Seyin wiped his blade on his cloak. His gaze snapped to Ana.
There was war in his eyes; conflict of a buried story, of grief and suffering and wrath. In that moment, Ana might have understood the fury Seyin had directed her way all along. It wasn’tshewhom he loathed. It was the kind of a world her ancestry had enabled, the violence they had watched in silence, the voices unheard from a broken system.
Seyin lowered his dagger and opened his mouth, and in the days to come, Ana would wonder what he might have said.
A second Imperial Patrol burst from the smog on the bridge, sword flashing across where Seyin stood. This time, there were no shadows, no tricks of light.
Seyin’s lips parted in an O of surprise as he fell, the shadows in his eyes growing blank.
The Imperial Patrol turned to Ana.
The air whistled; a pair of swords slashed out of nowhere, one parrying the soldier’s blade and the other finding its mark true to his heart. Red bloomed across Ana’s senses, and through a film of blood, a silhouette appeared by her side.
Kaïs kept his swords raised as he stepped toward her. “Ana, King Darias’s army is here, and they have fired explosives at the gates. The bridge is secure.”
There was a wall in her mind; a numbness, spreading. Somehow, Ana pushed past that. “A healer,” she choked out. “Kaïs, I-I need a healer—”
His eyes glinted as he nodded. “Stay here, don’t move.” He straightened and limped forward, swords gleaming from both hands.
Ears ringing, Ana looked to the figure lying before her, a shock of black hair against an outfit white as snow. Seyin’s face was cleared of anger and fear so that he looked younger: a boy, innocent and unmarred by years of hardship.
In her arms: another boy, bleeding out. Yuri leaned against her shoulder, face buried in the crook of her neck. His ash-covered hair draped across his face, covering the blood that bubbled from his lips and nose. She could feel warmth seeping across her lap, flowing out of his body.
Ana reached out a shaking hand and pressed it to his chest. Hervision blurred. “Yuri,” she whispered. “A healer is coming—holdon—”
His breathing came shallow as he took her hand in both of his. They were cold, charred and blackened from the flames that had eaten away at his own flesh and skin. His face was etched with pain—yet in his coal-gray eyes, she found the warmth of the boy she had known her entire life.
The one who hadsavedher life.
“I…can’t.” His voice was fainter than the whistle of wind. “It…hurts…too much.”
Warmth trailed down her cheeks. “Yuri—”
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you for so long. That I…I wasted our time together.” He inhaled deeply, his eyes suddenly growing bright and clear. “Finish what we started, Ana. The revolution. The transition.” A faint smile curled his lips and he exhaled. “We have come…full circle.”
His hand fell. The fire in his eyes flickered out.
Dimly, she was aware of her army surging forward from behind her; could hear Kaïs calling orders, passing word that the bridge was secured. She knew she should be standing at the very front, watching as they closed in on the Salskoff gates.
Ana brushed her thumb over Yuri’s cheeks. She was merely steps from the Salskoff Palace gates. Moments from victory.
It felt infinitely unfair.
But she had a battle to lead, and a war to win.
Gently, she closed his eyes, and with that, she locked her emotions in the very back of her mind as she had done so many times before. Then, Ana stood and turned to Kaïs.
His hair had grown longer, curling to the nape of his neck; he walked with a slight limp. He met Ana’s gaze and inclined his head. “I am sorry for your loss.”
She couldn’t think of that right now.
Ana looked away, toward the distant banks on the other side of the Kateryanna Bridge. Beyond the burning riverside promenade, lined up on the streets surrounding the Palace and standing in perfect formation, were rows upon rows of soldiers wearingfresh, gleaming armor. Commanders sat astride valkryfs—commanders she didn’t recognize—bearing a flag that rippled in the wind.
“King Darias sent reinforcements,” Kaïs said steadily, following her gaze. “It is my understanding that Ramson wrote him, pleading for support.”
Her mind blanched. All along, he’d appeared to disagree with her strategy—only to quietly support her from behind the scenes.
Ana’s fists clenched. She lifted them into the air, thinking of Yuri. Fire bloomed from her knuckles, shooting into the sky. “Let’s finish this.”
