Page 37 of Echoes of War

Abel strode through, a few large, industrial sized nails in hand. “Sent someone out for some raw meat.” He glanced around the room, taking in the various expressions on each of our faces, “What’d I miss?”

“Chaos. You missed the absolute chaos of these two maniacal women you want to call your new family,” Sloan bit out, only half-joking.

She was still mad, and I would be too, but he was hardly her problem now. She needed to get over it. Fast, before I lost whatlittle patience I had remaining. Alexiares detailed the game plan with a few brief sentences.

“Okay, so what? Say Reina figures it out, what next?” Abel threw a questioning look at the both of us.

“Then we test it,” Amaia and I said at the same time.

A soft smile exchanged between us two, and I was glad to finally be back on even ground with her. I missed our connection, missed the feeling of being on the same side. I knew we always were, but some days it was harder to believe that than others.

“I’m sorry,what?” If Alexiares had a drink in his mouth, I was one hundred percent certain he would have spit it out.

Even Sloan practically stuttered over her words. “On who?”

Tomoe’s eyes glazed over before coming back into focus. “On her,” she said, her finger now pointed at Amaia.

My heart sank to my butt, head shaking from side to side. “I won’t agree to that. No.”

“The whole point of doing what we’re doing here is to keep it from affecting our people. What do you want us to do?” Amaia argued, “Put out a sign-up sheet and ask people to volunteer for testing? What if we’re wrong?”

“We could use the prisoners,” Sloan offered. That earned her a glare from everyone in the room, Abel, a now prospective prisoner included.

“No, Sloan. We aren’t going to commit war crimes on our own people.” Amaia rolled her eyes at what she viewed as an obscene suggestion.

Sloan shrugged. “Youareour people. At least these fuckers deserve it.”

“Doubt you’d take advice from abloodhound,” Alexiares tried, “but testing out on prisoners that abandoned their post because they were scared doesnotqualify as deserving.”

“When people fail to protect our home, they no longer count asmypeople.” Sloan scolded, then after a few breaths relented, “Whatever though, you’re right. That would make me no better than you.”

“You’re going to let her go through with this, Alexiares?” Tomoe tossed at him, like she had seen he was the only one who would be able to cancel what she deemed a neurotic plan.

“Let her?” he nearly shouted, even Sloan took a step back at the pure edge in his voice, “I don’t let this girl do anything. She just does, and frankly, I’m getting fucking sick of the self-sacrificial bullshit.” Alexiares turned to her, his light brown eyes darkened under the intensity of his gaze. His face was completely red. I could taste the rage seeping off him.

“We all are,” I said, though that didn’t change the fact that all of our options sucked. I didn’t want to test my family, but I also didn’t want to be responsible for potentially killing an innocent person, either.

A heavy knock sounded on the door, silencing the room once more. A young girl stood on the other side, the grave expression on her face aging her up a few years. She walked past Alexiares and skirted around Amaia and the Pansies, aiming for the table beside her instead.

Amaia’s thick curls fell down her shoulders as she threw her head back, releasing a sinister laugh. She smacked the note down on the table, “Doesn’t matter what any of you want right now. We’re doing this, because our time is officially fucking up.”

I grabbed the note, it was from Riley and Prescott. If I had Amaia’s and Alexiares’ gifts, I would light it in flame. But I didn’t, so both knees buckled when waves of anger and pain crept from me and I worked to rein it back in. Guess we were doing this someway somehow, because my father and brother were sick in the dang head. Evil didn’t begin to cover them.

Concentration camps. He was using the citizens he considered less valued, working them near death, creating weapons, and mining coal for some reason. When they had nothing left to give, heturned them into the created Pansies. The poor souls were from both his territory, and the people from settlements around the country that refused to answer his demands. Settlements like those from Duluth.

“Oh my fucking—” Sloan’s words trailed off, reading over my shoulder.

Tomoe snatched the note from me, shoving Sloan out the way. “Guess we’re leaving a lot sooner than expected.”

“This doesn’t change anything, Amaia.” I stood my ground. “I won’t experiment on you, and you can’t make me.”

That sent her over, and hell broke loose. “And when exactly in the last month have you cared about my wellbeing, Reina? You’ve done nothing but push me away. If memory serves me right, you and Tomoe shut me out every chance you got. I needed you both, and you left me out to dry. What I’ve done has made me the devil in your eyes, meanwhile you’re off prancing after Seth. The person who caused this all. So, yes, I’ll do this, and if I die, then you keep trying and you keep going until you get it right. You didn’t care about how I was doing thirty minutes ago, don’t start now on my account.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, a thick, painful lump formed in the length of my throat. Her words burned because they were right. I had my own rightful reasons for my actions, reasons she clearly pranced over every chance she got. Abel and Sloan tucked into the shadows of the room, tension simmered between us as Alexiares and Tomoe took a step back, letting us fight this one out.

“I saw the look you and Sloan exchanged.” She added fuel to the flames. “Something changed before I got back. From where I’m standing, it’s as if everyone deserves your forgiveness, except me.”

“The difference between Moe and you, between Sloan and you, is they know when to apologize,” I said, fury lingering in each of my words.

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