“I don’t need your forgiveness,” he says coldly.
“Still, you have it. I think I understand you better now, and I think if I were in your position, I’m not sure I could make the hard decisions. But I don’t want to carry any…anger with me. So, thank you for helping me, for the shelter, food, and kindness.”
He’s startled, I can see it, but he nods tightly and then walks away, leaving me in this pristine paradise wondering what I’m going to do now.
“They want me to fight. He wants me to leave. What am I supposed to do?”
Cadel, Mordecai, and Jarek. Their opinions of me matter far too much.
For some reason or another, they are insistent that we be here, but now we’re being told to leave, I wonder if they will feel the same.
I look up at the rolling black clouds. The gods are the reason we’re all suffering. I don’t understand why they hate us so much, but I don’t care what they want anymore. What kind of god chains up another and leaves him on a rock? What kind of gods leave their people to be massacred without mercy?
I don’t want any part of the gods.
Not now, and not ever.
My mother’s scent hits me, a soft floral, and it’s like she’s standing behind me.
“They made a tremendous sacrifice, and they sent one of their own, the bravest and strongest, the wisest and oldest. All the gods cried when she fell to be the champion of the people, but she did it gladly and with a willing heart.”
If she’s so strong, where is she now?
Shouldn’t she be here to save them?
To save us?
How are we supposed to fight an army of blind hate?
How are we supposed to survive that?
I sit there until the light fades, knowing my alphas are watching and waiting for me to come back to them. It still takes a long time before I can bring myself to face them.
Chapter 52
Fiery confessions
The fire sends sparks up into the night, tiny little flames that die before they get more than a few feet. I can’t stop looking at them and wondering what it’d be like to float away.
“I’m so glad you survived,” Mia says. “When they told me you had stayed behind, I was so mad that I didn’t talk to Legion for three days.”
Legion looks up at his name. He’s sitting beside Mordecai, who is sitting with Jarek and Cadel beside me. On the other side of Mia is Sophie, Theo, and Bear.
I like Theo; he’s got a good sense of humour and is quiet and level-headed. His sandy blond hair and boy-next-door grin just make you feel like you could trust him with anything.
“So in the story, you said you met the Warden?” Bear asks.
Mia pulls a face but sits back, happy to wait until he’s done.
I shrug. “Yeah, we had a few close calls with him.”
“The Warden is the most evil of evil,” Bear says with absolute confidence that I don’t share.
“I’m not so sure,” Mia mutters.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You always romanticize things, Mia,” Bear says with a mocking laugh.
Mia flushes, even in the fire’s light I can see the humiliating red burn on her cheeks. “It’s not like that, I just—”
