Page 108 of Ashes of Honor

“I had no choice.”

“There is always a choice.”

If I had the choice, my parents would be alive, my sisters wouldn’t have faced a brutal death. In no scenario could I fathom how much hate one had to hold in their heart, to kill theirflesh and blood. Then again, maybe I did. Maybe it was why I’d refused to let Reina fall victim to her brother’s sword. Why I’d insisted on being the one to end him myself—because as much hatred that rested within Seth’s heart, it would never be enough to protect him from himself once he’d realized what he’d done. I couldn’t let myself live with the guilt of what killing Reina would have done to his soul. So I’d offered my own up instead.

“It’s what he wanted,” Finley said with a sense of certainty, like she had no doubt. “That is what my daddy expected of me.”

“Some father,” I grumbled. That explained why she acted … likethat.

“Don’t make me kill you.” She pulled her blade and waved it in my face. I refused to acknowledge the threat. Her eyes flickered shut in quick succession as she blinked back … tears? “He had cancer. Before all of this started, he’d gone into remission—that obviously didn’t last. Without any doctors worth a damn nearby, his pain became unbearable. It was his worst fear to live the way his life was heading. So I took him out before he had the chance to wonder what his final days would look like.”

We sat there in elongated silence. There was nothing left to say. I almost felt bad for taunting it out of her—almost. But I was no saint and Finley was one hell of a sinner. Pity was all I could offer her, and because I knew she wouldn’t want it, I granted her the kindness of not showing her any at all.

“You would have made a great therapist.” Finley cleared her throat, shifting her weight and tossing the awkwardness away. “Can I schedule another appointment? Wednesday at two.”

“Shut up,” I spat, over the dramatics.

Slap my ass and call me a whore, she actually listened. But the silence that followed was anything but peaceful. I stared into the fire again, waving my hands in the warmth of its flames. Usually, a fire would be bad. A dead giveaway. For allpurposes but this drill—because this drill was to test our level of preparedness when things don’t go as planned. Sometimes a fire is the only thing that could save your life, save the soldiers around you. How you handled that with the threat of an enemy striking at any moment determined whether you lived or died in the end.

The flickering glow revealed the faces of the soldiers nearby. A few exchanged quiet glances, but no one dared to speak. Finley’s presence was too volatile. She was an anomaly. The sharp edges of her personality hid cracks she refused to let anyone see. Finley wanted to be right at all times. Needed to be. Shit, maybe it was the only way she knew how to keep going. To see another day.

A whistle pierced the night. We all snapped to attention as a runner approached. He was breathless and red-faced, apparently out of shape despite the training we’d been forced to do. “Phase two,” he panted, words tumbling out in uneven gasps. “Leadership reassignment … squad leaders down … new chain of command.”

“Finally,” Finley muttered. She shot to her feet, brushing the dirt from her uniform.

I rose slowly, my gaze shifting from the runner to the fire, which flared unnaturally for a moment, its flames licking higher into the air. A trick of the light, maybe. Or maybe not. I caught Finley’s eye.

“Down, now.” I ducked, hoping she had the sense to do the same.

A ball of fire shot over our bodies, steamrolling right where we had stood.Lethal force. She barked orders to the nearby squad then crawled over to my position. “Shit. I think some son of a bitch tried to kill me.”

“Go away,” I pushed away from her, the obvious target and slid through the dirt toward Wrath.

“Oh, come on, this obviously isn’t a drill anymore.”

“Yeah, toyou.” I barked out a laugh. “I bet the rest of us are fine.”

“Okay, well, they’re still going for the flag and the others went on outer defense which leaves the two of us …”

I groaned, tossing my braid back over my shoulder and wiping the sweat off my nose with my shoulder. “Dammit.”

The ground erupted directly behind us, a plume of dirt and smoke filling the air. I scrambled forward, fingers brushing the hilt of Wrath. She felt good in my grip, steady. Adrenaline pounded in my ears as I scanned the tree line.

“Would it piss you off if I said I wish I wasn’t in charge now?” Finley snapped, her eyes darting toward the flag. “Two of us against what? An entire squad? An assassin?”

“There is notwo of us, Finley. Only me and this flag.”

“Fine.” Her jaw clenched as she pulled free some cylindrical device and twisted it. “Let’s make this work.”

She rounded to take up the rear as her little creation hummed to life. Putting her and Tomás in the same room was either brilliant or a disaster waiting to happen. Only time and the victims they stacked up would tell. The weapon hummed to life, cracking with energy. She tossed it out in front of us, then shifted to a defensive stance, clasping my hand with a squeeze. “Nonlethal. Come on, Moe Moe.”

“I know. Get off me,” I bit out and snatched my fingers out of her grasp. Wrath’s blade glinted in the low light.

A figure burst from the tree line at full speed, their movements a blur and now lost in the blue hue of whatever emerged from Finley’s toy. My instincts screamed, and I barely managed to intercept a blade aimed straight at Finley. Wrath’s steel clanged against their weapon—a short curved knife.

“Watch it! It’s not just Finley back here,” I shouted as the impact sent a jolt through my body.

“Okay, we have about thirty seconds before they realize the mirage of us walking away is literal smoke blowing up their asses,” Finley said, pointing to the smoke that engulfed us now. “Get ready.”

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