Page 104 of Echoes of War

It was midday, but there were no longer kids playing outside or people lounging in the greenery. School had been canceled last week indefinitely. Instead, parents chose to organize additional training sessions. We would be ready when the time came.

I would do everything I could to protect these people from the world. Unfortunately from my time in The Before and now in The After, I knew all too well how cruel it could be.

While the people here respected me, I found they feared me to some extent too. I’d kept to the shadows for a long time. They knew nothing of me other than I worked for their beloved general. Being in the public eye had never been my thing. I’d left that to Amaia, Prescott, and Jax. They had the charisma that peopletended to flock to. Seth had it too. With his hulking presence, it was hardnotto see him.

He had a way about him that made people trust him with his sly smiles and seemingly devoted relationship with Amaia and Jax. The way he reacted when Amaia or The Compound were challenged or threatened had been icing on his acting cake. What the people hadn’t seen was the behind the scenes. The danger he had always posed with his anger toward the people he had sworn allegiance to.

So it didn’t surprise me that the citizens of The Compound kept their eyes low, putting distance between us as I walked by. I was the unknown. The spy master who always lurked but never spoke. The protector of this place they’d never gotten to know. And now with two of their chosen leaders struck down, one gone, and the other one determined a traitor, their lives were in my hands. People feared the unknown.

But shit, wasn’t terrifying people part of the gig?

The Entertainment Square was a ghost town. I stared at The Arena as I walked by. It wouldn’t be abandoned for long. We had funerals in our near future. A lot more if Amaia didn’t make it back soon. One of those funerals would wait for her return, though, no matter how long it took.

There’d been nothing for people to celebrate or a reason to relax for a while now. The bar and shop owners had used this time to prepare themselves for the moment they’d have to be soldiers again. Life would not go back to normal around here for some time.

The soldiers at the gate nodded, opening it with their weapons at the ready. Three figures moved at a quick pace, making their way out of the tree line. I held my hand to the sky, letting the archers at the watchtower to hold.

Excitement, the way I felt it, couldn’t be held back. I broke into a sprint, meeting them halfway to the gate. Reina leaped intomy arms, her long legs wrapping around my waist as I spun her in a circle.

She kissed all over my cheeks. “Riley!” Her voice broke, her tears flowing down her cheeks into mine.

They were tears of relief. Her excitement radiated off her. I let Reina pour her emotions into me, needing to experience them after everything I’d been through while they were gone. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I hadn’t realized how much I enjoyed their presence until that first night here on my own. Prescott had noticed me in The Kitchens eating alone with each meal. One morning, he’d plopped down next to me, and that was the end of my days feeling sorry for myself. They were my family too. I’d never let them in the way I’d let Amaia, but damn it, they were my sisters in every way that mattered.

“Reina,” I said in a hushed tone, unable to say anything more than her name.

“Jesus, I missed you so much.” Reina hopped down and I took her in.

Her hair was shorter now, barely skimming the top of her shoulders. Though happiness radiated off her, there was a sadness in her blue eyes that panged my heart. She was wearing all black, something I’d seen her do before, but this felt different.

The leather riding boots and black top were dark for the girl who’d always brought color into the world. It was more something Tomoe would wear, not her. My brow raised at the pistol holstered to her hip. Reina using a gun was unheard of, let alone carrying one at the ready. There was also an older way she carried herself, less juvenile in her gait.

“Stop staring at me or I’ll think you’re flirting,” she chided, brushing against my shoulder.

I chuckled, granting her a sly smile as Tomoe strode over. She gave me a playful shove, which was as close to a hug as she’d ever come to giving me. I dragged her close, burying her face inmy chest. I’d never hugged any of them besides Amaia when I thought about it. But life was short, and tomorrow wasn’t promised. From this day on, I’d make sure the people around me knew how much I cared.

She gasped for air. “Glad to see you’re still alive.”

Tomoe tried her best to wiggle free from my suffocating embrace. I paid her no mind, lifting her up and giving her a whirl. She could if she truly wanted to. The girl could hold her own and had put me on my ass several times before. She wasn’t slick, Tomoe could pretend she hated it as much as she liked. I knew she’d missed me too.

“Okay, release me before you lose your head,” Tomoe gasped for air.

Placing her back on the ground, Reina burst into a fit of laughter. Tomoe jumped at the sound, like it had startled her and she hadn’t heard it for a while. Our eyes met, and she shook her head.Later. I nodded, my gaze settling on the man standing behind them, suddenly remembering they’d brought company.

A ball of air caught in my throat. His eyes searched my face, waiting for my acknowledgment. It’d been nearly four long years since I’d last seen that face. He was younger then, a boy, but the essence of him remained the same. His features had matured, he’d grown taller, but there was something in those dark brown eyes of his that tugged at my memory. The familiarity in them.Abel.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do. A slow, timid smile flickered across his face as he took a few stammered steps forward. The years apart had changed us both, but the bond of brotherhood had remained unbroken. I closed the gap between us, cupping my hand on the back of his neck and pulling his forehead against mine.

“Brother,” he whispered.

I choked back tears. “Welcome home, little brother.”

Reina skipped forward, pulling us into a group hug. “Yay for family!” she exclaimed, not able to hide the pain behind her statement. We were all the family she had left.

Tomoe stood off to the side as we separated, glancing over her shoulder searching for someone. “Where’s Prescott? Not like him to miss a moment like this.”

My eyes shot to the ground in despair. Reina read my emotions from me before I found the courage to break the news.

“No,” she said, grief shooting off her.

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