Page 97 of Realms of Swords and Storms
"The barracks," I croaked, my throat raw from dust and screaming. "North side. There's another device. We have to—"
The third explosion cut me off, the ground beneath our feet bucking like a living thing. Antonius staggered, nearly falling, as a new wave of screams rose from the north side of the square.
"Too late," I whispered, despair threatening to crush me more thoroughly than any explosion could. "Too late."
"What is happening?" Antonius demanded, gripping my shoulders, his massive hands steady despite the chaos around us. "Did you know about this? Did the resistance plan this?"
"Not the resistance," I said, the bitter truth like acid on my tongue. "Kalen. He's Imperial. He used us. Used me." I looked up, meeting his eyes, seeing the horror and disbelief there. "I helped plant the devices. He said they would target empty buildings, that warnings would be given. That it was about making a statement, not... not this."
Antonius's face hardened, his hands tightening on my shoulders. For a moment, I thought he might kill me where I stood—and part of me wished he would.
"Where are the others?" he asked instead, his voice a low growl. "Where are the rest of the devices?"
"Justice building. East side. Then the commander's residence. Then the reviewing stand." The words tumbled out, each one an admission of my complicity. "They're timed. Five minutes apart. If we hurry—"
"Tarshi!"
The voice cut through the din of screams and crumbling stone—a voice I knew as well as my own heartbeat. Livia.
I turned to see her pushing through the chaos toward us, Octavia close behind her. Both were covered in dust, Livia's face streaked with what might have been tears or blood or both. Her eyes, when they found mine, held a wild desperation that pierced me more deeply than any blade.
"You're alive," she gasped, reaching us, her hand grasping my arm as if to confirm I was real. "We thought—when the wine shop exploded—"
"I got out," I said, unable to meet her gaze, unworthy of the relief I saw there. "Livia, you need to leave. Now. Get as far from the square as you can. Take Octavia and go."
"What's happening?" she demanded, her fingers digging into my arm. "Who's doing this?"
The fourth explosion answered her, this one from the east side of the square. The justice building collapsed in on itself, stone and timber surrendering to fire and force. More screams. More dust. More blood on the cobblestones of a square that had seen centuries of imperial rule and would now witness its greatest atrocity.
"We need to get out of here," Octavia cried, her face pale beneath the dust coating it. "Please, Livia. There's nothing we can do!"
But Livia's eyes remained fixed on mine, something hardening in her expression as understanding dawned. "You knew," shesaid, her voice barely audible over the cacophony surrounding us. "You knew this was going to happen."
I couldn't lie to her. Not now. Not ever again. "Yes," I admitted, the single syllable carrying the weight of all my guilt, all my shame. "I helped plant the devices."
She recoiled as if I'd struck her, disbelief warring with horror in her eyes. "You... what?"
"I was told they'd evacuate the square first," I rushed on, desperate to explain, though I knew no explanation could ever be sufficient. "That the targets were imperial buildings, symbols of oppression, not... not people. Not innocents." I gestured helplessly at the devastation around us. "I was stupid. So stupid. Kalen was working for the Emperor all along. This was a trap, designed to turn public opinion against the Talfen, against anyone who opposes Imperial rule."
Livia stared at me, her expression shifting from horror to a grief so profound it seemed to age her before my eyes. "All these people," she whispered. "All these lives..."
"I know," I said, my voice breaking. "That's why you have to get out. Now. There are still more devices. The commander's residence will be next, then the reviewing stand. You need to go, before—"
"Come with us," she interrupted, gripping my arm again. "Tarshi, please. Come with us."
The plea in her voice nearly undid me. For a moment—just a moment—I considered it. Fleeing with her, leaving this nightmare behind, finding some quiet corner of the world where we might pretend I hadn't helped create this hell.
But the weight of my guilt was too heavy to outrun.
"I can't," I said, gently removing her hand from my arm. "I'm the only one who knows where all the devices are. I have to try to stop the ones that haven't detonated yet. I have to try to save who I can."
"But—"
"I let hate take over," I cut her off, needing her to understand. "I let anger blind me. I'm no better than the Emperor, using people as pawns in some grand game of power. But now... now I have to try to make it right. Whatever small part I can."
Tears cut clean tracks through the dust on her cheeks. "You'll die."
"Maybe," I agreed, knowing it was likely true. "But better me than more innocents." I turned to Octavia, who stood pale and trembling beside Livia. "Get her out of here. Please. Head south, toward the academy. It's the only direction without a planted device."
