With a nod, they made their way back over to the elevator. A well-mannered assembly line followed as they filed into the doors. A hand shot out to hold the doors open as Emory and Memphis stepped in. Brokk gently tipped his head toward them just as the doors shut, and they shot up, her heart dropping into her belly from the motion.
Sucking in a breath, she tried to hold on to her food. A smooth hand wrapped around hers, and she glanced at Memphis, a slight smirk on his face. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and let go quickly when they reached the top. Stepping out, Emory noticed a flash of golden eyes as Brokk fell into step beside them.
“Memphis, Emory.” Brokk nodded. His voice was gruff and clipped, a shiver running along her spine in response.
She had no proof that she shouldn’t trust him...other than her dreams. For six years, she was lost to his anger and betrayal, and now that they had met in the flesh, she couldn’t shake her unease. She mimicked his earlier response and tipped her head toward him. Right now, she couldn’t trust anyone.
Memphis whispered quietly to Brokk, something she couldn’t hear, and Brokk answered, his fists clenching.
“Boys will be boys.” Nyx slinked beside her, distracting her from trying to catch the conversation happening in front of her.
Holding out her hand to Emory, Nyx smirked. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I don’t count the other night when you almost got us all killed. I’m Nyx Astire. Our rebellion apparently needs you, but time will only tell what you are made of, Emory Fae.”
Each word dripped with sarcasm, as Emory met her gaze head on. “I didn’t ask to be brought into this.”
Nyx chuckled. “Oh, I know that to be a lie. You asked six years ago to leave; now these are the consequences.”
Bristling, Emory changed the subject and asked, “Black Dawn, how did you guys choose the name?”
Nyx’s violet eyes narrowed, and her mouth twitched, but to Emory, it seemed more like a flinch. “Adair has stripped our world of any peace, any balance. For years, we have been planning, hiding, and waiting for the day we had the upper hand, had a card he wouldn’t be able to read, to foresee our moves, so we could stand a chance of survival.
No one besides Brokk and Memphis knew you were alive. We have obviously found out otherwise.
Every single person in this room has watched their entire families and friends die in an instant. We have seen things you couldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. We have been forced into a life where we get fleeting glimpses of happiness and hope in our dreams, only to awake to a world burnt of it.
We swore that when it was time, we would rise as strong and fast as the dawn but with no mercy, no empathy, a blackness in our hearts so Adair could feel, if only for a second, an ounce of what we have felt.
That time has come, and as you will find out, you are our upper hand.”
Emory was left speechless, and Nyx, with a hollowness reflected in her violet eyes, pushed past her.
A world stripped of humanity, and she was to restore it?
A knot twisted in her stomach at the thought.
“Nyx can come on a bit strong sometimes, but her heart is in the right place.”
Memphis appeared at her side, Brokk now lost in the throng of people ahead of them.
“She seems lovely.”
A throaty chuckled resonated from Memphis, and Emory couldn’t help but smile herself. After a few minutes, the group reached a deep grey door and stopped in front of it, Memphis turning the knob to go in. Nyx, Brokk, and Emory followed. Maps were scattered on a small round table, coordinates and a rough map of Kiero hanging from the wall and in the half shadows.
Three people waited for them. Memphis swept his arm out. “Emory, may I introduce to you Wyatt, Jackson, and Bryd”
She took them in, trying to smile. None returned the favor.
You will find out you are our upper hand. Nyx’s voice echoed in her mind as she took the nearest seat, Memphis and Brokk on either side of her.
Nyx perched herself several chairs down, glaring at her the entire time.
“Where’s Alby?”
Brokk searched the group, waiting for the answer.
“I sounded the meeting.” The young girl with electric blue hair leaned forward, Bryd, her voice was choked. Dread filled Emory’s stomach. A strained silence followed.
Memphis's face drained of color as Brokk asked again, “Where’s Alby?”
