Page 64 of Pieces of Halves

My brows furrow, and a list of questions forms in my mind, but I keep them to myself. Right now is not the time. Trusting a witch who has Yanuk’s interest, I nod. It will be difficult to make it through unscathed, but there are a few spots that, if we move without stopping, we will make it. If someone does assault us, I have my wings; those are powerful enough to kill when they come out and make a great shield.

I can do this.

Pulling on her hand, we run across the room as yelling and grunting echo in my ears. I keep going, the door on the other side of the room in my sight. My heart is pounding in my ribcage, but I keep moving.

A small figure in white catches my attention, so I turn my head. The world stops when I spot Cain, one of my maid's little boys, standing by the door across the room that leads to the dorms.

Everyone was supposed to be evacuated. He is seven years oldand in the middle of aviolent fight. Why is he here? My heart pounds with terror as I keep my sights on him. Shaking my hand to free myself from Anna, I move in his direction. Anna squeezes her fingers around mine harder and follows me. Too focused on the boy, I don’t bother looking back at her.

A shrieking sound of metal next to me forces me into a jog. Maybe it’s lucky for me that the followers don’t know what I looklike; their whole lives, they were so focused on killing Victor that they never bothered with me. If they knew who I was, I would be the first to kill on their list.

Idiots blinded by anger.

I am only a few feet from Cain. A man with a black hood strides toward him, his posture murderous. He is closer to Cain than we are. In less than a few seconds, the boy will be dead.

I inhale sharply, and the world spins in slow motion. Cain’s brown eyes are wide, and his cheeks are tear-stained as he stands in the midst of chaos, confused and terrified. My heart feels as ifit will explode out of my chest if I don’t do something. It hurts to the point where all I want to do is scream until every single follower is dead.

I am not my father!He is dead. Why can’t they have their peace with that? I suppose revenge for Sofia’s death is needed. The world runs in vicious, ugly cycles.

The man moves closer, a millimeter at a time, but my limbs don’t have the ability to run any faster.

No. Cain will not die.

My hands tremble, a prickly sensation jolts sporadically through my arms, and then there is a wave of flashing light. My muscles tight, I heave, bracing for the worst. The man in the hood is jerked off his feet into the air, and for a moment, it is dark. Silence follows.

I exhale and blink, realizing that the man is gone. Baffled at the sudden lack of noise, I look around. My soldiers are still, staring at Anna and me. What gets my attention are the skeletons scattered by the walls of the room; they are bare, completely clean of skin, hair, and muscles. Baffled, I swallow and look at Anna. Her eyes wide, she shakes her hand away frommine. Deep down, I understand that part of this was my doing, but not all ofit. There was something foreign when the power exploded.

“Izzy!” Jacob runs to stand across from me, worry in his gaze. “Are you okay?” He takes my face into his hands.

“Yes,” I breathe out and turn to look at Anna, my forehead scrunched.

Somehow, she bound our power together, amplifying both, mine and hers. I open my mouth to ask, but she clasps her hands together and looks down at the floor. Confused, I glance at Yanuk in hopes of getting some answers. He’s glaring at her, frustration and fear in his eyes.

“Anna,” I whisper, making sure no one but Jacob hears me, “what happened?” I take her hands into mine.

“You have light power, and I have dark. The exchange was perfectly balanced. I simply helped it along,” she answers without looking up, her voice timid.

A few more dozen questions swirl in my mind, but she seems uncomfortable, so I drop it for a better time. She lives outside the city; it won’t be hard to find her.

Scanning the room, I notice my men staring at the sight around them in confusion. I’m also puzzled, but this battle is not over. We still don’t know where our other scouts are. Straightening my shoulders, I turn my attention to the soldiers.

“The others are not back yet. We cannot let our guard down. There may be more –” I start.

“Your Majesty, Jorgan is back!” A young soldier with black hair sticking to his head rushes in. “What…” He looks around the space, his eyes wide. “He reports that the followers in the safehouses were eliminated. They burned themselves once theylearned they were fully surrounded,” the young man says while catching his breath.

I cringe at the words. Did they value their lives so little?

Still, relief washes over me, and I slide my fingers through Jacob’s. Exhaling, I notice one of the soldiers holding Cain in his arms, and he rocks to soothe the child. The little boy is alive and sleeping. The followers are gone. My army is okay.

Slumping, I look around yet again. No one says anything, observing the dead followers on the edges of the large room. The walls are slightly charred, but it is nothing that can’t be washed away. Adrenaline leaves my body, and exhaustion takes over.

Ash.

Chapter Twenty-Six

JACOB

week has passed since the attack. Izzy replaced most of Victor’s council with her own and gave Nickolas and Yanuk high-standing positions as her second-in-command. Both gladly took it. All things considered, things are going well.

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