After the Walls

Chapter 25

Red, dark as blood and hot as flame, creeps across my vision and my consciousness. Edward says something to Theseus, who howls with laughter, but I cannot hear what they are talking about because of the roar in my ears.

The battle still rages around us. Red Movement soldiers pour into the bunker like ants crawling to their nests. Felled sirens resurrect themselves and fling their blades, slicing through kingdom soldiers like they're made of straw. My feet are made of stone and my mouth burns with the taste of vomit surging up my throat. I clench my fists around my dagger, and around my sword. Edward and Theseus bellow with laughter as they cast their hand around their battle, discussing semantics like old chums.

Edward has played us this entire time. He didn't want to stop the Red Movement. He's been working with them all this time, gaining our trust, buttering us up. Our kingdom belonged to him all along. His army is too strong now. Our warriors are still under his reign, even if Ruben is their command.

The king's eldest son, a small, lonely boy, abandoned by his father as a child, cannot risk being alone. We are simply pawns in his little game.

I cannot believe I ever held an ounce of faith in him. Cannot believe I ever thought he might be worthy of redemption.

The red fills my head and I cry out, throwing my dagger at him, wanting his head on a spit. He yelps as the knife skids through the air between him and Theseus, catching him on the cheek. He growls and curses, wiping the blood away. His friend runs a hand through his darkened hair, now growing since his time on the flaming train.

"Are you ready?" he says to Edward, flicking his gaze at me. Those icy eyes ignite a fury in me.

"Time to harvest the shadowteeth's blood for everyone," Edward says, rubbing his hands together, refusing to glance my way.

Somehow, no one cuts me down while I'm standing still, festering in my rage. Finally, I snap out of my frozen spell. I lunge forward. My boots kick up sand in my wake as I charge through the fray, slicing down Red Movement soldiers and sirens with not a shred of remorse. Edward sees me coming and his sword swings around and clashes with my own. The sound and reverberation make my teeth rattle in my skull.

"Traitor!" I bark, slicing at his ankles and he jumps away.

We parry back and forth and his face fills with blood. "I am the son of the king, Elle." His face tightens with the exertion of the battle. "You should be grateful. I solved the blight. I returned to the city to order. My Red Movement soldiers will further establish a sense of order and will guard me for life."

"What did you promise them?" My voice rises with rage. "Immortality?"

"I will cure them all from the illness." He swings his blade and mine blocks it. We push against one another, breaths fanning each other's faces, only inches apart. "Don't hate me, Elle."

"Hate you?" I release a harsh laugh. "You've lied to me for months. And I cared for you, you bastard."

"I couldn't risk you leaving, or turning on me," he says. "Nor my brother and the boys. But I can't trust that none of you will do that later. The Red Movement have sworn their loyalty to me."

"You are not alone, Edward," I say, rearing back, kicking him square in the chest, sending him sprawling onto the sand.

He lets out a grunt and terror fills his eyes as I tower over him and press the tip of my sword to his throat.

His lips curl into a sneer and darkness leeks into his face. The scar on his cheek stretches. Blood smears into his teeth, staining them crimson and yellowish. "No, Elle. I'm not alone anymore."