Chapter Thirty-Eight

Invier

 

The look of incredulity on her face is just as heartbreaking as the expression she had when she realized Bel played a role in her father’s death. I can’t bear to look at her and close my eyes instead.

 

“Tell me it isn’t true.”

 

I desperately want to. Not just for her sake, but for mine as well. Perhaps if I said it wasn’t true the nightmares would end. Maybe I wouldn’t think of myself as an executioner. A murderer. A butcher. A killer and all those other hideous things I’ve called myself.

 

“Invier?” Her voice breaks under the weight of the truth.

 

My eyes open to see dark orbs instead of the stunning irises that normally entrance me. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling but whatever hope I had for us dash to pieces.

 

“How could you?”

 

And there it is. We’ve finally reached the point of no return. There’s a finality to her tone. Something about it lets me know she will never feel the way she did for me again.

 

I don’t have to look at her to know she’s crying. Somehow, when it was just Bel’s betrayal, she could keep her wits about her. Maybe a part of her suspected. But, the accumulation of that and knowing my role with Minim is the final blow.

 

“You turned your back on us too? On me?”

 

“Never, Neith.” I reach out for her but she evades my grasp. “I thought Minim was a way to get back to the life I left behind.” She steps away from me and I’m desperate to touch her so I reach for her again and she swats my hand away. "Karax told me nobody would get hurt. I swear I would never have pushed the button—”

 

“There you go again,” Karax says and I glare at him. “Me, me—”

 

“Stop speaking.” Neith roars, her glower upon him. It moves to me and she says, “Both Bel and yourself trusted this terrorist over your own kind and over me.”

 

She stomps over to me and flips my arm over to reveal the flesh on my inner wrist. I’m so stunned I don’t stop her until it’s too late.

 

“What is this?” Her eyes light up like coals.

 

I groan internally. Oh no. I’d forgotten all about the enso tattoo.

 

“Neith, I was drunk and angry when I got it,” I plead walking up to her.

 

“You let them brand you as one of theirs?” Her voice twists in grief.

 

“I didn’t know how much of a liar Karax was at the time. Please believe me.”

 

She snorts and shoves me back with two hands to my chest.

 

Spinning around she stomps away and stops midway to Bel. “Are you proud of yourself, Karax? You make people do these terrible things to the people they love.”

 

His lips quirk in a smile. “Don’t lie to yourself, Titane. You and your ilk make people do terrible things to the ones they love too. Just ask anyone from the Lesser Lands.” He takes a step closer and Bel puts her left hand on his chest to keep him back, her left arm outstretched with fingers splayed. “Actually, you don’t even need to speak with those so far beneath your station. You can just ask someone from the Lower Houses of the Sixty. Even they have problems with the nomes.”

 

Neith squares her shoulders and after several heartbeats, she says, “Don’t worry about the ladies and lords of the Sixty, I’ve found many of your allies and by the time I wipe out this little community you have here, the rest of your friends in the Sixty will be dead just like you.”

 

Something approaching fear passes over Karax’s face right before he trains his gun on Neith again.

 

The movement spurs Bel and me into action and we both get in his way. Bel faces him trying to get the gun while I yank Neith behind me.

 

Just then, Kande’s voice rings out over the Savannah. “Father, no!” She’s running as fast as she can behind Aster and Torin.

 

Karax looks over at her and in that split second, a gun goes off.

 

It is followed by another gun shot.

 

Time slows down as both sounds ricochet around the empty Savannah.

 

I spin to check on Neith. She’s no longer directly behind me and her gun points to the ground, both her arms slack. Her eyes are filled with horror but there’s no evidence of a gunshot wound. I follow her gaze to see Bel on the ground and run over to her. There’s a hole in her chest and she’s gasping for air, her pink blouse completely red around her chest.

 

Karax shot her? That bastard!

 

I fall to the ground beside her and put pressure on the wound. My hands immediately darken in blood, but I don’t care. This is Neith’s best friend. With all the blood on my hands, I must do my best to keep her alive.

