Page 137 of Echoes of War

“I don’t care if it keeps me safe. I care about doing what’s right, and if that kills me, then so be it,” I said, planting myself firm in the ground.

“Do what’s righ—” He chuckled at me. “Reina, you’re ahealer. There’s a hundred of you right inside those walls. What is it that you think you do exactly that makes enough of a difference to lay down your life for a bunch of people who don’t even know your name.”

I don’t know why, but the way my brother saidhealermade me feel less than. Pain flickered through me so quickly, I wasn’t even sure it had a chance to root itself in my heart. The thing was, I could never be less than, not anymore.

Between him and my father, they’d put the bar of reasonable expectations in hell. I would always be better than the both of them no matter what I did. Suppose I could even say I wasalwaysbetter than. Having a mind of my own had made me the family black sheep for so long.

Even the whitest of flocks can hide the darkest of wool.

“Thanks to you andyourfather, everyone knows my name now.” He wasn’t my father. I no longer had the desire to claim someone so foul as mine.

“Which is exactly why I matter. I may carry this stupid family name like a burden, but I will use it to do whatever the hell I can to make sure you’re both forever remembered as fools. Blood may bind us by birth, Seth, but it’s the choices we make, the actions we take, that define family. That is something you willneverunderstand, and it makes me feel sorry for you. When you first left,it sucked. You destroyed my heart, and I thought you didn’t look back. All I could do was think to myself,whatever he does, he’s still my brother. I just want my brother back, I miss him. Now that you’re here in front of me, all I can do is pity you. The man you had the potential to be, who Momma raised you to be, is right there, waiting for you tobehim. Instead, I face a sorry,sadexcuse for a human being, who possesses zero self-awareness for his actions and the consequences they have on the people he claims to love. I’m not going with you, Seth. I would rather die than spend another second on this beautiful green earth, stuck in some screwed up society, known as Reina Moore, Seth Moore’s sister.”

Hurt washed over his features. Seth sputtered, stammering over what to say in response. When he came up short, anger replaced any remnants of remorse that had lingered. I was starting to see my father’s point on how bitter on the taste buds lack of accountability was.

He charged me and I took another step back. “You can hate me all you want, Reina, but I would never hate myself for doing what I could to save the life of the last sibling I’ve got.”

I glanced down, a needle glimmered at his side. Another dose of whatever he’d given me before on deck. Dread chilled my blood. I realized now why Amaia did what she did, why she was always ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. It was almost an instinct when put in the position where your options are slim to none. I would never back down.

My decision on not being dragged off to whatever hellhole Seth had crawled his way from was firm. Final. Set. I would not go under any circumstance. One look in those shared blue eyes and I knew Seth’s mind was set too. The only way I wouldn’t go with him was if one of us was dead.

Despite my current opinions about my bloodline status, he was still my brother. I had spared Millie the pain of having to dowhat I was now faced with. No one should ever have to take the life of someone they love.

Seth had done it before, and while it tore him up on the inside, he still found a way to sleep at night. My brother had thought me broken, but he was the one who was one more tragedy from breaking. It would drive him mad, but he would survive it. Move on from it one day, just not soon enough.

I knew myself. It wouldn’t be the same for me. It would ruin me in a way that there would be no coming back from. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, and unlike my brother, I didn’t make decisions when I wasn’t sure what the true cost of it would be.

Instead, I would do the world a favor with my death. I would do the only thing I could to break him. Make him kill me. That would be the stick that broke the dam of Seth Moore. He would never be the same again, not enough to be of good use to our father. It would be a mercy on my brother, yes, but also the people of Monterey Compound. Without my brother, my father would be going at us blind. We would have a fighting chance. The soldiers may have been on retreat, but that was only a fraction of the army we’d avoided on the journey here. There were more coming, but this would buy us some time.

Water magic swayed in my palms as I crouched low. It knocked him off his feet. I kneeled on his chest, keeping him from getting up. Seth had seen it coming, holding his breath to prevent himself from drowning in it. I had no intention of drowning my brother, but what was the harm in seeing how long he could fight to keep his life?

The pressure of the water knocked the needle in his hand free. His fingers found his knife, and he slashed my leg, making me jump back with a yelp. I lost my footing, giving him the advantage. Seth scrambled for the needle. It disappeared into the bushes with the nudge of my water magic. The distraction cost me. Seth pounced with my attention now focused on the needle.

I’d have to keep him fighting, anger him. He would never kill me on instinct—I’d have to earn this death. My number one goal in this fight was to simply send him into a blind rage. Messing with his emotions was the easiest way to get there. I didn’t want to do this with him, to spend our last few moments together like this.

Fury edged at Seth’s emotions, his tan face went red. A sea-storm rage replaced his predator stare. I splashed water up at his face, punching him in the jaw in his momentary blindness. It was my cackle that sent him over. Seth had never taken kindly to being made a fool of, laughed at, like people didn’t respect him or fear him. He raised his knife over my chest, ready to drive it home. Face to face, I took one last look at my brother before closing my eyes.

The bushes behind us ruffled. When I opened my eyes, Moe stood over Seth, Wrath grazing the back of his neck, lined up for one swift chop.

“Get the fuck up,” Moe growled.

Seth dropped the knife, studying his hands with wide eyes at what he was about to do. Rising up slowly, he turned around cautiously, careful not to spook her. “Tomoe.”

Moe’s dark brown eyes scanned his body. The grief coming off her was overwhelming. They stared at each other, Wrath wavered slightly in her hand. Then she hardened, her head raising high, giving me a side glance.

“Get up, Reina,” Moe said. “Your family needs you.”

A demoralized expression crossed Moe’s face, replaced by her usual cool exterior within a few blinks. She knew. Our eyes connected for a brief moment and I understood everything she wanted to say. Moe bit her lip, turning back to Seth, determined to hold strong.

“She’s coming with me, Moe. You are too.” Seth inched closer to her, pressing his throat against Wrath.

“You don’t get to speak, Seth,” Moe spat, Seth’s blood pooling around her blade. “No one’s talking to you.”

She ushered him back, pressing Wrath deeper to get him to move at her will. When she repositioned herself to my side, Moe extended me a hand, to help me up.

“Riley is six minutes from kicking the fucking bucket,” she explained like it was an indisputable fact. “It took me ten minutes to get here and find you. I’m going to need you to use those long legs to get there in five. It’s going to take every last drop of your magic, and you’re going to have to let it. It’s going to kick your ass, you’ll almost die, but both of you survive. If you stand here and argue with me the way you’re about to, you waste almost a minute of time that he doesn’t have. Amaia won’t recover, and every territory in this country will fall.”

I didn’t move. Fear kept me rooted in place. Not the fear one would expect from a ghost or a haunted house. It resembled nothing of immediate panic or adrenaline rush that pushed you into action. This was the lingering tinge of fear that kept you from focusing on one thing and instead a million negativewhat ifs.

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