“A risk worth taking,” Calypstra said to Raylik, fury in her eyes. “And we will cut down anyone who stands in our way.”Shewould cut down anyone who stood in her way.
“We have the numbers now, my friend,” Hylos said with a wild-eyed grin at Raylik. “Tonight, every Circle leader pledged their arms to our cause.”
Everyone but me.
“So ready our forces and those of the other Circle leaders,” Hylos ordered.
Nixie retreated to Raylik’s side. A look transpired between them. She was afraid.
Raylik said nothing. He only looked at his leader and friend, baffled.
“What of the Hydroxia feast? It would be disrespectful to Nymphaea if we waged a war on her most holy of days,” Nixie said.
She was buying them more time. She didn’t want this war either. None of them did. Besides Calypstra and Hylos, desperately. Blindly.
“Who cares about some foolish religious bullshit?” Calypstra hissed.
Lumina stood there, her large brown eyes softening as she said definitively, “Hylos cares.”
“Hylos,” Morvyn called from the entrance. His body was rigid and tense as he stalked in.
“What took you so long, you know you must respond to the war summons call immediately Morvy—”
“Hylos,” Morvyn repeated, sadness sinking into his eyes. Something was wrong.
“What is it?” Hylos asked.
“The prisoners …” he started, like he couldn’t even bear to finish the sentence. “I’m so sorry, Elowyn.”
My heart sank like a stone.
“They’re all dead,” Morvyn said.
No. No.No.
Lumina rushed to my side.
Arlo. Please, not Arlo.
Nixie was beside me in an instant as well. Both her and Lumina supported me as my knees gave out.
“Arlo, he is alive. Whatever killed the others spared him.”
Arlo was safe. Thank the Guardians above. That bloody brooding fool was safe. A sick, twisted sense of relief worked through me, hand in hand with grief. But every member of his crew was dead.
Then anger screamed through me like a banshee.
“Did you order this?” I rose to my feet and ran to Hylos, ready to pound fists into his chest, but Morvyn swiftly scooped me up in his long, pale arms.
I fought against his hold. “Were you behind this?” I shouted.
“No, I would never—” He started, but I cut him off.
“Did you fucking do this?” I shrieked, the words shredding through the room.
“I would never order something like this.” He looked me squarely in the eyes, compelling me to believe him. But how could I? How could I ever trust him. How could I fucking trust any of them? They promised the crew would not be harmed. They swore.
It was as if this whole time, I had been floating in this dream, and now I was slammed into cold, hard, reality.
