“It would do us both good if you could scream as convincingly as you can,” he said.
What? “Why would I?”
His arm lashed out, and the knife soared through the air, landing with a thud in the nearest tree. “Just do it.”
Sucking in breath, she exhaled and screamed as loud as she could until he nodded his head.
“We have to move fast. Lorne is not one to be misled.” He set off jogging, talking as he went, “Look, you seem like you have gone through a time back there, and I can relate to that. But you and your family name don’t get to dictate the future of Kiero any longer,”
“I’m trying to help bring down Adair.”
“And then what would happen? Your people are indebted to you again? You become queen, follow your parents’ beliefs and path? History is only bound to repeat itself. A lot of things have already been set in motion, and you returning from the dead will set a lot of things in a tailspin. So, I propose you help me find and save my brother—or I will kill you.”
What choice did she have?
Emory whispered to his back, “Agreed.”
Her only acknowledgement was Azarius speeding up, pushing further into the depths of the forest, and Emory followed desperately at his heels.
***
Time had no meaning to her in this world. There was only the constant thud of her foot against the soil and her thoughts as she and Azarius pushed further into the night. They had not stopped. They had not rested. Blisters on her heel burned as her flats rubbed them with every footstep, her torn dress muddied and in tatters. She was starting to understand her body’s exhaustion. Her heart pumped violently with her every move, begging her to stop.
She had gone from being a prisoner of her own world to a prisoner of her past to Adair, and now...
Looking ahead, she stared at Azarius. Why was he so against what her parents stood for when all she had heard was stories of praise?
The thought pulled at her, ugly and loud. Had her parents balanced their duties, or had citizens suffered from their decisions for the greater good? Frustrated, she sighed, her palms tingling. She just wanted to piece it together, but nothing was clear. If Azarius was right, why wouldn’t Memphis entertain the idea that more people had survived, try to pour energy into only trying to bring Adair down, not into trying to build their numbers? Banded together, they had a better chance, but alone...
Unless Adair had something Memphis wants?
If he is still alive.
Her life was a scattered puzzle, two halves of herself conflictingly coming into one. Would she continue to honor what her parents stood for even when she learned pieces of the truth that she didn’t agree with? How would she get outside citizens to trust her when everyone has been fighting her war while she was a world away?
She was selfish. What she had asked Memphis and Brokk to do many years ago was so selfish. Asking them to change the course of their lives for her.
She wasn’t the savior everyone wanted to believe she was. That she had believed she was. She would help free Alby. Then, she would move forward with her plan and do what she should have done when she first came back.
It was time for a little reunion.
***
She looked at the crumbling ruins in front of her. Miles and miles of destruction. The Ruined City had once been Kiero’s capital, Sarthaven. A place that supposedly cultivated not only the monarchy but a rich culture. Now, deserted, Emory couldn’t imagine such a city existed.
“Here?” Emory asked.
Dawn stretched across the sky, and Azarius shot a steady glare her way. “We’re getting close. We don’t need to be sitting ducks out in the open. This way.”
He disappeared under a slab of concrete propped up sideways, and she followed, delirious from exhaustion. Squeezing through and entering what looked to be part of a house, Azarius was already positioning himself in a corner, facing her directly.
He stifled a yawn and said, “It would do us good to get some rest. I will take first watch.”
It was not a question.
Sighing, she settled down. “How did you know this was here?”
He scoffed. “When you live to survive, you explore any possible option of refuge. We have scouted as far as we can walk, run. Besides, if you watch closely enough, Adair is not impossible to find.”
She couldn’t stifle her curiosity. “Who is we?” Instantly she regretted blurting out the question when she saw the stony expression cross his face.
Lost in some memory, he shook his head once and silence followed.
Emory lay down after that. She didn’t know how long she laid there staring up at the molding ceiling, but eventually, she fell into a fitful sleep.
Walking through the city, looking around at its empty streets, she called out to Brokk. It was abandoned.
“Emory?”
She dared not to hope. Anything could be possible in her dreams.
“Why are you here? You have to leave!” Brokk urged.
She turned around, and there he was, stalking toward her in agitation.
“Brokk,” she breathed.
He was here. She took him in like she would study a painting, etching every detail to memory and reached out hesitantly as if touching him would only prove this wasn’t real - his skin was warm against her touch.
Nothing held her back from crying, and she flung her arms around him.“You’re alive! Brokk, I tried to find you... Where did you go?”
He wrapped his arms protectively around her and, breaking the embrace for a moment, searched her face. “You shouldn’t be here. You have to leave.”
“There is no one here.” Emory looked around.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Adair is always watching.” The whisper was cold against her flushed cheek.
“What do you mean?”
“Emory!” Rough hands
