Her eyes are black and blue, a product of the swollen, clearly broken nose she’s sporting.
There’s no point in making a spectacle of the matter, so it’s just the four of us in the room. Konnor is on the obsidian throne. I stand to his right, and the females both stand before us, shifting their weight, waiting for Konnor to speak.
“I expect better from both of you,” he finally says, and Arina’s eyes snap to him. He holds his hand up to keep her from interrupting.
“Arina, you are new here, which earns you a pass. However, you need to know that this is not how we deal with conflict. Shreya should not have attacked you. And shewillapologize.”
At his words, Shreya scoffs, and my skin tightens. I want to shove her to her knees and make her lick the ground at Arina’s feet until her tongue bleeds.
“Sheattackedme! I was simply delivering her basket. Unless that’s somehow a crime, I don’t see why I’m being scolded.” Arina’s tone is indignant.
Konnor just gives her a look, pleading with her not to push any further. But that’s not in her nature.
“Besides, if she hadn’t attacked me, then she would never have gotten hurt in the first place. Or is self-defense also a crime amongst your people?”
“Enough!” Konnor says, stopping her. He rubs his brow, and I wonder if this will be his constant state of existence now that he has her here.
“You think we haven’t all figured out that she’s your daughter?” Shreya growls. “Aside from her features, you’re showing her favoritism and leniency where you wouldn’t with any of the rest of us. You’re weak and sloppy in your old age, Konnor. Maybe it’s time you step aside and make room for a new leader.”
“Don’t dare question my ability! You have no idea what it takes to lead the Rhiza. It’s not all about brutality and control here, Shreya. Or have you forgotten that’s the very thing we’re fighting to end?” His words are sharp, and they hit their mark.
Shreya is silent, but rage burns in her eyes like a wildfire.
“I’d like to apologize.” We all turn to Arina, shocked by her words. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to heal you.”
Shreya eyes the healer with suspicion. “You think I’d let you touch me? No. I’ll use the evidence as fuel to have your father removed from that damn throne. Permanently.”
The moment she ends her sentence, the ground begins to shake. And it doesn’t stop.
Arina
“Why isn’t it stopping?” Shreya yells over the sound of falling rock. She’s bracing herself against the closest pillar while the ground vibrates beneath us.
A rebel runs into the throne room. His head is bloody, and he’s holding his chest. “Lukasian soldiers,” he pants, leaning against the wall as the earth continues to shake. “They’ve found us!”
Lukasian soldiers are causingthis? How?
“Evacuate the outer edge. Push everyone deeper. Lock down the caves. Now!” my father yells, and Raiden and Shreya jump into motion. The floor beneath me stops shaking, but a deep rumbling from dislodged sediment is ongoing.
Konnor, Raiden, Shreya, and I run through the tunnels, knocking on doors and evacuating room after room. Forthe most part, things are calm and orderly. Everyone works together, and nobody is panicking.
When I reach my room, I collect my things quickly, throwing only the necessities into the pack. I strip out of the loose clothing I’ve become more accustomed to down here, and slip into my leathers. It’s like putting on a second skin, and I feel closer to the me I was before I came to the Underground.
“Planning on fighting, little snake?” Raiden asks when I rejoin the evacuation efforts and he sees my wardrobe change.
“Well, I’m not planning on dying,” I snap at him, and return to helping with the evacuation.
We’re moving the opposite direction of the crowd, funneling more and more fae out of their rooms and deeper into the tunnels. The slope of the path starts to go up, and I wonder how close we are to the surface when an explosion sends a plume of dust and rock blasting through the tunnels.
My ears are ringing, and I can’t see a godsdamned thing.Fuck.Someone grabs me, dragging me back the way we came. Back down into the caves that are threatening to collapse any moment, burying us in a mass grave.
I’d almost rather take my chances in the Smog.
The hands on me are gruff, and my eyes burn from the debris so I can hardly open them enough to see who they belong to.
The air changes suddenly, and I think we must have made it back to one of the common areas when the ground stops trembling. My legs, however, continue to wobble beneath me until I slump down against the closest wall.
“We can’t stop moving, Arina,” my father’s voice is in my ear.
