They obey, and my arms fall to my side.
I rush over and reach for her.
"Don't touch me," she warns.
I freeze.
The judges rise in perfect, eerie unison, their long robes whispering against the stone. One raises a hand, and the room falls silent.
"Brax O'Malley," the center judge intones. "Your duties now lie with The Underworld."
My jaw clenches.
The Underworld can shove its duties?—
"You are to speak of none of what transpired tonight," the judge continues, his voice slicing through my thoughts. "Not to your family, not to your friends, not to the woman beside you. Silence is your shield now. Break it, and your life is forfeited."
A cold pulse moves down my spine.
Valentina's breaths grow shallow.
More guilt eats me that I didn't stop them from harming her.
Another judge leans forward. "From this moment on, every step you take will either gain you power or strip it from you."
My chest tightens. The brand on my hand throbs, and my hatred grows stronger.
I didn't survive the streets to be owned by anyone.
I force myself to stand taller, even as my vision pulses from the pain radiating up my arm.
The judge warns, "Your path begins now. Choose wisely, initiate."
Yeah.
I'll choose.
And when the time comes, I'll choose against every one of you bastards.
Valentina stands perfectly still beside me, her tears drying from the heat of the fire still roaring beside us.
The Omni bang their gavels again, sealing whatever twisted ceremony they just conducted.
The chant starts back up, lower this time, almost reverent.
"Korr-velash… korr-velash…"
The sound vibrates through the brand on my hand and the fresh wound on her stomach, tying us together in pain and fire and vows that don't mean what these bastards think they do.
They think they own us.
They have no idea what they've just created.
Valentina turns. "It's time to go." She doesn't wait for me. She moves through the crowd with her head held high.
I follow.
We reach the exit, and someone hands us our clothes. We step into the hallway naked.
