Page 61 of Bright Blinding Ruin

Frederick closes the distance between us with two large strides. He holds his hands behind his back, his cheeks a bit flushed. “I…” Whatever he’s trying to say, it sounds as though he’s having a difficult time saying it.

Oh, God. He’s not trying to finish the discussion we had yesterday, is he? I mean, isn’t it a little too soon to talk about anything serious? I just kicked some major ass here. Can’t I have a little break?

Maybe he senses the fact that I don’t want to talk about it right now, or maybe I read the room wrong and that wasn’t what he was going to say to begin with. Regardless, Frederick simply says, “I’m glad you’re staying with us. Perhaps I can start to make amends for lying to you about—”

About the portals, back when I only wanted to go home.

I shake my head and tell him, “It’s okay. You don’t have to make it up to me. I get why you did it. I was a stranger. You didn’t trust me. All you knew was that I could survive out there.” I shrug. “If I was in your place, I guess I would’ve done the same.”

I swear, I hear a disgusted chuckle in the back of my head after I say that, and it takes everything in me to stand there and act like I didn’t hear it. Like I didn’t hear it and it didn’t immediately tick me off.

Frederick opens his mouth to say more, and I can tell he’s dying to revisit our conversation from yesterday, but in the end all he says is, “We should get out there. I’m sure quite the crowd is waiting for you.”

If by quite the crowd, he meant everyone who’s still alive in Laconia, then he’s right. As I walk out of the conclave and into the bright light of day, I step out onto a platform where the four councilmembers are waiting for me. The guards, nobles, everyone who made it from the lower district, even the other orphans who used to run around with Prim; everyone else stands in the wide-open space before the building. Body to body to body; the area before us is jam-packed with people, so many faces.

And they’re all looking at me.

Frederick goes to stand with his dad, off to the side on the stairs, but not quite with the rest of the crowd.

I step out onto the platform, not knowing what to expect. Beneath the platform is the library’s entrance; it really is literally right underneath the conclave. I swallow hard as I gaze out at the people gathered.

More than I thought there was, but not nearly enough in the scheme of things. Rebuilding is going to be hard.

“People of Laconia,” Kretia speaks as she raises her arms to the sky, “we have gathered here today to celebrate the end of our misery. The woes are no more, and each and every one of us owe our lives to this woman.” She gestures for me to stand beside her, and I know I don’t have any other choice.

I take the empty spot to her left, feeling like I want to throw up.

“She came to us as a stranger, but she has proven to us who she is. Let me be the first to introduce you to High Empress Aurelia,” Kretia says, and she says it loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Rey,” I whisper, so focused on that part that I don’t even realize what she said before my name.

“High Empress Rey,” Kretia corrects herself, and then she faces me and lowers to her knees. Behind her, Aolia, Ravenno, and Hazor all drop to their knees as well.

I’m seconds from telling them to get up, that this is silly, that I don’t want to be considered their high empress or anything like that, but my eyes dart to Frederick and his dad. They kneel, too, their heads bowed in reverence.

It’s a chain reaction. Everyone kneels and lowers their heads. The guards, the nobles, the poor folk… and even the kids. Not a single person remains standing in the audience. All I can see are the tops of everyone’s heads.

They kneel for me. Not only to show me respect, but also to prove to me that they’ve accepted me when they once mistrusted and shunned me. Everything has come full circle.

I’ve never been in this sort of position before, so I don’t know how to respond or if I should say anything. All I end up doing is giving the crowd an awkward smile that none of them see because they’re still bowing and kneeling in reverence.

In reverence to me.

I’ll never get over that.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Once the informal ceremony is over—or whatever you want to call it—I have to excuse myself. The city is coming back to life, its people thrilled to be able to walk freely with no fears of the woes, but there’s something I need to do before I help anyone out.

I make my way to the slums, to Frederick’s makeshift hut. I didn’t exactly ask him if it was okay, but that’s because I didn’t know how. As I figure, he won’t mind too much if I take some of his clothes. Doubt they’ll fit that well, but until everything is out in the open, it’s about the only thing I can do.

Searching through Frederick’s drawers, I find a gray shirt and some dark pants. I find an old pair of leather boots as well, though I really don’t think they’ll fit. I have to search through it fast so I’m out of here before Frederick or his dad come around.

I… I know I’ll have to come clean, but not yet. I need time to figure some things out.

Once I have everything I need, I hurry out of the hut and power walk through the streets. I slip out of the main gate and follow the dirt road out of Laconia that zigzags on the hillside on its southern edge. The farmhouses and farmland on the hills will be tilled and put to use again soon enough; it’s why I chose a house a bit further down the road. I’ll have to let everyone know that I’d like that house to be mine.

Not because I need a place to stay—well, not only that. It’s more due to the fact that I have something to hide.

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