Page 89 of Ash and Feather

His eyes turned glassy. He didn’t answer me.

“Cillian,how many weapons have you planted? How many soldiers are you ordering into the keep tonight?”

Still nothing.

“How many lives are you planning to take?”

He finally snapped out of his stoic stance. His tone was a mixture of barely-suppressed anger and bitterness as he said, “It isn’t about taking individual lives. It’s about the bigger picture. The future.Ourfuture. You were an important fixture of that future, once upon a time.”

“I haven’t abandoned you all, I speak for the gods at the moment, but I…I…”

“If you are here to speak for the gods, then you speak in favor of the ones those gods are ultimately sworn to protect. In favor of humans, in other words. And you know as well as I do that both are—and always will be—our enemies.”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. My hands were burning. I bowed my head and stared at my palms, at the lines of fire starting to show upon my skin.

“Just answer one question for me,” Cillian said.

The weight of his gaze made me feel like I was sinking.

“Whose side are you on?”

I clenched my hands into fists. The heat in them continued to build, but I ignored it as I lifted my eyes to my old friend and tried—unsuccessfully—to answer without letting my voice break. “It’s complicated. We can talk about it later, I swear, I just need you to stop whatever it is you planned to do tonight so that tomorrow we can—”

“It’s too late for that.”

“Itisn’t.”

“You should go. There are more of our rebels coming, and tonight is about more than just blowing random things up, it’s…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Just leave, Karys. Please. You can’t win this particular battle.” The glassy look in his eyes cracked, letting a glimmer of his usual affection toward me shine through.

When I remained rooted to my spot, he shook his head at me, a side of his mouth edging up in a tired smile.

“What was the first thing I taught you when I started taking you on missions with me?” he asked.

I swallowed down the argument I’d been building. Nearly choked on it. “Live to fight another day,” I answered.

“Exactly. Because you can’t furtheranycause…”

“If I’m dead.”

He nodded. We had become a mentor and mentee once more, if only for the span of a few painful heartbeats. It couldn’t last. I was not the same child I’d once been, eager to follow his lead—I was prepared to stand my ground, to argue against him in a way I never had before.

At least until something odd caught my attention.

Turning away from Cillian, I stepped closer to the entrance of the tent, listening for the roar of chaos outside, and I heard…

Nothing.

The night had gone completely silent.

Chapter 22

Karys

I raced outside,sprinting to the top of the hill that overlooked the main camp.

The chaos created by Valas had dispersed.

There were still people moving quickly about, but they exchanged nothing more than an occasional whisper, completely focused on organizing themselves with an unflinching resoluteness that was almost eerie.

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