Page 159 of Children of Fallen Gods

But then her face hardened, rage rising in her eyes. “Or you can slaughter the leaders where they stand, and watch their headless armies fall apart.”

Killing the men who had done such terrible things did not seem like a bad idea at all.

Athalena stood. “All I ask is that Niraja remains protected. And that we remain out of this.” Pain rippled across her face. “We have already made such painful sacrifices. And I hope that no one, not Fey nor human, has to bear another.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

Max

Ifelt as if I was watching myself from the outside.

When Tisaanah hit the ground, someone shouted — was it me? I watched myself scramble across the floor to her, stumbling over Zeryth’s body, slipping on his warm blood. I gathered her in my arms, feeling for a pulse, for a breath, for anything.

She didn’t respond.

I watched myself clutch this lifeless body, shout at it in increasing panic —Tisaanah, can you hear me, Tisaanah, open your eyes, Tisaanah, what were you fucking thinking, you insufferable woman, why did you do that— and a single thought solidified:

This is the end. The world will be different after this.

Because every time I thought of a future, it wore Tisaanah’s face. If she died, it would die with her.

Tisaanah did not move.

And then the world snapped back into focus.

No. I was not ready to let her go.

I scrambled for my ink and parchment, buried in my pocket. Unfolded it. Scrawled a Stratagram, somehow, with shaking hands, and held Tisaanah close as the world dissolved around us.

It was a bad land. A chair and a coffee table crashed to the floor where I had fallen on top of them. Several voices let out shrieks or horrified gasps — of course they did, because two bloody figures had just shown up in the middle of this seedy Meriata coffee shop.

“What is all of this Ascended-damned—”

Eomara threw back the curtain to the offices. Her eyes went round.

“Help me,” I ground out.

“Max, what in the—”

“Now, Eomara.Please.”

She looked at my panicked face, then the body in my arms.

“Get in here.”

* * *

There wasa cacophony of crashes as Eomara unceremoniously cleared her desk with a burst of magic, then motioned for me to put Tisaanah there. Immediately, the dark mahogany was bright with blood, mine and Tisaanah’s and Zeryth’s all smeared together.

Distantly, I heard Erik utter a curse and some frantic question that blurred in the background, and Eomara snap at him to be quiet.

I could look at nothing but the stillness of Tisaanah’s chest.

“What happened? Is it—move, damn it, I can’t look at her if you insist on standing in my way.” Eomara leaned over Tisaanah, nudging me aside. Whatever she saw in Tisaanah’s face made her give me a grave glance.

“This is it, isn’t it? What you came here to talk about.”

Erik hovered nearby, one of Tisaanah’s wrists in his hand. “Oh, this doesn’t look good.”

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