Bryd twisted her ocean hair, murmuring, “I was on watch. Alby had gone a couple of hours before to do a quick scout of our perimeter, to make sure there was no new movement. Brokk had also gone out prior, but Alby seemed focused on finding Brokk when he talked to me. He wasn’t prepared for them to be so close... He was alone, and Adair’s scouts outnumbered him. They took him.”
Tears threatened to escape as Bryd leaned back. Emory’s own breath picked up as they all took in what this meant.
Nyx stood up, shoving her chair back, whispering, “We move forward with the plan. Alby is tough, and he has prepared as we all have for this situation. He will hold on...”
“If he is still alive...” Wyatt cut her off.
Nyx locked eyes with Wyatt. “We will not give up...”
“Enough!” Memphis cut in, his fist slamming into the wooden table. Anger sparked in his eyes, and he continued, “We have to stick together. This is what Adair wants—for us to dwindle into nothing. We are as prepared as we will ever be. I agree with Nyx. We move forward.”
Wyatt pushed his chair back, throwing out his arms. “Well, we have the element of surprise, mate, that is for sure. Is she prepared to take on what moving forward means?”
Shaved head and arms covered in swirling tattoos, Wyatt locked gazes with Emory. She set her jaw stubbornly, not backing down from his stare. She was glad she had all their attention.
“Memphis has been trying to help me piece together my past. I know what me being back means to you. I also know that everyone here has lost their homes, friends, and families. Their lives. I was saved so I could help you now, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
“You know nothing, girl, but your spirit... We can work with that.” Wyatt nodded.
Tension rolled off both Memphis and Brokk as they filled her in on exactly what her returning to Kiero would mean. Everything blurred together after that.
One second, they were in Command, the next she was being led down the hallway into the weaponry room. Longswords hung from the wall, a variety of knives and armor hung on the adjacent wall. Emory froze, not knowing what to do with herself, and Brokk sidled up beside her.
“Hey,” he said softly. His voice was a low baritone, as smooth as honey.
“Hey. I never thanked you for saving me...but thank you,” Emory replied.
“No thanks needed. I understand why you tried to run. You have no reason to trust us or what we are saying is true. I get that. This all must seem like we are the villains, doesn’t it?”
Emory didn’t reply, cold running through her veins as she looked up into his golden gaze.
Awkwardly shifting his weight, Brokk changed the subject, “I can help you navigate the armory, if you would like?”
Before she could reply, Memphis walked up to them, a black chest plate and sword in hand. Eyeing Brokk, Memphis cut in, “Emory, you will need these.”
With shaking hands, she fastened the chest plate over her black shirt, trying not to throw up. She had changed out of her clothes from Earth, leaving them smelly and folded beside her bed. Sheathing her sword, she looked at the rest of the group who looked like demigods.
Gasping, she reached out to Memphis. “I can’t do this. I can’t even fight.”
Looking grim, he said. “Em, we will do the fighting once we find the group of raiders. The plan is for word to get back to Adair so he will know that you are alive and with us. That we are fighting back. After that, word will spread fast enough to finally ignite this war. You are our spark.”
Tightly curling her fis
ts, Emory exhaled. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded.
Stalking out of the room and down the hallway, rebels bobbed their heads at them in respect.
Chills ran down her body when they reached a clad door, and Memphis pulled the iron handle. The dusk was serene, purple hues painting the sky. A smell similar to honeysuckle clung on the air, and Memphis barked, “Brokk, you take up the rear. Nyx, you’re with me. Em, in the middle. At a jog.”
They set off, and Emory stared around her in amazement as she took in their world in the fading light. It was rugged and wild, forest taking up the horizon for miles. They entered the coolness of the trees’ shade, and Emory looked back, surprised to see, yet again, nothing but rolling hills behind them.
Out of breath, she said, “Absolutely amazing.”
One girl had done that. One.
Brokk shimmied up beside her, looking amused. “It’s even more impressive being from the outside looking in, isn’t it?”
Emory quickly looked ahead, paying attention to where she was putting her feet and didn’t answer him. Brokk nodded, falling back as she ignored him, granting her space. She knew she was being irrational, but she didn’t trust him.
