People shout and run in all directions. Many fall and are lost beneath the rush of pounding feet. A spark shoots out, and the sky is filled with a shower of lights, a cascade of falling fireworks. The Leader and the other Council members have their arms raised to the air. Each is holding a vial similar to the one Ellis gave me. Everyone stops.
Ellis’s father drops to his knees, staring at the stone that has claimed Ellis and Adalyn. Margaret clutches her chest, her eyes fixed on the stone. Fallon has his arms wrapped around me, holding me back as I struggle to break free.
Finally someone speaks. His voice echoes through the crowd. He instructs everyone to return to their homes and await further instructions. He insists the departure be done in an orderly manner. He then informs the remaining Council members to escort Margaret, Fallon, and me back to Head Lodgings.
I can’t move. Ellis is gone. Someone holds a hand out to me. I look up. It’s the Leader, Ellis’s father.
“Kalli, I would like you to come back to the main house with me.”
I shake my head. I’m not leaving Ellis. He’s down there. I have to get him out. I shove Fallon away and claw into the dirt and rock.
“It won’t work. The chamber has sealed itself. We can’t get in this way.”
“You’re not even trying! He’s down there, burning alive. How can you just give up on your own son?” My words come out in sobs.
“I have not given up on Ellis. But I don’t think he would be happy with me if I left you here either. You obviously meant something to my son. He risked the entire mission for you. And now he just ….”
I choke back a sob. I know exactly what Ellis has just done for me. I look at Ellis’s father, his face ashen. The strength that existed when he first arrived has vanished.
“Kalli, we have to go now,” Fallon says, his voice hollow.
Fallon’s loss is so great it has consumed him. His hand trembles as he reaches out for me, and I take it. He pulls me up, and we slowly walk away. I turn to see Ellis’s father kneeling by the chamber, his hands placed on the exact spot where his son was claimed.
“Lucas? My Lord?” Fallon calls out softly.
Slowly Lucas rises and follows us. We make our way along the same path Adalyn and I had taken. This time the burst of colors have no effect on me. I’m unable to appreciate their beauty when my heart hurts so much. He can’t be dead. Tears fall down my cheeks.
Lucas passes us, squeezing Fallon’s shoulder as he walks on.
“Adalyn was too fragile,” Fallon says.
“We will sort it all out, Fallon,” Lucas says. “We need to move faster. They are waiting for us. If we have a chance of settling all of this, it must be done quickly. Are you strong enough or should I?” he asks, nodding toward me.
“No, I can do it,” Fallon says and then turns to me. “Kalli, may I?” He holds his arms open. For the first time, he isn’t commanding but asking.
I nod. Fallon collects me into his arms. He looks so unbelievably tired. I’m shocked that he’s still able to travel at such a fantastic speed. I wrap my arms around his neck as he sprints back through the lifeless forest.
Fallon places me carefully back on my feet. We stand in front of two towering steel gates stretching thirty feet high. Guards, dressed in white jackets with shiny silver buttons, push open the gates and bow to Lucas as he passes through. Fallon takes my hand and ushers me along.
The building is a palace with marble columns and balconies. The exterior of the structure glistens as if crystals are embedded in it. Lucas has already disappeared through the wooden doors.
People rush about, speaking in hushed tones, when the quiet urgency is broken by a piercing shriek.
“There she is!” Margaret lunges for me, but Fallon holds her back. “Let me go, Fallon! How dare you bring her here? Into my home! She should be taken to the cells.”
“Margaret, stop. Lucas asked her to come.”
“That’s right, I did.” Lucas suddenly appears. “Fallon, take Kalli to the kitchen, and then meet me in my office.”
“Absolutely not! I won’t have it,” Margaret says, grabbing on to Lucas’s arm, “How dare you? She killed our son.” Pain rips through my chest, and I stumble at the thought of Ellis dying.
“How can you say such a thing? You were there. You saw what happened to Ellis.” Lucas yanks his arm away from her.
Margaret continues her tirade. “She has destroyed everything.”
“I’m not certain it was Kalli who put us in this position,” he says, his eyes narrowing. “Fallon, I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Oh, I’ve got to hear this.” Margaret crosses her arms.
“No, Margaret. Kartac will escort you to the study.”
“Escort me? This is my home, Lucas. I will go wherever I please.”
Lucas’s face stiffens and his nostrils flare. “You will go with Kartac, or perhaps you would prefer Weston?”
Fallon lets out a tiny gasp. Margaret’s expression morphs into fear. “You wouldn’t,” she breathes.
Lucas raises his eyebrows. Margaret turns and marches down the hallway. A man, who I can only assume is Kartac, solemnly follows.
“I’ll be right back, Father,” Fallon says. He takes my arm, and we move along the corridor in Margaret’s stormy wake.
“Kalli, you can wait here.” Fallon’s face has completely altered. All traces of hostility have disappeared and have been replaced with grief. “Stay here with Waverly. I’ll be back soon,” he says, squeezing my arm.
“We have to find Ellis. Can’t we look for him first, and then you can talk to Lucas?”
For some unknown reason, my body acts on its own volition, and my hand reaches out to Fallon. He takes hold of it. Our eyes lock, and I know he shares my pain.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispers.
Waverly darts around the massive kitchen, stealing glances at me. She’s tiny in every way. Her tight curls jiggle as she scoots around the kitchen. She silently lays out a plate of food in front of me. I can’t recognize anything. It doesn’t matter. I’m not hungry. All I can think about is saving Ellis.
