Page 30 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire

"You shut your mouth, Aaron. Do you have any idea what I went through before I was turned? Before I was stuck as that hideous monster?" Mason questions, pulling up his shirt, an array of hashmarks lining his side. "Do you want to know what this scorecard means, Untouchable?" Mason hisses, backing Kai into a corner of his own making.

"Mason," I utter, grabbing the man's shoulder, his skin hot with the fury of anger. "We are all suffering. No one was trying todiscredit-"

"Oh, save it, Evermoore," Mason snaps. "You stopped giving a shit about anyone but her the minute she remembered you. Maybe friendship was disposable to you, but the kindness you showed me was one of the few things that allowed me to hold onto humanity, so excuse me if I find some comfort knowing there might be a place better than this shitty fucking ant farm your people dragged me into," Mason seethes, shoving me on the chest, my feet taking several steps back.

A powerhouse of strength when angry, the man pushes back his curls tinged with grey, years of conflict and pain swirling in his eyes.

"You have few allies, Mason," I warn, keeping my gaze on the man. "Do not start mistaking me for an enemy."

Giving me a scoff, he shakes his head.

"You'd burn down the world for her, Xavier," Mason sighs, lowering his head toward the man. "The hell am I supposed to see you as when it's time to light the match?"

Letting the room fall into silence, I digest his words, wondering at what point I find the words to fight his point.

"The Precipice," Aaron says, guiding the conversation away from the direction it has taken. "Where is it?"

Feeling a breeze roll through the cabin, the door swings open on its hinges, the bright eyes of Bekah and Valerie waltzing into the space, both of them sensing the tension from a mile away.

Sporting a much shorter haircut, Valerie's blonde hair rests at her shoulders, her hands concealed in dark gloves, hiding the scars lining her skin. Letting her hair grow out, Bekah's red hair is pulled back into a small bun, her stature as defensive as always. Barely acknowledging the two women, Mason motions them in, letting yet another two people join the tense conversation at hand.

"What did we just walk in on?" Valerie questions, creeping closer to me, my arms ready to embrace her with a hug I didn't know I needed.

Over the past few months, Valerie has warmed up to the idea of me, even pushing Bekah to give me a simple nod or pat on the back when needed. Wrapping her thin arms around my waist, I place my head atop her own, watching Bekah kick Fallan in the ankle as she walks by, shoving his head back the moment he tries to stand up.

Maybe there is more than one redhead I enjoy.

"Mason saw Forest," Aaron says, letting Kai lean into him, Fallan's eyes rolling at the gesture.

"And?" Valerie questions, Bekah's attention now on Mason.

"And she's in some fucking carbon copy of New Haven, most likely killing off cute little Marked, and feeding their blood to their parents," Fallan smiles, motivating me to take a step toward the man.

Releasing Valerie, I pinch his ear, ready to twist it clean from his head.

"He brings up a good point," Mason sighs, rubbing his fingers over his tired eyes. "What the hell is your guy's plan if you make it to the Precipice? You know the bloodshed she has created with Elyon. You infiltrate the city to convince her of what? That she is loved? Last time I checked, that's not enough to get her to fucking come back to us."

“Theres no way she just decided one day, hey, I'm just going to betray everyone I love out of spite," Kai says, throwing up his arms in defeat. "I mean, Jesus, she has everything she could have wanted, and walked away from all of it," Kai says, speaking with no boundaries.

Narrowing my eyes at the talkative brother, he loses his confidence in his careless words.

There's more to why she left.

There's no scenario in which Forest would turn her back on everything she loved the way she did.

Until my last breath.

What were you hiding from, Flower?

Who were you protecting?

"Clearly she is willing to take things to the extreme," Fallan hisses, holding up his nonexistent right hand, forcing yet another smile along my lips.

At least she made her point.

“We are getting more resources by the day. Eventually, Sanctum's hubs and Elyon won't be able to handle the forces we have against them. They want to exterminate the Marked, we want to bring him and his forces down," Mason retorts.

“Does that include Forest?” Fallan smirks, both me and Kai widening our eyes.

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