Page 116 of Silent Schemes
They sweep the floor, torch the bodies, erase every trace of what happened.
Korrin watches them work, cracking jokes about the smell.
Maya sleeps, bandaged and dreaming, head in Sienna’s lap.
Sienna stares into space, fingers stroking Maya’s hair.
I sit next to her, not touching.
She finally says, “I have to go.”
I nod. “I know.”
“Will you come with me?”
I think of my brothers, my city, the war we just won.
“I can’t,” I say. “But I’ll keep you safe. Always.”
She closes her eyes. A single tear carves a line through the blood on her cheek.
“I wanted to hate you,” she whispers.
I watch the crew burn Theodore’s body, the flames licking at the empty sky.
I say, “You should have.”
She laughs, broken and beautiful.
We sit there, surrounded by death, and hold on to what’s left.
For now, that’s enough.
Kneeling down so I’m eye to eye with Maya, I try to find the words I want to say.
“Maya,” I say, voice gentle.
She flinches and opens her eyes slowly.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “You’re safe. No one will ever hurt you again.”
Maya starts to cry.
Sienna pulls her close, shielding her with her arms, her body, her everything.
I look up at Sienna.
There’s nothing left between us now. No lies, no debts, not even the love-hate that kept us alive this long.
“Take her,” I say. “Run. Don’t stop running.”
She shakes her head. “They’ll find us.”
“No,” I say, and I mean it. “They won’t.”
She believes me. Because she has to.
There’s still one thing left.
