellist from Nazrelia play and it was definitely the right call.
Everyone is dressed in full white to represent the return to the stars.
It’s devastatingly beautiful. A celebration of life mixed with the aftermath of death.
Forty-two dead.
Forty-two lives gone and there’s a very real chance that number will continue to climb by week’s end. And it’s all because of King Cimmerian. It always comes back to him.
“This was your idea?” Ryder asks in a hushed voice as he steps beside me.
“Amaya helped.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Yes, it was my idea.” I cock my head to look up at him. “Why does it matter?”
“I suppose it doesn’t,” is all he says before walking away, leaving Damien to take his place.
“How are you holding up?” He kisses the top of my head and pulls me into his side where I fit perfectly. I wrap my arm around him, comforted by his warmth.
“As good as I can be. I’m just thankful none of you were hurt… or worse.”
“Me too.”
“What about Zane? Any updates?” I ask eagerly.
“Not yet. Slader is still sifting through his mind. I’m sure Ryder will know the moment he finds something.”
“We just got him back.” It comes out as a croak and Damien pulls me into a hug where I’m able to bury my face into his chest.
Mourning loved ones say their final goodbyes before the bodies are set ablaze to drift off back to the stars. The sky fills with glowing embers as they float higher and higher into the night sky. I stay until everyone has moved on to the Heart to celebrate the lives of the lost.
“Are you coming?” Damien interlocks his hand in mine.
“There’s something I need to do. I’ll meet you later.”
He looks at me with knowing eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“I need to do this alone.” He seems to understand and kisses me on the forehead before leaving me to myself.
Row by row I search for my father’s name. Though his body is gone, somewhere in this cemetery is a plaque with his name on it. Left behind to remind people that he once existed. That he once mattered.
It’s quiet out here. Only a slight breeze brushes my hair against my cheek. Something about it is peaceful. Maybe it’s because I’m one of them. One of the dead. Only I was gifted a second chance and they weren’t.
“Two rows up and four to the left.”
I whirl around to find Ryder standing like a ghost among the dead. The white suit that is tailored to perfection along with the moonlight, makes him look even paler than he already is.
I turn back around, not bothering to say anything. Two up and four over, I see my father’s name engraved in a rectangular stone plaque. No message. No image. Just a name.
“I thought this would feel different,” I say aloud, knowing Ryder is hovering close by. “I thought I would feel closer to him.”
“It doesn’t feel like enough, does it?”
I shake my head. “He was so much more than this.”
Ryder stops beside me and one of his shadows runs along my cheek, turning my face to look at him. “You’re his legacy, Reign. Even today, setting this all up, you honor his memory.”
“You don’t have to say that.” I turn back to the stone slab marking my father’s short life.
“I’m not just saying it to make you feel better. I truly mean it.” His voice is laced with sincerity.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asks, shifting uncomfortably next to me.
“You lost someone today, too. I saw Roman.”
He shuffles his foot in the dirt. “He was more Jace’s loss than mine.”
I turn to him. “Don’t diminish what he was to you because you’re too scared to feel his loss.”
“I’m not. I do care that he’s gone, and it does hurt, but I’ve prepared myself for this.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Push everyone away. You keep everyone at arm’s length. Even Artemus who seems to be your best friend is still somehow outside of your orbit.”
He turns and his face is darkened, hidden from the glow of moonlight. “Because it’s better that way.”
“Is it? Or is that just what you tell yourself?” He’s glaring at me like the last thing he wants right now is one of my rousing speeches.
“Trust me, I’m an expert when it comes to putting walls up and pushing people away.
If there’s anything I’ve learned recently, it’s that keeping people out isn’t for the better.
I’ve experienced a lot of loss and the only thing making life worth living now is the people closest to me. Without them there would be no point.”
“Growing up with my father around made getting close to people impossible. Even now, he still finds ways to take those I care about. It’s too big of a risk.”
I turn around, but before I take off, I add, “I hope someday you find someone worth taking that chance on.”