Sweat slicked her body as they pressed further and further into the woods, the ground rolling with each slope.
Emory took deep gulps of air, the ancient forest creating shadows and tricking her eyes at every chance. It was full of mystery, something born from myths, and she felt a distant tug on her memory of familiarity. Of home. Sometimes, even when memories were foggy, it was as simple as a scent or the emotions associated with seeing and revisiting a place that Emory knew what Memphis had said was true.
She felt the ties in the wind, the trees, the gurgle of a stream in the very ground beneath her feet. She felt the history around her come alive, and it ignited her as well.
All of this was, of course, shattered with the simple twang of a bow.
A growl ripped from behind her, making Emory shuddered to a stop, and a gigantic wolf flew over her, catching the arrow mid-flight and snapping it in half. Memphis and Nyx drew their blades in fluid motion, charging the group in front of them. Emory`s mouth was hanging open in shock. His golden fur rippled with his bulking muscles, and molten eyes locked in with hers. He snapped his massive jaws, as if saying, “Move it.”
With shaking hands, she drew the small curved blade from her thigh, running after the group. Her body and mind were numb. Surely this was a dream? A nightmare? The point when reality and fantasy started to bend and bleed together? Hyperventilating, her palms tingled. The group in front of them consisted of three men, all with long black hair braided back, blue ink staining their skin. The deadness in their eyes stopped her short.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A band of misfits?”
His crew laughed, and Nyx snapped at them, “To say the least.”
Nyx was liquid fire as she charged the raider, throwing her knife, the steel cutting through the air and finding its mark in the raider’s heart, as he dropped dead. Pulling the knife from the body, Nyx ran on to find her next victim. Flames jumped into the remaining raiders’ hands, and they didn’t waste another second with pleasantries.
Fire roared and twisted around them, Memphis leaping from the flames. Nyx narrowed her eyes, knives flying from her hands faster than humanly possible. Brokk lunged, only to be blocked and forced back with a wall of wildfire. His growls felt like thunder when he snapped his enormous canines at them. Emory violently shook as she watched the fight.
Whoever these raiders were, they were powerful. So, in that second, with no one noticing her, Emory slinked back amongst the shadows and waited for her opportunity. Memphis and Nyx had one raider, and Brokk fought off another. Her heart pounded with each breath, and she hoped she was right. That the power and electricity in her veins wasn’t lying to her.
The man was forced back, coming closer and closer until Emory lashed out, grabbing his forearm. She had dropped her blade at this point, and instantly, her world shifted and changed. It was like the flood gates finally opened, and her whole body electrified, her blood was boiling.
Raw, undiluted power flushed her cheeks, and she swore in disbelief, looking at Memphis and Nyx, her eyes burning red like embers in the night. The man sagged against her touch, and as she snapped her fingers, flames danced from fingertips, coolly kissing her skin. The other raider’s mouth hung open, and he whispered, “Impossible.”
Sending the flames toward him, she said, “My thoughts exactly, if I’m being honest with you.”
Brokk pushed him down, his paw holding him in place. Memphis said, “Now, boys, there are only two of you left, and we find ourselves at a crossroad. Either you can comply with us, or you will not like the result if you don’t. We have a message we would like you to spread amongst your clans in the Risco Desert. As well as making sure Adair’s soldiers find out.”
By this point, the raider’s eyes rolled up into his head, and she continued to consume his power. His friend took one look at them and desperately said, “We’re listening.”
Memphis clapped his hands together. “Excellent! Please tell anyone you meet that the Academy lives, and our rebellion is marching upon Adair. And most importantly, that our Queen has returned. If they would like to join our cause, then they can meet us on the outskirts of these woods. We will find them.”
Letting go of the man, he dropped like a bag of rocks. Brokk growled down at him, and Emory was sure he had pissed himself. Lifting his paw, the man scrambled toward his friend, dragging him away and not looking back once. Memphis gleefully looked at her, but in that instant, Nyx shoved her against a tree, her knife pressing against Emory’s throat, “What are you playing at?”