 

Neith joins us and grabs Bel’s hand. “No, no, no.” She’s saying over and over.

 

Bel smiles weakly. “It’s okay, Neith. I just need you to know I’m very sorry and tell my family I love them.” She pauses to catch a breath. “Forgive Invier. It’s my fault he’s here. He loves you.” Her strength is failing and even the blood is beginning to slow to no more than a trickle now.

 

“You can’t die, Bel.” Neith sniffs through her tears. “Tell me what to do. What do I need to get for you? Hang on, let me get a Phalanx medic. One can’t be too far.”

 

Bel shakes her head weakly. “Nothing can save me now.” She wheezes for air and I continue to push down on the wound. “I love you, my sister. I’m sorry I…”

 

She never gets to speak another word.

 

Her neck slackens and her head lolls to the side. Her eyes become lifeless, staring off into the distance.

 

Neith cries out into the night just as another shout goes up into the air. It’s Kande. She is hovering over someone on the ground as Torin and Karax stand by her. The two men block most of my view but I do see legs sprawled out on the grass.

 

Short legs.

 

That second gunshot…

 

No. It can’t be.

 

I start in their direction and the closer I get, the more obvious it is the legs belong to Aster.

 

He was the first person I met here in Koroda and he always looked up to me. And now, he’s dead because of me. He wouldn’t have been here if not for our friendship. Something hot bubbles up my throat. He was just a little kid.

 

I fling my body at Karax, knocking him down and punch as hard as I can.

 

“This is all your fault! You lied to me. You lied to us all!”

 

I land no more than four punches, all the while I hear Kande wailing as Torin tries to pull me off.

 

Karax tosses me off him and we charge at one another again, wrestling to the ground when something whizzes by my ear. I let Karax go and look up to see Ragni and Abi approaching with guns drawn. The Phalanx soldiers wouldn’t have shot Aster as Neith ordered them not to earlier. That means … I watch Ragni and Abi close the gap. These idiots must have shot Aster.

 

Bullets continue to whizz by, reminding me I need to duck. A bullet thuds into the grass beside me and I decide it’s time to seek cover.

 

Before I can move, I notice their focus switches elsewhere as Landen Sohr and Phalanx units zoom across the Savannah towards us all. They are coming behind Ragni and the rest, who start shooting in their direction.

 

Ragni grabs his neck and falls.

 

Standing beside him, Abi screams his name.

 

As bullets fly, I run back to Neith, who is still on the ground beside Bel, oblivious to the danger all around her. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

 

“I can’t leave her.” She shakes her head and fat tears sprinkle in different directions.

 

I look up and see Abi approaching, her gun pointed in our direction and I grab Neith’s gun. A bullet hits the ground only inches from us, sending dirt and grass into the air. I don’t think. I shoot several rounds at her. Her gun falls out of her hand and she winces in pain, but the bullet that struck her didn’t come from me. It came from the direction of the Phalanx soldiers.

 

Karax grabs Abi and they take off in the direction of Belle Rouge.

 

The soldiers don’t follow but gather around Neith, myself and Bel’s body.

 

“Titane, it’s time for us to leave. More rebels are on their way. I need to get you somewhere safe.” Landen Sohr looks me up and down. If she’s surprised to see me, she doesn’t show it, keeping her expression stoic and professional.

 

Neith doesn’t reply.

 

“She’s right. It’s time to go.” I put my hand on hers and she looks at it. Rather, she stares through it, her face impassive.

 

She then springs to her feet, pushing me from her.

 

“Don’t touch me!”

 

Her words sear through me. “Neith, I’ve love you since the moment I saw you. I’ve loved you since and will always love you. Please believe me. I never wanted any of this.”

 

“I hate you!” The words cut my breath short and I barely react when a bomb explodes somewhere on the Savannah.

 

“Invier!” Torin’s voice calls my name. “We’ve got to go!”