Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  For the few seconds she was gone, Godfrey studied Xander. The boy was afraid to look into his eyes, but it wasn’t about guilt.

  “You’re a Guardian,” stated Godfrey.

  Xander finally looked at him and nodded once. “I was.”

  “Why did you take care of my daughter after she escaped?”

  Deryn placed her chair beside Xander’s and sat down. She had missed the question and seemed confused by the intense stares she was receiving from both men.

  “Because I wanted to get her back to you,” Xander admitted. “I wanted you to finish the war you started and the killing to end.”

  Godfrey sighed and moved so he was staring at the ceiling, watching the shadows in the faint light dance. He tried to identify which ones belonged to his daughter, to make sure she was really real.

  “I didn’t want to start a war,” he finally said. “I’m no hero. I just wanted my children back and I wouldn’t have thought twice about the people in Utopia if I’d gotten them.”

  Xander’s breath caught in his throat.

  “I’m not a martyr. I’m a coward.”

  He turned his head and watched Xander cry silently, only catching the tears by the light glistening off of them. He reached out and grasped his hand. Xander looked up.

  “Thank you for taking care of Deryn. For bringing her back to me. Whatever has you so frightened, don’t be. You deserve her more than I do.”

  Xander couldn’t move. He didn’t know what he was expecting when meeting the famous Godfrey Leon, but this certainly wasn’t it. He really was just a man, as guilty as any of them in the roles they played in this war.

  Xander was hoping for a hero. What he got was a mortal.

  Godfrey’s gaze drifted down until he was staring at the hand of Xander’s that he held. He stroked the small blackbird he had tattooed on his middle finger.

  “You both have this.”

  Deryn stared at the matching one on her opposite hand. They hadn’t even attempted to hide their blackbirds but no one else had mentioned it.

  “My wife and I had our wedding rings tattooed on. Did she tell you that?”

  Godfrey lifted the hand still under his thin blanket, showing Xander the simple black ring tattooed on his finger. Xander shook his head in response.

  “If you haven’t already, do me a favor and make an honest woman out of her.”

  Deryn blushed. “Dad.”

  Godfrey laughed. Harder than he had in a long time. It was deep and liberating, but it was also more than he could handle and soon his laughter became a deep and confining cough.

  Deryn noted the water glass and pitcher on the nightstand. She poured a glass. He was too weak to hold it when she handed it to him, so Xander propped him up, holding him steady while Deryn helped him slip some water down his throat.

  When the coughing finally ceased, Godfrey stared at her, his red eyes wet again as he took her in. Every last mark on his little girl’s skin was caused by his bad choices.

  Noticing him staring, Deryn touched her palm to her face, covering what she could. Godfrey was quick to reach out and pull her hand down.

  “Stop that. You are so, so beautiful. And I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry. You didn’t deserve -”

  “No.” Deryn reached out and covered his mouth. “Don’t. We don’t have to do this. I don’t need an apology. I just need ...” She sobbed. “I need my dad, for this one last selfish night. And then you can go.”

  Godfrey tried to shake his head but she stopped him. She lowered her hand so it was on top of his.

  “Daddy, it’s okay. You can go.”

  Godfrey squeezed her hand. His body weakened and Xander lowered him so he was lying down once more. Godfrey never took his eyes off of Deryn. Not once.

  Even though he was still connected to the machine, his strength was diminishing.

  The door opened and Talon and Nita appeared. Talon went to stand by Deryn, who was sitting on the edge of their father’s bed and holding his hand.

  While looking at his two children for the last time, Godfrey cried and said, “I wish I could stay.”

  Soon after, Godfrey Leon left.

  CHAPTER 19

  There was a tradition among the Outsiders that began many years earlier, when the first of their people passed on. It was something meant to be entirely theirs. Instead of just cremating their dead - like those within Utopia not wealthy enough to have a family plot on their property - they sent them sailing among the waves in a small wooden boat, the edges burning so, when everything was said and done, they would be part of the ocean forever.

  It had been two days since Godfrey had died. A boat had already been made for him but every last person at the base wanted to attend his send off. That made it difficult.

  They would have to go far and they would have to go separately.

  S.U.R.G.E.s were still roaming the forest but in fewer numbers. Nothing the Resistance couldn’t handle.

  Deryn was part of one of the last groups to go. And so was her father.

  Dakota, Piz, Laramie and Everett carried Godfrey through the forest, already inside of his boat. Talon walked just behind them with Nita, who had both her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

  Deryn walked with her eyes on the ground while Xander held her hand. His wrists were bound, so that was about all he could do for her. Even though the majority had voted for him to stay, they were still taking precautions during this ‘delicate time’. Or, at least, that’s what Matilda Dorsey had said. Adrian and Evangeline were close by, trying to pretend they weren’t keeping one hand on their weapons.

  When they arrived at the beach, everyone was already waiting. Tears filled every last set of eyes as Godfrey was carried toward the water.

  Xander let go of Deryn’s hand and stayed back while she went forward with her brother. Nita stopped just a couple of steps ahead of him.

