Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Adrian
“We will send them to their gods. Then, finally, we will freely worship our own.”
— As Spoken by Wisteria Sallow, Leader of the Origin of Divine Cult
Zya found me in the wagon, holding onto my brother and crying, unwilling to let go of him for fear that if I did we would be separated again.
She introduced herself awkwardly and then informed me Darius and Roxy were waiting by their tent.
I nodded and rose on shaking legs. Warren helped me find my footing, frowning at my apparent weakness and silently scanning me for injury.
He wouldn’t find one. My injuries were all on the inside.
I followed Warren and Zya out of the wagon, rubbing my chest absentmindedly as I went.
There was a void there where the darkness had been.
It wasn’t totally empty. The corruption was still inside of me, I could feel it roiling and churning, simmering just beneath the surface.
But a substantial piece of it seemed to be missing.
And though I knew it could grow again to that mass I'd released against the Geist’s wards around Sanctuary, I found myself missing that part now.
It gnawed at me like the feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when you were so hungry you’d become hollow inside.
It was a physical pain, reminding me how vital it was that I recovered what I'd used, that I replaced that missing piece.
I would. But for now I settled into what I had left, letting the dark coax and cool me once again.
Smoke flowed from my fingertips freely now, wrapping my arms, chest, and legs in delicate wisps.
“They weren’t kidding,” someone spoke and I opened my eyes, having not realized I’d closed them, to find my brother staring at me in awe.
There was shock there and an amazement I'd never seen my brother look at me with before.
It made me want to turn away, to hide what I truly was from him so we could go back to the familiar banter and teasing which had always been between us before.
He lifted my arm and stared at the shadows twirling around it.
“How?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered with a shrug and it was mostly the truth. “They seem to have a mind of their own.”
His eyes met mine and there was so much love, so much awe in them, I nearly collapsed into him again. But he let his fingers slip to mine, holding my hand as we strode through the crowd toward Archí.
“I can’t believe you freed Sanctuary,” he whispered, reverence in his tone. “I can’t believe you came back for us.”
“I would never leave you behind, Warren,” I told him. “I would never abandon my family. I came for you as soon as I could.”
“I know.”
He squeezed my fingers.
“Where’s Maurice?” I asked. “And mom? Dahlia?”
He frowned but regained his smile so quickly I might have missed it if I didn’t know him as well as I did. That action alone had me panicking before he even spoke.
“A lot has happened since you left, Adrian,” he said slowly. My heart thumped against my chest as my stomach bottomed out. “Things aren’t the same as they used to be. We had to make some difficult choices and Maurice, well, he might not be the same as you remember. Dahlia either. And mom…”
“What?” I whispered, desperate. “What about mom, Warren?”
“She took it hard when you left,” he admitted, blowing out a breath. “And then everything happened and she just…be patient with her, okay? She isn’t the same and she has reason to be…the way she is.”
I blinked at him, mouth opening again to ask more. I needed to know more. But we were interrupted by a familiar warrior.
“Prima called a meeting in the caves,” Rainier spat as he passed, his Zver prowling along behind him. “She wants you there. Let’s go.”
Warren watched the Fallen warrior pass, tensing as he met the Zver’s gaze, but, to my brother’s credit, he didn't cower.
“What are those things?” he asked.
“I’ll explain everything later,” I said, turning away reluctantly to follow Rainier to the caves.
“I promise. Just wait in my tent, yeah? Zya will take you. She and I share it anyway. And you can see Darius. I’m sure he’ll be happy Dahlia's back. I’ll meet you there, okay? As soon as I can. I promise.”
Warren hesitated but nodded just as I turned to head off through the encampment with the grouchy ancient warrior.
Rainier didn't speak to me as we walked but simply led me on without a word.
As it turned out, we were some of the last to arrive to this meeting Prima had called.
The council was already settled in behind her as Prima paced back and forth on a slightly raised natural platform within the cave.
The human contingent stood to the side, leaning against the cavernous interior, as bruised and bloody as the rest of us.
Dante was among them, standing beside the spy, Ksenia.
