Page 48 of A Rising Hope

I told Zora and Orest about everything that had happened. Of everything that I learned about the Queen, Godric, of Gideon. Everything. Except Gideon’s goodbye letter. Except the Soul Eater’s vision. Except my vision of Gideon’s death.

Something in me hesitated to tell them that.

I didn’t find the courage to tell them of my death either. Unsure what to make of it myself, still trying to sort out everything the Soul Eater had told me in my vision. I was myself, and yet something deep within me changed. A new door unlocked, one that I hadn’t known existed before.

After dinner, I visited each soldier. I tended to the wounded and listened to those who needed to be heard.

I picked on the small piece of skin torn on my finger. My new hands were too soft for the callus warrior’s bow I used to light up the first arrow shot, burning the stack of deceased bodies with my Justice Fire. The title of the Empress felt too heavy in thatmoment, almost suffocating as I uttered a quiet “until we meet again,” sending their souls into the journey beyond.

The stars flickered high above the sky; I paused near an old oak tree. The shadow near it moved as Orest’s tall figure appeared from behind it, so quiet and almost untraceable. His face illuminated by the silver moonlight, making his eyes almost crystal-like.

“Empress,” he bowed lower than before. Both of us had masterfully avoided speaking to each other since Priya revealed the truth about him. “Finn, I—” he swallowed.

“Does Gideon know?” I asked him, taking a second look at him. He was nothing like Priya. Calm, collected, never out of line, loyal and reserved.

“Yes, he was the one who saved me,” Orest replied, and I knew he wasn’t lying.

“Did Zora know before?”

“She knew the day Gideon saved me.”

“Anyone else know?”

“No.” He swallowed hard, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. I knew why he was here. Truth Tellers didn’t have the luxury of living freely. Their secret had a hefty price, one they’d have to pay either with their own life or with the lives of others.

“So it shall stay that way,” I assured him, giving him a curt nod. I had spent weeks questioning my reality with Priya after I had left, of who she was, of how I felt about her being a Truth Teller, of what that meant for me. And I left that fear and the hurt in the past. I kept her secret, and I would keep his.

“Thank you.” His throat bobbed, a certain weight lifted off his shoulders, and he twisted on his heel to walk away, but I called out his name.

“Orest.” I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I wanted to know the answer, but found myself asking anyway. “That day in theInadios’s mansion, when we first met . . . ” I probed, “Did you influence my thoughts?”

Orest gave me a half smile over his shoulder. “No.” He took a weighted pause. “But I do not need to read someone’s thoughts to know their intentions.” I felt the comforting touch of his powers a second later, similar to that comforting and trusting feeling I sensed that day in Inadios’s mansion. My eyes widened with a realization, he gave me a solemn half smile. “My Truth Telling skills extend to emotions. It’s much less noticeable than mental jumps. People can reason and hide their thoughts but rarely their feelings. When my Master made me, he’d always said that my feelings were my downfall. Little did he know they were his.”

“Zora?” I asked.

“No. Never.” He looked up at the sky, at the stars, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “Though you must admit, it’s rather ironic. The guy that can influence anyone’s feelings cannot make the only person he loves love him back.” He let out a saddened sigh.

“Why her?” I found myself asking, relieved to hear his immediate no to my previous question.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He raised his brow. “She is the brightest light in the darkest of worlds.” He glanced towards the quieted camp ahead. “I remember when I first saw her, and I thought to myself she was the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on. It was true then and it’s even more true now. As a Truth Teller, you see the world’s darkest desires, you see their inner thoughts hidden away from everyone, and they corrupt you. They destroy your soul bit by bit until you lose yourself completely. Many think that making a Truth Teller is cruel, but no physical pain, no torture, can measure up to the complete hopelessness that suffocates you after. You want to die not because of pain, but because there is nothing good worth living for.”

He paused for a beat before continuing. “Zora was the first and only person that made me want to live. Call it love, call it salvation, call it fate. But she is my god, and I will spend my life worshiping her.”

The gust of night-wind carried his confession into the dark, leaving us to stand alone in silence.

“Take good care of the both of you,” I whispered my goodbye after a while, before turning to walk away from him. But this time it was he who called out my name.

“Finn?”

“Yes?”

“Your assassin friend.” Priya was hardly a friend, but in a way, she was family, but I didn’t interrupt him. “Have you ever questioned what she was doing that deep in the woods by the river when she found you?”

“No,” I answered, unsure. I had always assumed she was there for one of her numerous kills. “Why?”

“Because I think she found you when she needed you most.” His words hit me like a pile of bricks. What he was implying wedged deep in my heart.

“Do you think we will all die?” I found myself asking.

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