  While Xander’s ankle felt much better, it still wasn’t one-hundred percent. He took a seat and watched the girl he loved standing beside Godfrey’s wooden boat, staring down at the father she deserved more time with. Xander didn’t even look beyond her to the ocean. This was his first time being so close to it, something he had dreamed of since his mother put the idea in his head as a small boy.

  He was finally there but, in that moment, all he saw was her.

  Deryn and Talon’s names had been carved into the boat, along with the name of their mother Cora, and Godfrey’s parents Hayden and Talitha. Their signature blackbird was on the back of the boat, there to guide him home.

  Talon sobbed as he was handed the lit torch that would take their father away forever. Deryn kneeled in the sand, the black dress Nita had lent her getting damp as she stroked a hand through her father’s hair. She leaned in and kissed his cold cheek one last time.

  Deryn stood and she and Talon nodded at each other. He lowered the torch, setting the boat aflame. Dakota and Laramie pushed it forward, getting soaked as they guided the boat through the waves, finally setting the flaming man who had been so many people’s hero, their beacon of hope, free.

  Everyone began to sing.

  We sail across the sea, the sea

  To the land, the land that be

  We sail beyond with broken wings

  Leaving behind these broken things

  We sail across the sea, the sea

  To the land, the land that be

  We say goodbye with sunken eyes

  But a love this strong will never die

  We sail across the sea, the sea

  To the land, the land that be

  We travel beyond these open skies

  Until again we will arise.

  When the song ended, everyone lifted two fingers to the sky. Xander watched from where he sat, the salty sea air blowing back his hair. He wasn’t sure what the salute meant but he didn’t want to be disrespectful. He carefully rose to his feet and lifted two fingers, smiling when he saw his blackbird tattoo. It looked right with the ocean behind it.
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  After several minutes watching the boat drift and burn, everyone lowered their hands and started to disperse. Some people headed back to the base. Others waited, continuing to watch the boat.

  Xander sat again and kept his eyes on Deryn. She never once glanced away from her father, not until the last flame was gone, his ashes scattered in the endless ocean.

  When she turned around, Dakota tried to get her attention but she didn’t notice him. Her eyes had already found Xander. She walked over to him and took a seat at his side, linking their arms before resting her head on his shoulder.

  “What was that at the end?” he asked, placing his head on top of hers.

  “The salute or the song?”

  “Both.”

  Deryn lifted two fingers in front of them. “Our ancestors used to do this to represent peace.”

  Xander mimicked her fingers. “Peace.”

  She clutched his two fingers with hers. “The song was actually written by my grandma when the first Outsider died. It was a good friend of hers and she wanted to pay tribute.” Deryn paused and took a deep breath. “He was the first person to die from ‘toxic air’. The first blood of battle, drawn by her brother Asher. A scare tactic to get her to return home.”

  Xander thought of the man at the top of the tower, old and weak and still thinking of his sister Talitha Leon.

  “Have you contacted -”

  “No,” she answered before he could finish.

  “Are you going to?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. If we need him. But not now.”

  Deryn suddenly grew very still. She lifted her head and stared dazedly at the ocean. She blinked.

  “This is your first time seeing the ocean.” She turned her head to look at him. “This has been the dream you’ve shared with your mother since you were a child.” Deryn groaned and covered her face. “I’m a terrible girlfriend.”

  Xander smiled. She said it again. Girlfriend. Boyfriend. He liked those names.

  “It’s okay. We’re at your dad’s funeral. I hardly expect you to be concerned about me.”

  “But this is a big deal.”

  Deryn looked down at his chained wrists and huffed. She waved over Evangeline.

  “Remove these now. Xander and I are going in the water.”

  “But I’m not supposed to -”

  “This is his first time seeing the ocean and he cannot look back on this day and remember he was in chains!”

  Evangeline’s mouth dropped.

  “Please,” Deryn begged. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

  Evangeline glanced sideways at Matilda, who had given the order. She was talking with Talon and Piz and seemed plenty distracted.

  “I’m going to get in a lot of trouble for this.”

  “I’ll take all the blame,” said Deryn.

  Evangeline nodded. She leaned down and undid the chains. As soon as Xander was free, Deryn tore off his shoes and socks, then rolled up his pants legs. Once that was done, she kicked off her shoes, pulled him up and dragged him to the water with Evangeline following closely behind them. Noticing what was happening, Adrian did the same.

  Deryn heard Talon shout her name but she ignored him.

  “Are you ready?” she asked Xander as she stopped just before the water.

  When he nodded, she took that final step from dry to wet sand and he followed.

  The feeling of the sand squishing between his toes was not what he expected. But the deeper they went the less he noticed it.

  The water was cold. Really cold. He’d always imagined something warmer but he didn’t mind it. It was actually refreshing.

  A wave came in and the water hit above his ankles. Deryn tried to pull him deeper but he pulled back. She looked at him and blinked. “What?”

  “What if the water comes in and drags us out?”

  She smiled. “It won’t. The most it might do is knock you down.”

