Page 53 of The Endless War

She could feel hands reaching for her. Their breath on the back of her neck.

Screaming, Zarrah flung herself toward the stone barrier. Pain lanced across her kneecaps as they struck, but then she was rolling. Clawing at the dirt to get herself as far from these monsters as she could.

Legs and feet filled her vision, Kian and his men surrounding her.

“Back off, Daria,” Kian roared. “If you violate our border, it will be war.”

Gasping for breath, Zarrah pushed herself upright and found the two tribes at a standoff to either side of the border, weapons glittering in the torchlight. Daria alone held no weapon, her eyes locking on Zarrah’s. “You weren’t meant to see that. You were never meant to know.”

“No shit.” Zarrah spat out the dirt she’d gotten in her mouth. “Those who know they’re prey tend to fight back.”

“No.” Daria gave a rapid shake of her head. “That’s never the fate of one of our own, no matter how bad it gets. No matter how hollow our bellies, we’d never do that to one of our own.”

“She ain’t your own, rebel,” Kian retorted. “She’s a royal—one of the very people you were trying to overthrow with your little coup down south. It’s no wonder you were fattening her up for the grill. Enemies taste twice as sweet, don’t they?”

Daria took a step closer to the wall, everyone tensing. She froze, then said, “She was never in any danger from us. You’ve filled her head with lies when you know thatyouare the reason that we do what we do.”

Do what they do.Visions of the slaughtered men being stuffed into barrels flashed through Zarrah’s eyes, and her fury burned hot. “Stay away from me!” She scrambled to her feet. “You eat people. You’re a fucking cannibal—a monster!”

Daria flinched. “Not by choice. It was that or starve.”

“Better to starve!”

“Says the woman who has never gone without!” Daria’s hands fisted. “You know we don’t belong here. You know that the Empress put us in this place to silence those who contest her tyranny. You know that she relishes the knowledge that we suffer, that we must reduce ourselves to beasts in order to survive.”

“They send supplies!” Zarrah took a step forward, only for Kian to catch her arm, giving his head a warning shake.

“Not enough.” Daria exhaled a long breath. “Just enough to ensure that we have the strength to turn on each other rather than to turn on the Empress. Kian and his tribe purge the children. The elderly. The weak. It is because we refused to do that to our family that we were forced to walk another road, Zarrah. To protect those we cared about, we painted our souls black, but never doubt that it is the Empress who handed us the brush.”

“There isn’t an innocent soul on this island,” Kian answered before Zarrah could. “Everyone is a murderer, but there are some of us who have limits to what we will do.”

Daria choked out a laugh. “Explain to me how killing your own children is better than surviving on the flesh of the fallen, Kian. Better yet, explain it to Zarrah.”

A shiver ran through her, but Zarrah clenched her teeth. She’d seen how Daria could spin words until those who heard them forgot their own thoughts, and she refused to be so manipulated now. “If you really believed your actions were just, you’d have told me the truth. Instead I’ve lived among you for weeks, trusted your word, only to discover that you’ve lied to me this entire time. If I must bed downwith villains, let it be with those who do not deny their crimes!”

Not giving Daria a chance to respond, she twisted on her heel and strode down the slope.

“Zarrah!” The woman’s voice chased her. “We were trying to save you! If you go with them, you are lost! Please!”

“Better lost than whatever you are,” Zarrah answered, refusing to look back.

THOSE AT THEoars didn’t have to row long until the current caught hold of the longboat and driftwood, tugging them toward the orange glow of torches illuminating the entrance to the island. Keris’s heart thudded with increasing violence as they approached, his mouth dry and his hands like ice.

What if this didn’t work?

What if he was seen?

Flickers of motion in front of the torches spoke to the number of Valcottan soldiers guarding the half-moon-shaped pier. Soldiers who’d be armed to the teeth and skilled enough to put a dozen arrows in his back as he floated past.

“Close enough,” Aren muttered, and the oars dipped into the water, rowing backward to keep the longboat in place. The logs they towed floated around them.

“Last chance to retreat,” Aren said. “Once you’re in the water, there is no turning back.”

“My only path leads to her.” Flipping his legs over the edge, Keris slipped into the water.

It felt like knives were stabbing him all over, stealing his breath and sending a slice of panic through his veins. Instinct demanded he climb back into the boat, but Keris forced himself to swim, taking hold of the trunk with the most branches. Water swirled around him, the driftwood jostling, and his breath caught.

“Don’t forget to keep your legs moving,” Aren whispered. “If you stay still, you’re going to freeze.”

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