Page 102 of Splitting Secrets
Raze hangs his head between his shoulders. “That’s the last thing I want to hear.”
“Why?”
“Wouldyouwant him to see what I’ve done to survive?” he questions, his voice raising an octave.
“He doesn’t judge you like that,” I insist. From what I’ve witnessed, Bane wholly accepts Raze for exactly who he is.
“How could he not?”
Shaking my head, I try to find a way to describe it to him so he’ll understand. But all I can manage to get out is, “He loves you, Raze.”
“I find that hard to believe,” he scoffs.
I reach into the space between us to brush his wild hair off his forehead. “Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it for now.” At least, until Bane makes a reappearance and I can confirm with him.
It’s clear, based on his pinched expression, that he wants to disagree with me. Instead, he releases me from his withering stare and twists his head to face the ocean again. I watch as he seems to drink in the sight one last time, then lifts himself back into a standing position.
“We should head back and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a lot,” he declares, already grabbing up the towel before I’ve fully rolled off of it.
There’s so much I need to say to him that I can’t find the courage to voice. For all his declarations and admissions, I’ve been silent in my one. But I’m too much of a coward to take the opportunity now, and he’s not in a mood to hear it, so I tuck them away and promise myself that there will be a chance to let everything out once we win this war.
51
Sonny
Istand at the edge of the woods, Raze to my left with his shadows snaking around our feet, and Poppy's apparition to my right. We’re gazing out into the heart of Nocturne Valley, where the Syndicate has overtaken the crumbling cobblestone streets, the black strains of their power spreading like cancer stealing the life force of the town. The once bustling marketplace now resembles a war zone, fires flickering against the darkening sky as the sun sets, and blood staining the streets.
We waited all day to attack, allowing as much time as possible for rebellion members to make their way into town if they wanted to fight.
The frigid air crackles with raw power—earth trembling, shadows shifting, time distorting.
My eyes trace the ocean of people standing in the clearing between me and the town’s center, organized by bloodline. I can see the silhouettes of the ten rebellion members still hanging across the square, and I feel the collective rage that’s building up as others notice them, too.
Everyone’s faces are concealed by large hoods and full face masks to mitigate the risk of being recognized by someone from the Syndicate. Raze explained that it’s to prevent them from being identified as a Null, or allowing certain gifts to manipulate them as he put my mask on this afternoon.
“It has the added benefit of hiding you from view,” he added as he pulled my hood over my head and tucked my ponytail into the back.
There must be hundreds of them, of all shapes and sizes. From all walks of life, here in one spot, fighting one common enemy.
This is the rebellion of Nocturne Valley.
The brave souls who have risked their lives to go against the Midnight Syndicate. The ones who have been out here, fighting for what my ancestors swore to protect far before I stepped foot in this town. Before I ever had a chance to get upset over a few stolen journals.
This is the movement my parents organized from nothing more than tragedy and a dream.
Ava, Beatrix, and Jonah stand a few feet away with their families behind them. They had their heartfelt reunions back at the safe house and haven’t strayed far from each other since.
My parents are standing off to the right beside Aunt Divina and Uncle Graysen. They have no idea that their daughter’s spirit is only a few feet away from them, looking down with nothing but pride in her eyes. They’re all huddled in a circle with a group of people who Raze said have been helping lead the rebellion—a council of sorts. Their heads are tucked down as they all partake in a last-minute planning discussion.
My heart swells in my chest. When I was reading Finley’s journals alone in my dorm room, I cursed this town and all the people who stayed complicit while the Midnight Syndicate planned their hostile takeover. It felt hopeless and frustrating,thinking such evil was allowed to thrive and feed off those who were willing to trust that they had a better future in mind.
I wish I had known then how wrong I was.
All that time I spent holed up in my parent’s safe house while every single one of these people has been taking blows from the Supremes.Iwas the one being complicit.Iwas the coward, hiding in the shadows.
“No,” Raze immediately argues the thought. I should have known better than to keep my mental shields down around him. “They were holding out until you were strong enough to fight beside them.”
I shake my head. “I can’t take any credit for this.”
