Page 122 of Echoes of War

Nodding against my will, I told my brother the reason I’d started to lose hope for good. “Elko has fallen. Sacramento is next.Garcia sent word that their barriers had been burned before they could finish building the solid wall. Their horses have been slaughtered and any remaining soldiers and survivors from them both are heading here as we speak. Which sounds like goodish news but it’s not. They won’t make it in time, because Garcia confirmed what our captive claimed: we’re the main target, and they’ll be here before dawn.”

I held my breath, eyes trailing around The Arena, Riley and Alexiares by my side. Reina, Tomoe, and Abel stood behind us, hands on my shoulders, letting me know they were with me as I spoke. Every inch of the space was filled, and the crowd spilled into The Entertainment Square.

My heart remained heavy with the burden of the role I was about to let my people decide. I’d abandoned them not once, but twice. There was a consensus that they did not blame me for going to Duluth. In fact, they deemed it a necessary action in the course of the reality unfolding around us. Even with that being true, I didn’t want to be handed this position.

The people here deserved to know and choose their fate. If they were going to die, I wanted them to die knowing they’d had a say in our demise. There was no glory or heroes in war, but there was pride in dying for the life we had built together.

“I wish we could be gathered here under better circumstances, but here I stand, in the same spot I stood in months ago with nothing else to offer you than the truth. Before the sun rises, we will have to fight for the lives of the people we love.” I paused, allowing the chatter and gasps to die down. “Covert Province marches on us. From the intel we’ve gathered, it will be a fight to the death. They want what we have. They want our homes, they want our people, they want our lives. I have no intention of letting them take that from us. They cannot take what does not belong to them,and though I live by those words, I will die for them with pride. In the last four years, you all trusted me as a soldier and then a general. I know you will follow me onto the battlefield, but I have come to ask for something else.

“In the wake of Prescott’s untimely death,” my voice shook at the words, still coming to terms with them. “His dying wish was that I’d step into another role, one I dread but cannot avoid any longer. Many of you know he was a father to me. Which is why I mean no disrespect when I say, though his intentions were good in this wish, they do not represent the values he stood for. I believe in the power of the people, in your wisdom and our collective strength. This is your city, your future. By placing this decision before you, it lands in more than capable hands. I will lead you into battle, but war does not stop there—there are other decisions that may cost lives that must be made. I cannot make some of them from one position alone. There is no guarantee any of us will walk away with our lives. We must trust in each other, in the brothers and sisters around you. There is no help coming, not any that give us a chance to see the sun rise. All we have are the people around us, our undying will, and our hearts. You’ve heard the truth of our situation, now what will it be, my friends … my family? Will you follow me into the darkness in hopes to see the light?”

I took a deep breath, eyes scanning the faces in the crowd, hoping to find support. A wave of emotion swept through The Arena. Tears welled up in the eyes of mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, siblings.

A solitary voice rang out, breaking the silence, “Compound first.”

My attention focused on a teenage boy, holding the hand of his younger sister, no older than twelve. “Compound first,” she echoed, both of them dropping to their knees.

“Compound first,” the entire assembly repeated in perfect harmony, shuffling reverberated through the room as they all kneeled before me.

A lump rose in my throat, overwhelmed with the conflicting emotions. Prescott and Jax would be damn proud and I hated that they weren’t here to see it. I would do whatever it took to honor their memory. When I couldn’t face my people any longer, I descended the steps, cutting through the path made through the crowd.

A new mission had presented itself; for now, I carried all the hopes and aspirations of my settlement on my shoulders. Our trio had officially become one. The bond I had with them went beyond this lifetime. I would do right by them, that was a promise.

Seth

Irubbed the neck of my horse as I watched Monterey Compound out in the distance from the cliffside. My father had let me come out here on my own. Not a doubt existed in my mind that made me foolish enough to think he didn’t have precautions in place to make sure I fulfilled my end of the bargain. If it weren’t for the stars gracing me from above, I wouldn’t even know The Compound was down there.

It had gone dark, only a few lanterns were lit on the main streets, which only meant one thing: Operation Midnight Veil. Fuck.

A sinking sentiment of dread settled in my gut as I realized the chances of me getting inside were slim to none. They knew we were coming. I had one shot at this, to convince Amaia to listen to me. Maybe I’d taken the wrong path getting here, but there was no room for me to doubt myself now. I needed her to trust me onthis. Trust was hard earned with her. She wouldn’t make it easy on me to force her to stop and listen. It had taken me years to gain her trust, and I’d shattered it in moments. I would never forget the pain in her eyes when the betrayal she’d refused to see as truth came to light in that cell in Duluth.

I had many regrets on how this all went down; my only hope was that she couldseethe truth of my remorse, or at least hear it in my pleas. Her life depended on it: my sister’s life, Moe’s life, Riley’s life. Fuck, everyone’s life did and maybe I fucked it all up.

Or maybe I didn’t.

If I hadn’t gone to Covert Province, would this opportunity even exist for them to escape with their lives? It was futile to think of the what ifs. In a twisted churn of events, the fate of The Compound now rested entirely in my hands. The gravity of it hit me harder than a sledgehammer.

As much as it was a hard pill to swallow, I missed my sister. If she had just cooperated, told me the damn truth, none of this would have ever happened. That was a lie. It would have, but The Compound’s demise wouldn’t have weighed as heavily on me if I’d never come to know the people inside.

That was irrelevant. Right now, there were people I cared about down there who needed me. My sister needed me. So, I would do exactly what was asked of me.

Reina would hate me, but at least she would walk away with her life. I could bear the weight of her resentment if it meant she survived. I didn’t care that Moe would never see me the same way. None of that mattered much to me anymore. I wish I’d never left things with her the way that I had.

I loved her.

She wasn’t just my world; she was the constellations in my sky. I’d made her feel as though none of that mattered to me because she wasn’t my blood and flesh. If she heard nothing else from meagain, I’d let her know that the love I held to her was unconditional. Tomoe was worthy. My entire family was.

It was three hours till dawn; the lanterns throughout The Compound trickled out leading toward the courtyard at The Pit. All but one—a singular light that sat directly in front of Amaia’s room. A chill went through me. It was her magic. She was down there leading the charge even though she’d lost it all. Ronan Moore could take everything he wanted from her, but he was an idiot to think he could take her fight.

When the last light went out, I knew it was time. I placed my hat back on my head, turning my horse to make our way down to try to save the lives of the people I cared about before I was forced to take them myself.

Amaia

There comes a time in your post-apocalyptic life when you realize you’ve cried all the tears you have left to provide, and the only thing that remains is anger. Strolling through the darkness of The Compound in utter silence, the only sound was the footsteps of my family around me. Harley and Suckerpunch stood guard inside the shelter. It was the safest place they could be while still having a task to keep their anxious minds at bay.

The quiet didn’t confuse me. I knew what awaited us beyond these walls. The force that threatened everything and everyone I loved. So much had been taken from me in such little time. That would not stop me the way Covert Province had hoped.

When you take everything from someone, you inadvertently leave them with nothing left to lose. That wasn’t where I sat, at least not yet, but I was on the verge of being there. And whilelosing two men whom I loved dearly had fucking hurt me, it did not break me.

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