Rainier and his riders took up the bulk of the middle, as if daring anyone else to attempt getting closer to Prima than they were.
Gryfon's warriors stood at the opposite wall, still wearing their battle armor, blades sheathed at their sides but, I noticed, the general was not among them.
At that realization, my head whipped back and forth, eyes scanning the room for the fearsome, brooding general. But he wasn't there. And then I remembered asking about him when I'd awakened and Dante's lack of response.
“Thank you all for coming,” Prima began before I could properly spiral, though anxiety still clawed its way up my throat, choking me with worry.
I kept glancing toward the opening of the cave as she spoke, waiting for him to appear.
“As you're well aware, we now have two cities worth of citizens to find new homes for. I think it’s fairly obvious the members of Sanctuary, unaccustomed to hard labor as they are, would not fare well here with us in the wilderness. Those of the Underground, however, may be of some use. According to our sources, they have some agricultural and textile skill we may be able to learn from. In fact, they might be able to help better feed and clothe our growing village with what they know that we don’t.
The humans, in their generosity, have offered to take the citizens of Sanctuary into their own cities, to open their gates if you will. ”
Stunned, I whirled toward the humans on the opposite side of the room. Whispers of surprise started up within the cavern but the humans merely nodded. Though I didn't see their surly captain with them. I imagined the reaction would have been far more somber had he been present.
“Of course, everyone will be free to make their own choice and, Dante and Adrian, you’re welcome to keep your families with you if that's what you prefer,” Prima added.
“And if I prefer to go back to the human cities myself?” Dante called out.
The cavern fell silent as Prima stared at him across the expanse of the cave, obviously taken aback by this declaration. After a moment, however, she recovered and nodded slowly.
“If that's your wish, no one will stop you,” she told him. “We're allies now, aren’t we Ksenia?”
The rider gave an eager nod but it seemed a fragile thing at best and did nothing to ease the tension in the room.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Prima said, moving on.
“The Pavosians attacked us once. We have to assume that means the Geist know where we are.
They'll try again. This is a war now. We lost one battle and won another but it's far from over.
Those who stay, stay to fight. Make no mistake about that.
Indecisiveness will get you killed. Weakness will cost you everything.
The Geist are not gods. We do not worship them as our ancestors did thousands of years ago.
But we would be foolish not to accept they have power we simply do not.
We have the advantage of understanding our enemy but what good is understanding them if we have nothing to stand against them with? Finally, that's changing.”
Prima’s gaze met mine and she smiled so broadly most in the cave turned to look my way.
“We have a weapon now,” she continued. “We know what they fear and we know how to break them with it. So we will.”
A cheer went up from Rainier and his riders. Some of Gryfon’s warriors joined in as well. Ksenia smiled but didn't shout with the others.
Prima turned to speak to the council, Rainier approaching as well, but everyone else began to disperse. And still, the general hadn't appeared.
It wasn't appropriate, I knew that. Prima was the leader of this camp, the leader of this war, and I was just another soldier in it, another weapon to be forged, to be loosed against the enemy.
But I couldn't help myself. I had to know.
So I strode straight up the dais to stand before her, blurting out the question before I could lose my nerve, even though she was already speaking with the other leaders, already strategizing with Rainier and his riders.
"Where's Gryfon?" I asked.
Prima's words died off slowly and, even more slowly, she turned to look at me.
Her lips snapped shut in a frown that made my heart race even faster.
My hands started to shake so I crossed my arms and tucked them into my sides.
Something was wrong. I could feel it. Prima was watching me with something in her gaze I'd never seen before and didn't want to admit looked a lot like pity.
Rainier and his riders had fallen silent.
Even the leaders of Archí started to look away from me. My insides twisted.
“What happened?” I asked, more firmly this time, though I could hear the desperation in my voice.
"The general is…" Prima began, hesitating. I wanted to shake her, wanted to grab her shoulders and scream at her to finish that sentence. She glanced once at Rainier who shook his head. She sighed. "We haven't seen him since Sanctuary fell."