Page 140 of The Endless War

The tent faded away, and Zarrah saw herself standing on the dam outside of Nerastis, facing the gap in the spillway, Keris on the far side. Death rushing between them. She’d made that leap, and countless more since, and she refused to turn back now.

There was a commotion outside, and Zarrah tensed, eyes going to the entrance.

“I’ll see what it is,” Daria said, exiting.

Zarrah held her breath, letting it out in a rush as her friend steppedback inside, shaking her head. “It’s a messenger from the Usurper under a white flag,” she said. “Here to offer terms of surrender.”

Her father cursed under his breath, and Zarrah felt frustration seething out from him. Half his lifetime had been spent in pursuit of the Usurper’s downfall. He’d led the rebellion, made it strong, then handed the reins to her, only for it to come to this. “Bring them in.”

Daria nodded, and a moment later, she and Saam returned with a female soldier.

“Captain Sephra,” Zarrah said, inclining her head. “It has been a long time.”

“Zarrah.” Sephra’s gaze was cold beneath the halo of her greying hair. She’d been a member of the imperial bodyguard as long as Zarrah could remember, and other than Welran, no one was more loyal to the Usurper than her. “You should have allowed yourself to fade into oblivion, but instead your legacy will be bringing the first civil war to Valcotta in two hundred years.”

“What are her terms?” Zarrah asked, not rising to the bait.

“Her Imperial Majesty Empress Petra Anaphora offers the following terms,” Sephra said. “If her niece, Zarrah Anaphora, agrees to surrender herself to the Empress’s care, those who have unlawfully risen against rightful rule will be granted exile and allowed to retreat south into Teraford.”

“Lies,” her father spat. “If you surrender, she’ll put you in irons and then turn her army on us. She won’t suffer those who have slandered her name for so long to live—it’s against her nature.”

Zarrah knew that as well as she knew that the sun rose in the east. But she also knew that it was a risk they needed to take. They could not win this fight on the battlefield, outnumbered as they were, and Keris …

Was not coming.

She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling against the rising tide of anguish that threatened to drown her with each breath she took, only for his voice to echo in her thoughts.Fight, Valcotta.

Except how could she fight when the plan she’d created was in shambles? Everything had hung upon having the numbers, and the strength, to give Valcottans the truth. She hadn’t needed soldiers tofight the Imperial Army; she’d needed them to elevate her voice. She’d needed them to amplify her words so that she could pull back the curtain and reveal the monster wearing the crown, allowing all the men and women wearing imperial uniforms to see who, and what, they were fighting for.

There was a reason the Usurper was so desperate to silence anyone who spoke the truth. She knew that if it were to spread, it would be her damnation.

Yet despite everything she, Keris, and the rebels had done, her aunt had once again managed to silence them.

Tyranny had won.

Zarrah’s eyes skipped over those in the room, knowing she’d failed them. Her father. Daria. Saam. Her chest tightened, for her friend had spent the entire journey begging her to make abolishing the ban on handball her first act as empress. Such a stupid, inconsequential thing to focus on, yet knowing she’d failed to deliver even that made her eyes burn.

Handball …

Zarrah stiffened, an idea slowly forming in her mind as she stared at Saam, only jerking back into the moment when he frowned at her scrutiny.

Zarrah wheeled on Sephra. “Tell her I agree to the terms.”

The other woman blinked, clearly surprised. “You will come with me now?”

Zarrah shook her head. “I will surrender to my aunt, and only my aunt. Tell her to meet me in Meritt. Not the town itself, the stadium.”

“The handball court?” Sephra’s nose wrinkled, clearly sharing the Usurper’s disgust for the game. “You’d make a spectacle of it, then.”

“Those are my terms,” Zarrah said. “Do you agree, or will it be war between us?”

Sephra was silent for a long moment; then she shrugged. “Perform all you want, Zarrah. Your name will be soon forgotten.”

I doubt it,Zarrah thought to herself as Saam escorted the woman out, waiting until she’d be well out of earshot before rounding on her father. “Make ready to retreat. Show no hesitation.”

“She offers only lies, Zarrah,” he snarled. “She will take you in irons even as she orders pursuit. Will chase us south and into Teraford. Might well cross the border rather than allow us to live.”

“If my plan works, it won’t come to that. But if it does, the Ter queen will have no choice but to raise arms, and she is not without allies in the south. That may be where you find your victory against the Usurper.”

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