I study her face. “And is that everything?”
“No more secrets.” She sighs, and it feels like a release. As if all remaining tension in her body just… seeps away. “And I’m glad he brought me here, too.”
I let out a long, slow breath. Then I pull her closer. “I’m sorry that you went through all of that.”
Forme.The consequences of that feel like a knife between my ribs. My voice lowers. “Every time they hurt you, it was in my name.”
I don’t know how to live with that. But that’s not her problem to shoulder, not when she’s shouldered so many already. “Thank you for telling me.”
Lyra sags against me. “What happens now? Do I go back to the cell?”
“No,” I say quietly. My hand runs over her hair. “No more cells, witch. And since we're being truthful, there is something that I need to share with you.”
This one, final, painful truth.
Lyra twists at the shift in my voice. I let her sit up, although my arms feel empty. She focuses on my face with a frown. “What is it?”
“Likely nothing you don’t know already.” I reach out and push her braid back, over her shoulder. “But I need it to be clear. We are… this is the end for us, Lyra. Umbraxis has reached its final days.”
She stares at me. “But—the war—”
“The war is over.” It hurts to say it. “Truthfully, it’s been over for a long time. We’ve made do as best we can, used our lowering numbers strategically, used our soldiers to create an illusion that there were more of us by patrolling the Veilspire to keep the Lightbringers back.”
I spread my hands. “But what you've seen here is all that's left. Barely several hundred. The Lightbringers are advancing on the Veilspire, Lyra. Infull. Vaelion is preparing for a final attack. And we can't possibly match that. We don’t have the numbers.”
Her breathing deepens, her brows drawing down. “So… we evacuate.”
“There is nowhere togo,” I say softly. “We sent as many as we could spare to scout for a new territory years ago, and again more recently. To try to findsomewhere, a new place where the land was fertile, and where the water supply was steady. But they rode for weeks, months, and they found nothing. The Barren Lands are just that. The land isn't fertile outside of Umbraxis, and the Gloam is the only water supply we could find. Vaelion will dam it if they take control on this side.”
And even so, we’re going to try. But that’s not a conversation for today.
She says nothing, and I lean forward. I slip my hand around her cheek, holding it. “I'd give you sanctuary, Lyra. For a lifetime, if I could. But I don’t have a lifetime to give you.”
Her hand covers mine. “What does this mean?”
“We’re waiting,” I say heavily. “That’s all we can do. They’re getting closer every day. We may have a week, or two, or a day, but Vaelioniscoming. We’re ready to fight for as long as we can. But we can't win.”
And the Darkwielders will cease to exist. At least in this way, in this time and this place. “Umbraxis will be gone.”
Her eyes are wet. “Then you could use an additional soldier.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to tie you to a cause that isn’t yours. You can try to go back. One person is easier to hide in the Veilspire than a community. Find another life, Lyra. One where you canlive.”
Her lips press together, eyes shifting as if she’s thinking. “And if I want to fight?”
Appreciation warms my chest, warring with dread. “I’m grateful for the offer, but I don’t want you out there. When we walk out onto that field, it will be the last time.”
None of us will be coming back.
Darian
The sound of my knock echoes down the empty hallway, and I almost lose my nerve and turn away before it opens.
I’ve rehearsed this in my head. Calm words. Honest ones. Because I don’t think I can do this anymore. Not even for the short amount of time we have left. I don’t want to be at odds with him anymore. I’m going to tell him how much it hurts. How much it feels like I’m breaking apart, day after day, and I don’t think I can keep myself together long enough to last until the Lightbringers arrive because I’ll have unraveled by then.
There will be nothing left of me to fight, because I am already defeated.
The door swings open. Kaelen stands there, his shirt rumpled and his eyes shadowed with exhaustion. “How’s Sera?”