The weight of the realization disorients me. I would have been the first to call someone who could forgive such treachery a fool. Ellis lied to me. Am I only forgiving him because he may be dead?
I startle at the sudden pressure on my back.
“Let’s go.” Fallon holds out his hand, and I take it, relieved that we’re going to find Ellis.
“Have they found him? Is there a chance?” I choke out the last bit.
Fallon doesn’t answer. He moves quickly, his eyes darting around.
“Fallon,” I breathe heavily, almost running to keep up with his long strides. “Is Ellis okay? Has anyone found him?”
Still no response.
“Fallon, you have to tell me. Is he—is he … gone?”
Fallon draws me in behind a corner. He speaks in a hushed and hurried manner. “We need to move quickly. I will tell you everything as soon as we’re outside. Trust me, Kalli. Please.”
I nod, and Fallon pulls me along again. Others are rushing around too, some giving out commands. If any of the instructions are meant for us, Fallon ignores them and trudges on.
Finally we’re outside again, and I turn to him, expecting him to explain. Hoping against hope that he’ll tell me that Ellis has been found and is okay. But Fallon just meets my desperate eyes with a quick shake of his head.
“Not yet. We’re almost there,” he says, moving so fast he’s practically running.
He drags me along, and I almost fall. Fallon wraps his arm around my waist, lifting my feet from the ground, and runs. We’re heading toward a white marble structure. It’s huge, at least forty feet high and almost as wide. He pulls me down into a crouch. His face is inches from mine, and I can see the swelling under his eyes.
“Things are moving very quickly,” Fallon whispers. “Lucas may not be in power much longer.”
“What?” I ask a little too loudly, and Fallon covers my mouth with his hand.
“Shhh,” he warns, and then continues on. “Our planet has been suffering for a long time. People were already losing faith in Lucas’s ability to lead us through this crisis, and now the mission failed under his watch. Plus all that stuff Adalyn said, about the Council not listening to her warnings, has cast a dark mark upon Lucas. Having a Leader who can be looked up to and trusted is critical. Lucas has been told that there are many in the Council who want him replaced.”
This doesn’t matter now. “What about Ellis?” I breathe, trying to keep my voice as quiet as possible.
“I’m getting to that,” he hisses. “Lucas’s time in power may be ending soon. We need to act quickly.” He grips my shoulders so that we’re looking at each other straight on. “We can try and save Ellis and Adalyn, or I can take you back to Earth. Lucas can get us a ship, and we can leave.”
“What are you talking about? Of course I want to save Ellis. Why would we leave?”
“When Adalyn opened the chamber, she destabilized Istriya’s core. The catastrophes she warned us about are going to happen. And happen soon. Lucas has people trying to counter it, but there’s no certainty that they will be successful.” He bites his lower lip. I look at him, waiting. “If they can’t, then Istriya will be destroyed.”
“What? That’s crazy!”
“Lucas can get us a ship. I can get you back to Earth.”
“Then why isn’t everyone freaking out? Trying to escape?”
He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head.
And then it hits me. “They don’t know.”
“There aren’t enough ships to get everyone off the planet. The Council ruled that in the interest of public safety—”
“Public safety? But everyone will die!”
“Kalli, it would be chaos if everyone found out. Anyway, it’s not up to us. The Council has made a decision to announce that the situation is under control.”
“And they’ll let me go? Aren’t they worried that I’d talk and tell people about what you did?”
“The Council isn’t going to stop you from leaving Istriya,” Fallon says.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I did. You will be safe. Your brother will be safe.”
I shake my head. “Margaret was going to kill me and all those women because she couldn’t modify our memories.”
“Margaret isn’t in charge. Kalli, you need to decide. We don’t have much time.”
Even after everything Ellis has done—the deceit, the heartache—I can’t leave without trying to save him. I look down at the thin dark line on my arm. A scar is already forming along the spot where Fallon removed the verbindi. It wasn’t all a lie. It couldn’t have been. Ellis risked his own life to save mine. “I want to find him.”
Fallon shakes his head and laughs. “You two are so alike. Wanting to save everyone. Thinking you can. It’s not going to end how you think. It’s not going to be happily ever after for you and Ellis.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
“I don’t get it. You’ve only known him seven days. He lied to you. Deceived you. Endangered your life. How can you forgive someone like that?” He turns away from me and mutters, “How can Addy love someone like that?”
Pretending I didn’t hear the last part, I say. “I know it makes me look like an idiot. But I don’t think forgiving someone makes me weak. I think it’s a sign of strength. And I forgive him.”
“But how? Was your life so miserable that you fall for the first person who shows you a little compassion?”
I inhale sharply. His words sting.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” he says.
“It’s true. My life was miserable, but I’m not a fool. I know what he did. And I hated him for it. I probably still do. But I can’t pretend that I don’t love him. Even after you removed the verbindi, I still had feelings for him.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“I don’t get it.”
“I know.” I smile at him. “After all the crap I’ve had to deal with, I never thought I’d feel for someone the way I feel about Ellis. I thought that Sita and her men had taken away my ability to trust, to love. But they didn’t. That means something to me. It’s something to fight for. It’s something I deserve.”
Fallon takes my hand. “Okay, Kalli, let’s go.”