“No. You did all of these heinous things. We lost seventeen warriors during the Northern attack alone–”
“You think I care about them?” She laughed. It sounded more deranged. “My soul’s been hardened long ago, Huntress.”
“It’s like talking to a brick wall,” Dax said and turned to me. “Remember what we said about twisted minds and cults? This is the proof.”
“Shut up!” She thrashed harder, hands reaching out and legs kicking, like she wanted to tackle him. “You don’t dare speak of us that way.”
Dax simply pointed at her, jaw clenched.
“What did they do to you?” Ryker asked, horrified.
“I’m not some helpless doe. I make my own choices,” she said with absolute conviction, even as her voice cracked.
She was breaking down in front of us. Ryker’s heart was bleeding and I felt every single shard. My own chest ached–for the life Nadya could have led, which she so frantically refused, like it would have boiled her alive–and for the ones she helped in taking.
“Clearly you’re very much in control,” Dax drawled, but closed his mouth when I glared at him.
“You should be more concerned about yourselves.” That unnerving grin of hers returned as her gaze travelled over the crowd. “All of you.”
A few civilians flinched back, hiding the children behind them, as if her stare alone could harm.
“Yes, hide the children you have left,” she went on. “You weren’t able to help the others.”
Ryker’s nostrils flared, a realization I didn’t understand slashing through him. “No.”
“Oh, yes.” She chuckled. “You think I’m weak?”
My jaw clenched. That’s where Geryll had learned all his worries about weakness. The pressure of his father’s legacy had planted the seed and Nadya had watered and poisoned it–just like she’d endured.
“Remember how you cried over the little one’s graves?” she went on.
“Almost a year had passed since your arrival,” Ryker said, as if trying to deny the obvious.
My heart broke for him.
“You taught me patience, Commander,” Nadya huffed a mean laugh. “One vial and I decimated this crater.”
In the sudden stillness, an ugly understanding finally dawned on me.
The plague.
The one which had obliterated so many young lives from Solkar’s Reach. It had killed Ryker’s mother, and led to the union with the Blood Brotherhood.
A roar erupted from the gathering. A man surged forward, fists raised, angry tears streaming down his cheeks. “Out of my way!”
Vylkor caught him before he breached the edge of the crowd, blocking his path.
“She killed him!” The man fought against Vylkor’s hold. “She killed my boy!”
More angry voices rang out, all of them crying for revenge. Dax jumped in and joined Vylkor to contain them.
My blue tendrils burst forward, ready to stop another death. Because if they got their hands on Nadya, they would have ripped her apart.
We needed answers from her–and they needed to keep their souls untainted by her death.
In the chaos, Nadya only laughed, gleeful. “You still want to set me free, Huntress?”
Chapter 69
