Page 140 of Echoes of War

It wasn’t a genuine request. As much as I fucking wished that false dream could come true, it wasn’t even a remote possibility. Too much bad had happened between us here for there to ever be a good.

Seth brushed the barrel of his gun through his hair, pushing it back briefly before leveling it at my forehead. “I’m trying to save your lives if y’all would stop being so damn difficult.”

“We’re not going anywhere with you, Seth.” I shook my head. Not understanding what he wasn’t understanding about that. “You asked for your freedom from us, said you wanted to go to where you belonged. Well shit, from where I’m standing, you got that. You chose your hill, now die on it.”

“I thought I was free,” Seth cried out, knees buckling until his skin scraped against Wrath. He glanced down at it with only his eyes. “Thought I was back in control of my life, that I just needed some time to adjust. My dad owns me, Moe. He’s always owned me, and he will till the day I die. Ronan Moore is everything I wanted to be, and, Moe, I love you, but I’m too fucked up to walk away. Our minds were intertwined that day. I know you saw what he did to me. It don’t matter how much he’s hurt me. He’s my dad … he’s blood. One of the few people left I can call that. We’ve always related on that, so I know you understand. Now please, either back the fuck down and let me save your lives peacefully, or?—”

“Save our lives?” I cackled. “How does stealing our freedom and compromising the place we love save our lives? All you’ll be doing is prolonging the long, slow death the rest of us will feel inside, knowing we sacrificed our morals for our mortality. Only oneperson I know would be okay with that, and I’m looking right at him. I’d argue that he was the one who needed saving.”

He was lost, so lost that there was no being saved for him. That was clear to me now.

“It’s easy to say that when y’all don’t know what you’re up against! There’re thousandsof soldiers headed this way. If I hadn’t begged for your life, your heads would be on a fucking stake by noon.”

My veins iced, yet I found myself not caring if my death was now impending. I hadn’t seen that to be true, but I hadn’t known what to search for until now. Death loomed around every corner in our world, especially today. If this was how I met my end, with my family at my side, then so be it.

“You mean like Prescott’s?” I sneered.

If he thought I’d forgotten about his role in that death, he was on hard fucking drugs. Just another unforgivable sin of his I’d tried to bury when the pain of his actions cut too deep.

Shame reddened his freckled face and neck. “You should know that I refuse to leave without you or my sister. I will do whatever it takes to make sure you come home with me.”

There was no arguing with the determination on his face that matched the certainty in his tone.

“Unfortunately, Seth, I can see the future, so I wholeheartedly believe that you will do whatever it takes. The thing is, I can’t let that happen.”

My chest tightened as I caught his eye. Moore blue had become my favorite shade of blue. Two of the people I loved the most in this life had it, and both had offered me their own version of peace for so long.

Against my better judgment, I sighed, pushing to the tip of my toes and wrapping my arms around his neck. We shared a few stolen moments, waiting for one to grant the other permission tofinish the kiss we both desperately wanted. I gave in, our lips meeting with hesitation.

Seth pushed Wrath away, dropping his gun and locking his hands around my waist. A soft moan escaped me as his mouth drifted to the crevice of my neck. His attention wandered back to my mouth. A tear dropped from above, wetting the side of my face. Cold metal poked into the center of my spine.

If I did nothing now, he’d shoot me, paralyze me, then force me to come with him. There was no version of that future where either of us ended up happy. He’d steal Reina and me away and Monterey would fall. For as many fucking futures I’d seen, few were definite. This was one of them.

“I love you,” Seth said with pleading eyes.

With a twirl in my hands, I hacked Wrath at his neck before he had the chance to pull the trigger, severing the connection to his spinal cord. Seth looked up at me from the ground, a haunted stare in his eyes laced with disbelief, but understanding of what was happening. He was still alive. I hadn’t had the right angle to finish the job.

Suffering was the last thing I wanted him to do. Seth Moore deserved so little from me at this point, but I would offer him a gracious death. To die by my hand alone was enough to haunt him on the other side, and me for life.

“I love you too.”

Raising Wrath, I drove her down. Seth’s head rolled down the sloping earth, stopping at my feet. Dropping to my knees with a whimper, I stared in horror at the clean cut from his neck, my hand covering my gaping mouth.

Time escaped me as I lay there in the slowly drying blood of my worst enemy and greatest love and wept.

Amaia

Turns out I did, in fact, have to let him go.

They worked on stabilizing him in the courtyard for what felt like hours. No more than thirty or forty minutes could have passed though, based on the steam coasting from the surrounding ashes. A woman crept through the rubble of North Gate, a black face gaiter covered her mouth and nose. It didn’t matter if only her eyes were left visible; I knew Luna when I saw her.

Blood stained her army green pants. The sleeves of her gray shirt were battered, gore splattered across her arms. Concern contorted her prominent features as she searched the courtyard, searching for someone.Me.

She sighed in relief, making a beeline in my direction. I stood at her approach, arms wide and taking in themoment of relief at her being okay. My head sank into her chest as she rubbed my back soothingly.

“Sweet girl. Good, you’re okay. I was worried I got here too late.” She stopped, doing a double take over my body. “I have news and I’m afraid it’s not great.”

Pain seared my heart at the nickname, but I stomached through it. “What’s wrong?”

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