Page 308 of Interion

Kyller’s eyes were open. Still lying down, she stared at the ceiling.

Zion’s stomach dropped as he limped toward her. His partner’s eyes fixed on him, and the ex-general’s heart skipped a beat, the air rushing from his lungs: her eyes were golden, as they had always been, but there was a red halo around the irises.

Scarlet, like the eyes of the goddess of War.

Δ

The corridors were packed with people when Adele and her mother left the recovery room, travel bags in hand. The fae had just recovered from the intoxication and had barely woken when her mother told her they had to leave immediately—the last train to Yonser would depart soon.

She had hoped to leave the hospital without being noticed. But when she stepped into the corridor, she heard Ambrose talking with a nurse. He was in despair, saying his healing power had been drained to the last drop, but he would fight on with what he had: skilled hands and a brain full of scientific knowledge. Adele headed toward the hospital entrance, where more half-dead patients awaited the doctors. Then, unfortunately, the doctor noticed her. She tried to slip past unnoticed, but the neurosurgeon looked horrified at the bags the Yonserian was carrying.

“You’re leaving?” he asked her.

Adele opened her mouth to respond, but her mother spoke instead:

“Of course. This place is a mess, and our train leaves in an hour. It might be the last one out. Adele’s graduated and she’s coming back with me.”

“Now? You’re leaving now?” Ambrose’s voice shook as more wounded were carried in around them. “We need help—you’re both elmedics, you can help.”

“This isn’t our concern.” Adele’s mother pushed her toward the hospital exit. “Come on, stop dawdling.”

The girl looked one last time at the doctor before turning away, picking up her bags, and leaving without saying goodbye.

“Please, Adele, we need you.” She heard Ambrose plead behind her. “My gift is already exhausted—Selene’s and Lorenzo’s too. We need more elmedics to help.”

Adele stopped in the corridor and stared at the man. She felt guilty for turning her back on him in such a critical situation, but she didn’t want to stay in Interion. She was tired of the city—nothing but painful memories here. She didn’t want to stay a minute longer. With this attack on the forests, the Yonser train might be cut off, and that was her biggest concern. If she didn’t leave now, she might not be able to get out for a long time.

Adele turned toward the door, unable to say anything as she abandoned the elmedic in the chaos. She and her mother rushed out through the double doors. Lana, her sister, was already waiting inside the car, and rain poured down as lightning danced on the horizon. She was opening the door when she heard the palace bells toll twice. The world seemed to freeze. Her heart raced and her mouth went dry.

The bells were only rung to announce the death of the king or a Pillar. One of the three had died—or all of them together, if it was Elitium. She looked inside the hospital, frozen, watching people through the glass door as they crowded in front of the reception screen. She had never been one for prayers. But in that moment, she dared to ask. Not him, she pleaded. Her hopes shattered when she heard the whispers echoing Serguei’s name, hitting her like a blow to the gut.

The psychic was dead.

Adele felt something empty and hollow where her heart should be. She dropped her bags on the wet ground, not knowing what to do. She just stood there in the rain, breathing fast. Her pulse raced, and the knot in her throat tightened like a noose. Her mother opened the car door for her to get in, and when the feeric didn’t respond to the commands shouted in her face, the woman yanked her violently by the arm, her long nails digging into Adele’s skin. Then she threw the bags in the trunk and forced Adele into the vehicle.

As the car pulled away, rage began to bubble inside the feeric, tinting her vision red. It was hot, sickly, and vicious. She was already used to that scalding touch; there were days when that feeling was the only thing in her life.

He had died. That was all she understood. The only person, besides Kyller, who had ever done something for her was dead. The only man who had shown her any real respect was gone. The rage was so suffocating she could barely breathe or keep her eyes open. She couldn’t even make out the streets they passed.

The car stopped, and Adele was led outside. Bags were dropped at her feet, and simple commands were given to her.

“Hurry up, Adelevik. Do you want to die inside these walls?”

Something in those harsh words snapped her back to her surroundings. She picked up the bags and followed her mother to the train station. Lana clung to the hem of her blouse, terrified, but Adele couldn’t do anything about it—she could barely control her own feelings. She only knew she needed to return to Yonser. Her home. Far from the walls that radiated cursed memories.

It’s over, she repeated to herself as she climbed the first step of the train, then the second, then the last. She sat down on the bench, soaking wet. Numb, she watched the elementally powered train pull away.

It’s over. She looked at the city through the window, her posture rigid like a cold, frozen queen. At that moment, the sun rose behind the mountains, casting orange rays into her eyes. Tears fell as the train crossed the last wall and left behind the trees and colorful mountains of Interion. The girl watched the wall recede for a long time, and when it was nothing more than an orange dot on the horizon, she took a deep breath. She turned forward, toward her future.

It’s over, she repeated like a mantra throughout the journey, which took three days. Soon the colorful trees gave way to tall pines, then to dry, twisted trees that stood stark against the horizon, where a chain of black volcanoes spewed toxic smoke. Then, further ahead, the black of the volcanoes gave way to the blue of a vast frozen river. Adele watched with rapt attention as black and blue became a white, inhospitable desert. And when the train rounded the last curve, opening up to the grand white wall of Yonser, the girl took a deep breath and smiled, her eyes full of tears.

It’s over.

Δ

Breno woke to the jostling of being carried. His head throbbed, and his eyes were so heavy he couldn’t open them. But from the faint light seeping through his eyelids, he knew it was already morning. His face was pressed against something rough and foul-smelling, and his entire body ached. He heard growls and voices around him. Everything was echo and vibration. He forced his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was a woman dressed in black. For a second, he imagined he had died and the goddess of Death had come to fetch him. But when he looked more closely, he realized he was mistaken.

The woman was mounted on an enormous beast, just like the ones that had attacked him, and she wore a dress made of chains. An army of creatures surrounded her—perhaps more than two hundred. He couldn't see much farther. They moved through the forest, encircling the perimeter.