  “But -”

  Her smile grew. “Okay, we’ll stay in the shallow end. But one of these days I’m going to teach you how to swim.” She glanced over her shoulder at the ocean. A breeze came in and blew her hair back. Xander smiled at the way she closed her eyes and breathed it all in. “Maybe just a little further?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

  Xander agreed, but only because she looked so damn beautiful out there. His heart raced as they stepped deeper into the water. A large wave crashed down just before her and he stumbled a bit as it ran against his legs, soaking his rolled-up pants all the way to his thighs. Deryn wrapped her arms around him and held him steady.

  “I’ve got you,” she said with a mischievous grin.

  He wanted to kiss her in that moment, but he knew they were being watched by every set of eyes still on that beach. Then he saw something move over her shoulder. He looked, his jaw falling open as he caught sight of something large in the distance.

  “What the fuck is that?”

  Deryn glanced over her shoulder and laughed. “That’s a whale, Xander. A humpback whale, I believe.”

  “A whale.” He thought he knew the name. From a book of ancient creatures. “They survived?”

  “A lot of things survived.”

  Deryn glanced over his shoulder and rolled her eyes. Xander turned. Talon was standing at the edge of the water, his hands on his hips and a gleam in his eye.

  “I guess we’d better go back,” she said with a groan. Then she lit up. “Know what else you can see?”

  Deryn took Xander’s hand and pulled him toward the shore, fighting the waves and then skipping when the water was ankle deep.

  “Talon, my most favorite brother in the whole world!” she cooed as they approached him. “Could you please capture a sand crab for Xander to see? You were always so much better at it than me!”

  “A sand crab,” repeated Talon, lifting his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “He’s never seen one!”

  Xander wasn’t really listening as the siblings bickered. His eyes were back on the massive whale. And then there was another.

  He had, of course, listened every time Deryn would talk about her dream to travel the world, be an adventurer like her father, but he had never really let it sink in. For the first time he was starting to wonder what else might be out there.

  When he looked back at Deryn, she was squatting and watching as her brother dug a shallow hole. When the water came in, he scooped up some sand from his hole. Deryn checked his hand and squealed with excitement. She beckoned Xander over.

  “Hold out your hand,” she instructed.

  Xander did as he was told and Talon dropped something into it. When he saw what it was, he screamed and tossed it far, far away.

  “What was that? I fucking sea spider?” He jumped around, wiping his hands on his shirt, but they could not get clean enough.

  “No, it’s a sand crab,” said Deryn, laughing as he rinsed his hands in the approaching tide. “We had contests when we were kids to see who could catch the most. Talon always won.”

  Talon grinned proudly. “And you always got second place. When you’d lose you’d cry, so Dax would give you half of his crabs to get you to stop.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Deryn felt a pang of sadness. She looked around until she spotted Dakota. He still stood with his father and brother and was watching her closely, as he always did. He hadn’t spoken to her since that first night back and she didn’t know what to say to him.

  She hated to even think it, but maybe it would have been better if they’d never taken that leap from friends to lovers all those years ago. It definitely complicated things to have that open wound exposing itself, and it just seemed to be getting more and more infected as the days went on.

  CHAPTER 20

  Finley entered Luka’s room in the president’s tower. She was relieved to find him asleep. That would make this a hell of a lot easier.

  She sat in the chair beside his bed, glancing at the clock o
n the nightstand.

  God, she hoped Lona was on time.

  Finley looked at the camera mounted on the wall from the corner of her eye. It was aimed at Luka’s bed. The president had it installed before the wounded Guardian was brought there. Luckily, the guard monitoring said camera had a crush on Lona and she was going to use that to her advantage.

  The clock changed to five-thirty and within ten seconds Finley’s citizen wristband vibrated. A blank message from Lona. That meant they were good to go.

  Finley slipped the device used to remove guard wristbands from her coat.

  Luka stirred, turning his body toward her. Before he could open his eyes, she pulled a syringe from her pocket and jammed it into his arm. He was back to sleeping within seconds.

  “Sorry, Luka, but this is for your own good.”

  Finley put away the empty syringe and grabbed his left wrist. Once the device was in place, she pressed the button. A needle poked into him, stopping the black poison from spreading.

  The wristband popped open. She used a data cord to attach it to a perfect replica and transferred all of his information.

  Once the fake wristband was snapped into place, she took out the newest and trickiest piece of the puzzle. A tattoo gun.

  Luka couldn’t know about this. His memory was still blank and she didn’t want to risk telling him. From everything Luka had been told, he had every reason to hate Xander.

  So, to keep him from finding out Finley removed his wristband per Xander’s request, she had to get clever. She had successfully tested the tattoo on herself, but Luka’s skin was a couple shades lighter than hers. She’d have to find a good match and quickly.

  The tattoo gun in hand, Finley played with the screen until the shade was as close as it was going to get. Then she placed the gun on his wrist and began tattooing the area covered in black veins.

  Finley finished the tattooing, put everything away and released the breath she’d been holding. Lona hadn’t messaged her yet, which meant she was in the clear.

  “Clever.”

  Finley whipped around, her eyes bulging when she saw Atticus Ruby push open the door. He’d been watching through a small crack he’d made after seeing her enter. She hadn’t locked it. Locked doors in Saevus’s tower alerted security and they were required to investigate.