Page 129 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
“Your question highlights the biggest difference between us.” Sadness drenched his tone. “I’m in control of my own life. I don’t need to control others to feel powerful.”
Tagin popped his jaw. “Titus, shoot Lark Foster in the head.”
“No,” I gasped out, but it was too late. Titus aimed and pulled the trigger, and Lark fell, blood gushing from a hole in her temple. The unmaddened guards watched, letting it happen, doing nothing when they could have changed everything.
Tears welled, and I couldn’t stop them.
“This is my son,” Tagin announced. “A traitor toCured. He chose a Soalian and joined the enemy. They hope to destroy us from the inside out.”
Fury pulsed from our audience. Everyone but the maddened; they remained blank, and my heart ached for them. This could have been me.
Tagin pointed a finger at Cyrus. “Strangle Arden before these witnesses and renounce all ties to Soal, and you’ll be pardoned.” He cocked his gun. “Refuse, and I’ll kill her myself. Then her mother. Then I’ll bury you deep in the mines with their corpses. You’ll have the girl with you, just as you wanted, but you’ll never experience happiness. You’ll know only suffering and sorrow.”
Cyrus stepped in front of me and rolled his shoulders back. “Astan is destroying your life, filling you with his thirst for power. But you can be freed.”
“You will kill her, or you will die. Decide!” Tagin shouted, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth. “Put your hands around her throat and squeeze. It’s not hard. Doesn’t take long.”
“I’m begging you to let us go. End this now, before I’m forced to do something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.” The two stared at each other, neither rendering the final blow.
Had he foreseen more than he’d admitted? The pain Cyrus projected threatened to undo me.
“I’ll give you one last chance, son.” Tagin clearly loved his child. And I hadn’t forgotten Cyrus’s profession of love for his father. I couldn’t let him hurt the man to save me. And that’s what he planned, judging by his reaction and his words.
With the realization, I found my key. A ray of light beamed from deep within me, penetrating my mind. Any apprehension over my path burned to ash. I knew what to do without a shadow of a doubt.
I’d vowed to face my nightmare and stop running, and now I must keep my promise. Today, I had the opportunity to do it. And I would.
A panting Tagin aimed at Cyrus. His nostrils flared. I prepared to act. But, in a blaze of motion, he swung the gun to a guard and squeezed the trigger. He aimed and squeezed again and again and again, eliminating each soldier with a single shot. One by one they crashed to the ground, even Titus.
“They’ll be no witnesses to our dealings,” he announced when he finished.
I peered at Juniper’s, Titus’s, and Lark’s fallen forms, feeling raw inside. “It’s okay, Cyrus. Do what he told you. Put your hands around my neck.”
“See! She wants you to do it,” Tagin demanded, aiming at Cyrus once again. “No one will know you were once a Soalian. You’ll be reeducated but then we can go on as if this episode never happened.”
Cyrus didn’t hesitate. “I will not.”
Tagin’s breathing grew more ragged. “Don’t make me do this, son.”
“He’s not making you do anything,” I said, drawing his aim my way as hoped. “This is your choice, Tagin, and yours alone.” I wouldn’t let Cyrus die or kill for me. My play was simple. Ensure he lived his best life, even if I had to die in the process. I wasn’t afraid of pain. Not anymore. I wasn’t even afraid of death. I’d do what needed doing, no matter the consequences.
“Shut up,” the older man commanded. “You’re going to die one way or the other. What happens to Cyrus afterward is up to him.”
“Do it,” I told the high prince. “But kiss me first.”
He drew in a deep breath, held ... held ... then nodded, as if he’d reached a grave decision. “Let me say goodbye,” he croaked. He waited for his father’s stiff approval before turning to face me.
A thousand regrets, sorrows, and joys glimmered in his eyes. He cupped my cheeks as a tear streamed down one of his. “I wish there’d been another way.”
I knew he had no plans to kill me, just as I knew what he needed me to do. “I hate that it came to this,” I rasped to him. He might hate me for what I did next, but that was okay. He would live without regret.
“Me too. But it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.” Slowly he bent his head and kissed me, pressing his lips to mine and tangling his fingers in my hair.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him back, telling him everything I hadn’t yet said as I stealthily worked at the clasp of his necklace. The last resort. When we parted, I tightenedmy fist around the little star. The sharp edges sliced into my palm, blood welling.
Resolve glazed his eyes as they searched mine. “Aim true,” he commanded, and I nodded.
“Kill her or move,” Tagin demanded.