She shoved Nyx back, exhaustion clouding her mind. “I don’t know. I followed my gut, and that’s where it took me. It looks to me you were lucky that I did that.”
Nyx barked a laugh. “We were doing just fine without you, thanks.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
Her violet eyes flashed, and Memphis quickly intervened. “We accomplished what we came out here to do. Now, let’s get back to the Academy in one piece, yeah?”
Nyx sneered at her and took off, Brokk by her side.
Memphis came up to Emory, squeezing her hand. “You did great out there. Now, let’s go home.”
She looked into those ice blue eyes, and from her overwhelming anger, shock, exhaustion, fear, and adrenaline, it was all she could do to nod and put one foot in front of the other as they navigated the forest together.
***
Her new room was bleak and small. Emory’s head pounded, dots dancing in her vision. Cupping her hands over her eyes, Emory took in deep breaths. This was her reality now. A war zone. A long lost princess. A savior.
Hot salty tears leaked between her fingers, as she tried to make sense of her thoughts. Of her life.
A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped, scaring herself back to the present. Clambering, she quickly wiped her cheeks and shuffled to the door.
Bryd stood outside, waiting meekly, not quite looking her in the eyes. “I thought I would come for a proper hello. I know how it feels to lose your home, and to be swept up in the business here.” She smiled weakly, finally looking her in the eyes. “Plus, we girls have to stick together.”
Emory choked out a teary laugh, hysteria on the edge of it. She assessed the younger girl. “It’s Bryd, right? How old are you?”
“Seventeen. I joined the rebels shortly after ...well, everything happened. I was eleven at the time.”
An awkward silence followed, and Emory tried to find the right words to say. Instead, Emory stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
Bryd quickly changed the subject. “It looks like you need some fun. Want me to show you the ring?”
The hope in her voice trapped Emory in a corner. “Sounds good.”
They wove further down and down the halls, Bryd not ceasing to ta
lk the entire way. Emory nodded, trying to match the other girl’s enthusiasm.
Finally, they reached another iron door that looked identical to the rest. Behind closed doors, though, it was revealed to be a cavernous room, jagged pieces of metal closing in a tight ring where two figures were in a deadly dance, weapons flashing through the air like lightning. Emory recognized Memphis’s flash of blonde hair as he ducked and parried his opponent’s attack. The brute laughed, the laugh booming around the walls, his tattoos gleaming like freshly spilled ink.
Bryd excitedly explained, “We designed this room to test our training. No abilities are allowed; we are stripped bare to our strength and skill.”
Emory gripped her forearms with white knuckles. “So like Gladiators?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Like what?”
Emory murmured, “Never mind.”
“Anyways, they don’t stop until one of them yields, and then they switch out with their partner. In this case, Memphis and Brokk are against Wyatt and Jaxson. Whoever’s team defeats the pair wins along with bragging rights. Which between these four is a bit of a sensitive subject.”
The crowd surrounded the gleaming metal roared in approval when Memphis got Wyatt in a chokehold. Emory curled her lips in disgust; it was barbaric that this was their form of entertainment. Wyatt threw Memphis over his shoulder like a rag doll, and Emory looked away, focusing on the figure standing along the edges, his golden eyes revealing nothing, his bronze hair now freshly buzzed.
Her heart basically dropped into her stomach when he met her gaze and nodded slightly. She looked back to the ring, feeling a blush creep along the back of her neck.
Adrenaline made her hands shake, and dread pooled in her stomach. It didn’t make sense to have such an irrational fear, but there was something about Brokk she couldn’t shake. There had to be a reason she had nightmares about him being a ruthless killer, but she wasn’t about to find out the reason.
Bryd pulled excitedly at her sleeve. “Memphis just yielded so...” She was cut off by the scream of the onlookers now as Memphis leaped over the jagged ring, and Brokk replaced him with ease. It was a lithe grace only a predator would have, and Brokk quickly made Wyatt sweat by engaging in a fast boxing match. Their fists were a blur, each hit calculated and strong.
Heir of Lies (Black Dawn Series Book 1) Page 30