Page 111 of Us Dark Few

Takeshi’s tender eyes flashed through her mind and she rubbed her chest, clawing it to distract from the tears threatening to fall. She couldn’t make sense of it. Why would he let that happen? Why didn’t he try and stop it?

Her lips quivered, the barest hint of grief escaping her, but Takeshi heard it. He gripped her elbow and pulled her off into a deserted hallway, not a soul in sight. “Kanes.”

She shook her head minutely, staring at his broad chest, wishing she could sink into the shadows.

If she saw the betrayal in his eyes, that would make it real.

“Khalani.” The rough whisper escaped him like her name was a forgotten prayer. He brushed his finger against her cheek, capturing an escaped tear, and she leaped back like his caress burned.

“Don’t touch me,” she hissed.

Takeshi’s face twisted in agony. “I had no choice, Khalani.”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it.” She was losing control.

“If I hadn’t written their numbers down, the Warden would have, and you could’ve been on that list. Irefusedto let that happen. I wasprotecting you,” he insisted, searching her eyes for recognition, for light.

“I’m not the only one who deserves your protection! We all mean something to someone. The prisoners on that stage were someone’s daughter, son, brother, sister, mother, or husband.” Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, the gruesome images refusing to dissipate.

His muscles stiffened, bitterness and resignation hovering over his expression. “Not everyone can be saved.”

She ground her teeth and found the strength to stare straight into his blazing eyes, and it was like all the fiery passion in the world was bottled in those charcoal spheres.

“Why did you choose to be a guard?”

“To defend my mother and those who can’t protect themselves,” he answered without hesitation.

“So, will you help us fight the Governor and escape Braderhelm?”

Takeshi tensed, and his brow deepened further in consternation. The ensuing silence was all the answer she needed.

She narrowed her eyes and got right in his face.

“I think your mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew what became of you.”

He visibly flinched at her words, but she kept going.

“The person who stands by is just as guilty as the one who pulls the trigger. The dead don’t need your apologies or thoughts and prayers. They need action. But you’re still holding on to the hope that the Governor won’t allow this to happen again. He will. It might be me on the list next time, and you won’t have a say in it. What will your move be then? Until you can look me in the eye and tell me that you’re ready to fight back against your superiors,against Apollo, I have nothing to say to you.”

Takeshi was shocked into silence. He was the strongest and most confident person she’d ever met, but in that moment, he’d never looked more unsure of himself.

She turned and walked away. Done with the conversation. Done with him.

And he let her leave.

When the bars of her cell slammed shut, she roughly collapsed onto the cot and bit down hard on the thin blanket.

And screamed.

Screamed till her voice was hoarse and her teeth chattered. Screamed till her throat could produce no more sound.

She lifted her head to the dirty ceiling as if to ask God for help, but no one answered. She was alone. Abandoned within destruction.

Some things are better left in shatters, lest they use their strength to topple the world.

She carved a poem to remember that night. It was a lesson. A warning. A vow.

Severed Dreams

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