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Helena was closing a deep cut along an inner thigh when someone outside yelled, “They’ve taken Headquarters!”
“Lila can protect herself. You’ve already done enough to Titus.” Helena’s throat closed, but in that moment, she knew: This was not Luc.
“Luc, what have you done?” Sebastian was staring at him in horror. Helena asked, “Who are you?” It was like watching a curtain being pulled back.
“Well.” He grinned at them both, a smile like a slit throat. “I thought you’d realise months ago, but you’re all such fools when it comes to the Holdfasts.”
NO
“You were the Necromancer,” Helena said, realising. “The one who built the cult in Rivertide. After you made that Stone, you called Orion here, but when he saw what you’d done, he tried to kill you.”
Luc laughed. It was the timbre and note she’d heard a thousand times over the years, but the malice and mockery in it were all new. “I am Morrough.”
WHAT
It’s fortunate that healer Boyle is so eager to please, she keeps him sedated for me.”
Fucking Elain
When you had Apollo killed, you took his heart, and when you had Luc, we couldn’t heal his organ damage because those organs were yours. You’re harvesting Orion’s descendants for parts. And—” It dawned on her slowly. “—that’s—that’s why Lila’s pregnant. You’re making yourself another descendant.
Oh no..
I knew what you were the moment you reached in with your resonance—if I hadn’t thrown you across the room, you would have found me. Pity really. I had no choice but to have you sent off to the front. Matias was so happy to oblige. But somehow you came crawling back like a cockroach.”
Cetus studied her with interest. He was not afraid at all. “You’re talented. If you joined me, your abilities would be valued.”
“Run,” Luc rasped. “Hel, run. He’s going to kill you.” “No, I’m not going anywhere,” Helena said, wanting to cry. “I’ve got you. I’m here now. I’m sorry I’m so late.”
“Hel…” Luc’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “I tried to—fight. He killed Ilva.”
Only good deed hes done...
Luc sat looking at his last paladin with open grief, but when his eyes rested on her, there was only that same sadness. “You’ve always done the worst things because of me.”
She helped him stand, and he pulled her closer, into a hard hug. His chin resting on the top of her head.
God Im sobbing
“Is it dawn?” he asked, his voice almost wondering. Helena nodded. “First light.” He exhaled. “We were—going to see the world together, remember?” His fingers scrabbled to find hers, his eyes still on the sky.
*SOBBING*
“This whole war was just two brothers fighting over who gets to play god?”
“There is no ‘we’ anymore,” Kaine said. “You’re leaving Paladia.” She looked up sharply. He stood over her, arms crossed. “I’ll kill them, but you’re done. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame is gone. It’s time for you to go.”
She was about to ignore Kaine’s orders and go looking for him anyway when the door abruptly swung open and Kaine walked in, Lila hanging limp in his arms.
Jesus woman, stay put
“Kaine?” She searched his face. “What happened?” He stared at the floor a moment before finally meeting her eyes. “I blew my cover getting the Bayard girl for you.”
NO, NO GOD NO
She was certain she was misunderstanding him, but it was there in his eyes. He was saying goodbye to her.
RAAAAAAAAAAAA
To get to Bayard, there are entry records indicating that I was there, that I entered a laboratory with highly controlled access. I couldn’t burn down the building and fight my way out carrying an unconscious, pregnant woman.
Oh no...the lab explosion makes sense now
“He can have Paladia for all I care. If the Eternal Flame wanted to win, they should have made better choices. They all knew the risks, but that was never enough incentive for them. They refused to pay the price that victory demands, and I am sick of watching you try to pay it for them.”
“You gave your word.” Helena met his eyes. “You know I will always choose the Eternal Flame first.”
Stupid stupid girl
“Who is he exactly?” “An Easterner. He helps here and there.” “And you trust him?” “More than I can trust you,”
Youre gonna regret those words
Youre hurting him so hes complaint!!!
She looked back down to the paper in front of her. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
AAAAAAAAAH
“You will not come back?” Helena used the mortar and pestle to grind obsidian into micro-shards. “Of course I’m going to come back. I told Kaine I’d be waiting for him. It’s just—” She paused and blinked back tears. “I made a deal to leave, and I have to keep it.” She swallowed hard. “He’ll be—he’ll be alone here. I have to make sure he’s safe before I go.”
“When they said you had died, I—I regretted that I did not know you well. I do not like to presume. To ask questions. But I—enjoyed our lab.” He smiled at her.
Shiseo...
The smile on Ivy’s face vanished. “The Necromancer has Sofia. He said he’d give her back to me if I gave him the Headquarters and Crowther. They wanted him alive, but they said it was all right if I had to kill him. So I did.”
THIS LITTLE PSYCHOPATH
“You’re the one who gave them all the information?” she said. “Who let them into Headquarters?” It wasn’t Cetus. Here stood the real traitor.
Hanging by her wrists, Rhea was screaming. Titus stood beside her. He was covered in blood, and there were knives and sticks and spears sticking out of him. He pulled a knife from his leg and began slicing Rhea’s skin off with it.
This poor woman has gone through so much
The door opened, and Luc stepped out, his expression hesitant, almost bashful, as if arriving late to a party.
Luc turned and gave a low, obsequious bow as someone else emerged from the back of the motorcar. The person was tall, dressed in intricately decorative robes and a cloak of blue and gold, with a crescent-shaped crown rising from his head. Morrough.
Pace tried to resist, still protesting, and she tripped, falling too fast for Helena to react. Her head struck one of the iron bars with a sharp crack, and she didn’t move.
She slumped down next to Pace, lifting her head onto her lap, hoping she was dead, that she wouldn’t witness whatever happened next.
Agreed
A glimmer of triumph sparked in Helena’s chest. Bennet was gone; he would never hurt Kaine or anyone else ever again.
If Bennet was dead, Kaine and Morrough might be the only ones left with the ability, which meant they might bring him in and torture her in front of him or make him torture her.
She would redirect her thoughts, transmute her memories until her mind stopped running to him. She couldn’t confess to something she didn’t remember.
Where there was space she couldn’t reconcile, she filled it with Luc. Not his death, not Luc from the war; the Luc she’d promised to save.
The burning came again, cutting her panic short as she tried to place where the sensation was coming from. She knew that feeling. Her hand. Her left hand was burning. The ring. Her heart stalled.
BABY BOY
He was looking for her. He’d come for her. He always did. But she could not think about it. She had to forget. If she remembered and was interrogated, Kaine could not be found.
If Kaine found her, he’d understand. She could wait. Hold on. You promised you wouldn’t break.
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK
She gave a sob and reached for him. “You’re alive,” she said. He flinched back as despair swept across his face.
AAAAAAAAAH
“She has a son now. An exceptionally noisy child, named for his grandfather. And every time I’ve seen her, she’s tried to murder me at least twice.”
“Why didn’t you assume I was dead?” she asked. His hands stilled. “I had to know.”
Kaine, she knew. But Ferron was a monster.
RAGE
“When you were asleep, I used to promise I’d take care of you,” she said. “No.” He said it harshly. “That was me. I was the one who used to say that.” She opened her eyes. “I used to say it back. I guess you didn’t know.”
“Is that where Lila is? South?” “Yes, she’s still on the mainland, near the coast. She stayed at a midway point while we tried to find you.” “We?” Hope rose in her chest. There were survivors. “Shiseo.”
SHISEO
“He turned himself in, providing papers and a seal identifying him as a member of the imperial family, and offering research. He designed those manacles in the hope that if you ever showed up, he’d be the one called in to put them on.”
