Page 75 of Echos and Empires
His chest rose and fell as the sight came past his lips. “You sure about that?”
Emma nodded, more resolute than she felt. “I can’t let them think?—”
Bash cut her off with a knowing grunt, already bending to set her on her feet.
“Thought you’d never ask the big lug to let go,” Alex teased as her boots hit the ground. Relief flickered across his face, but so did understanding.
There was a pause, a beat of stillness as she found her balance, waiting for her legs to buckle. They didn’t. She let herself lean on them just enough to breathe, one arm linked with Bash’s and the other firmly held by Alex.
“They’re all waiting for us, Emma,” Liam called, a hint of awe in his voice. He stood with Chris, both of them pausing to look back, urging her on. Encouraging. Protective.
The ground seemed to shift under her, and she wondered if it was the earth or the weight of what she was about to do. It felt larger than the world, larger than her. But there was no going back now. They needed to know the truth. They needed to hear it from her.
Taking a deep breath in and blowing it out, Emma forced one foot in front of the other, each step building towards the future they dreamed of. Each step, a quiet act of defiance.
She moved with them, her five men. A small, fierce unit against a system so much bigger. They walked with purpose, Alex on one side, Bash on the other, fingers laced tightly with hers as the others fell back into their positions from the walk over.
For a moment, all she could see was the enormity of the task, a living tapestry she had to weave into a resistance with only her words as proof. An impossible burden to carry, but it was hers. And she wasn’t carrying it alone.
She glanced to the side, her eyes finding Bash. He gave a small nod, the reassurance in it settling some of her nerves.
Closer now, close enough to feel the anticipation from the crowd, to hear the scattered murmurs growing around them. Her head spun with thoughts of how to begin. How to reach them all.
Chris and Liam were out in front, hands raised to still the crowd. But the buzzing voices only grew louder.
Emma steeled herself, hoping the shaking didn’t reach her legs, her voice. Her heart.
She was the voice of this now, the pulse of it. The hope. The heart. But her mind screamed that she wasn’t ready, wouldnever be ready. She gripped Bash and Alex’s hands tighter, the warmth of their bodies grounding her in the chaos.
“Quiet!” Chris shouted, his commanding voice cutting through the noise. “Everybody, quiet!”
The shift was immediate, a collective breath drawn in by what seemed like millions of lungs.
Heads turned in unison.
Faces.
Eyes. So many eyes.
All on her.
Waiting.
Emma halted abruptly, her heart pounding like a drum in her chest. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as her breath caught in her throat, a chaotic mix of fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins, making her limbs feel both heavy and electrified.
She let go of Bash’s hand and stepped forward. Panic clawed at her throat, but this was it. It had to be. They had to know what kind of monster they were up against, who was controlling their lives.
She inhaled, sharp and unsteady. Then took a second breath, slower, stronger. For the babies. For the truth. For freedom.
As she glanced across the rows and rows of desperate faces, the magnitude of it turned from terror to something else. Determination. Resolve. Emma saw just how many there were, more than she ever imagined, more than she ever hoped. All waiting. All trusting her with their lives, and with the lives of those they loved.
This is the heart of it. The start of it. This is everything.
Her thoughts were a weight and a weapon. The truth, sharp and heavy seemed stuck in Emma’s mouth. She was the heart and voice of this cause, and she’d never wanted it. But now, standing before the waiting crowd, there was nothing else todo but speak. To let her words fly fast and true like arrows. She stepped forward, feeling their eyes like heat on her skin, a furnace to her fears. Victor’s lies. His twisted experiments. The words came urgent and clear, burning in her throat, on her tongue. There was no stopping them. They had to know.
Her breath caught for a moment, her lungs constricting as if under pressure, but she kept going. She couldn’t let herself stop, not when they had to hear it all. Not when it was their only chance.
“I’ve never been the voice of anything,” she said, voice shaking like the rest of her. “I didn’t want to be. But now, there’s no choice. You need to know what we’re fighting against. Who we’re fighting against.”
