Page 47 of A World of Ruins

Gus looks at me with a deep frown. ‘Have you mentioned this to Leira?’

I nod. ‘She thought that would be the case if Aurum had full control over Darius’s powers.’ I bite my lower lip in thought as Gus remains silent. ‘What if the answer is you?’

His back goes rigid.

‘You’re his father, Gus. Maybe there is a way you can—’

‘Nara.’

His warning tone irks me.

‘Would you, for once, put aside your fears of how he would react around you, and help him?’

The sigh that escapes him resonates with a mix of aggravation and shame. He pinches the bridge of his nose, and as my eyes return to Darius, I watch as he throws his head back in laughter, engrossed in whatever Tibith is saying.

‘If it meant saving your son,’ I whisper, my focus still on Darius, ‘would you not at least try, despite the consequences?’

No response comes, and even when I tear my gaze away from Darius to look at Gus, his eyes are elsewhere.

His chest rises with a deep breath. ‘I should take you back to the garrison. Your brothers are waiting there.’

I make no effort to conceal my disappointment at the sudden shift in conversation. ‘And Darius?’

Regret grips him by the throat as he lowers his voice and looks at me. ‘You know it is not my choice, Nara.’

That means he is going to take him back to the dungeons.

Frustration slithers its way up my spine. ‘He is not a threat any more.’

‘I know,’ he says, and that frustration turns into anger as my eyes well up with furious tears, and I turn the other way to face the view beyond the cliffs. The vast expanse below reveals valleys veiled in mist and rolling hills painted in hues of green and gold. For once, I hate how beautiful it looks, how even as Gus’s footsteps fade behind me, I wish for nothing but to be up in the air again.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

The garrison is a mess.

Shifters, goblins and any other creature who was fortunate enough to survive Emberwell are yelling out their protests and need for answers.

Answers to what will come next.

Gus is trying to calm most of them down, but it’s not enough to keep them at bay. They are as infuriated as I would imagine them to be after we attacked Aurum’s castle.

My brothers are at my side, as are my friends, watching it all unfold across the hall. On the other hand, Darius returned to his cell despite how opposed I was and still am to it. But with the Aerians already angry with me, this would have been the final straw.

I close my eyes as if to drown out the noises from everyone around me.

‘How much longer must we remain here?’

There goes that.

I peel my eyes open and look at one of the shifters, who has spoken out for the rest of the people here. The others agree with him, murmuring and banging against the tables.

Gus waves his hands to quieten the crowd. ‘We are doing our best—’

‘That’s what you said last time!’ another chimes in, and the shifters clamour in another array of protests. ‘Where is Darius?’

Gus glances back at me; tension carves lines across his forehead, and I shake my head at him. Most of the people here are as stubborn as I am. They won’t listen, even if we are to gift them with a bigger place to stay in the meantime.

‘You don’t need to be here to witness all of this. Go get some rest, and we will meet later.’ I lean in to my brothers, whispering, but all three turn to me and scrunch their faces together at the same time.

---