I look at the body of a man who stares up lifelessly at the sky. I can feel him. His agony, his longing, his hopes and dreams. His desire for vengeance.
I can feel his death.
It’s like satin wrapping around me. Cool and delicate. Flowing and beautiful. Tenuous, flitting in the air, as likely to blow away as it is to wrap around my throat.
My fingers twitch and the man spasms. His eyes turn, dead irises finding me. I suck in a breath, then continue, terrified that I might do something I can’t control.
I have power over the dead. I remember the emperor, how he returned. The god’s mark on my wrist that appeared after.
And now I’m surrounded by them.
They whisper and scream. They cry and laugh.
The dead are calling to me.
There’re so many of them, their voices a cacophony that makes my head ache. I wince, struggling to continue walking amidst the onslaught. I can feel them. It’s like an icy wind, fingers trailing down my arms, through my hair, along my ribcage, clawing their way up my legs, around my middle. They’re all demanding something of me. I stumbled, feeling like I’m being pulled away from Caiden.
He grips me tighter. “You need to see this. You’re not going anywhere.”
My breathing grows rapid as I fight against the overwhelming sensation. I can barely feel Caiden’s touch anymore. Too many other sensations. My skin crawls as more of the dead demand things of me. They beg and cry and scream, but I can’t make out any of their desires with so many of them calling to me.
When we reach the front of the large house, I’m shaking so hard that it’s taking everything to remain upright. I’m whimpering, fighting the urge to claw my own skin from my bones to silence the voices. My head turns from one side to the other, trying to shake them off. I cover my ears and close my eyes.
Caiden pries my hands down, pinning my arms to my sides. He’s behind me, pressing himself against me as he holds me in place. Sweat beads on my brow, and my breaths come out shallow and fast. I’m feeling dizzy.
“It’ll be over soon,” he assures me.
I fight the voices enough to find Brevan. He’s staring down at a row of men being held by his legionnaires. More of them drag men from the building. They force them to their knees while the enforcer paces in front of them.
He’s speaking, but I can’t hear him. The dead are too loud. I keep my eyes on him, on the row of men on their knees. At least they’re alive. They aren’t asking anything of me.
Brevan looks over at Caiden, then his gaze moves to mine. I hold his stare defiantly, daring him to look away. Fire crackles around us, flames already licking through most of the surrounding buildings. There’s a red glow around us and smoke obscures the view, but I can see him clearly. The set of his jaw and the dangerous glint in his eyes makes him look like a stranger.
“What are you waiting for?” Caiden demands. “Kill them all.”
Brevan returns his attention to the men in front of him. Suddenly, the legionnaires holding the men run. My brow furrows, matching the confused look on the prisoners in front of Brevan.
When I realize what he’s about to do, the voices cease. I fight against Caiden, screaming. My own voice blotting out the cries of the dead. “Stop! Don’t do this!”
Brevan doesn’t look at me. He lifts his arms, then a blinding white light erupts around us. I squeeze my eyes shut, and Caiden releases me. I fall to my knees as the voices return, louder and more intense than before. New screaming joining the others.
Agony so intense it rips through me, my insides feeling like they might be torn away. I fall to my side, pulling my knees to mychest, covering my ears with my hands. “Stop it! Stop it now!” I think I’m screaming, but I can’t tell if it’s me or if it’s the cries of the dead.
Tears stream down my face, hot and stinging. I taste salt and copper. At some point, I bit through my lip.
The voices turn into a roar, and my mind takes me back to that night when I hid with my brother. As my village was slaughtered. Just like this.
Someone picks me up, but I keep my eyes squeezed shut. I don’t want to know who it is, because I’m pretty sure I recognize the way he smells, the gait of his steps, the way his body still makes me feel safe.
I can’t. I can’t go there. I’m still locked in my memories. Screaming dead and so much blood. I’m set into the carriage, the door slammed. We’re moving, and I still can’t make myself uncurl.
I don’t open my eyes until the voices cease. Until I’m shivering as the sweat cools.
Hatred seethes inside me like a poisonous snake, twisting and turning, all-consuming. I wanted Caiden dead before, but now I want to watch him suffer. I want to drag his death out so he feels the same pain he’s given to others.
Brevan would never have used his magic on innocents unless Caiden ordered it, would he? Doubt flickers in the back of my mind, reminding me that the reason he didn’t use his power was the physical pain it caused him. With the emperor dead, it’s possible the pain is gone. That his true power is unleashed.
He’s Caiden’s weapon like Brevan was the emperor’s before Caiden. He killed all those people without flinching.
