Page 191 of Scorched Earth
“Oh, thank the gods you are safe,” she sobbed, gripping Teriana so hard she could scarcely breathe. “They kept telling me you were alive, but I needed to see you with my own eyes.”
Teriana buried her face in her mother’s shoulder. “Mum, I’ve messed up. I don’t know what to do.”
“We’ll fix it. I’ll fix it,” her mother whispered. “I have you back and everything will be made right again.”
Relief nearly caused Teriana’s knees to buckle beneath her, because she’d refused to allow herself to imagine her mother forgiving her. Their relationship had always been fraught, and while she’d once thought it was because her mother didn’t understand her, Teriana now realized that it was because her mother understood all too well. All her life she’d wanted out from beneath her mother’s control, wanted to strike out on her own, but now Teriana clung to her, desperate for the protection she’d always railed against.
“I missed you,” she sobbed. “I needed you.”
“I’m here now.” Her mother hugged her tight. “I am so sorry for the things I said. I was afraid, and my fear made me say things I didn’t mean. There is nothing and no one in the world I love as I love you, my little girl.”
Vaguely, Teriana heard several thumps, and then shouts from behind her, but it was her aunt’s scream that sent a surge of fear through her.
“Tesya, behind you!”
Her mother reacted in an instant, pushing Teriana away even as she whirled.
Directly into the downward strike of Hostus’s blade.
Teriana screamed as he jerked the knife out of her mother’s chest. “Mum!”
Her mother didn’t answer, only collapsed into Teriana’s arms.
Hostus bent down and wiped the blade across Teriana’s shoulder.“I told you there would be a reckoning, little girl,” he said. “And I always make good.”
Feet thundered down the pier behind them, Valerius’s guards shouting, but Hostus was already moving. Teriana knew they’d never catch him in time.
If he got away, he’d get away with it forever.
Yanking free the knife belted at her waist, Teriana flung it through the air.
The blade flipped end over end, embedding in Hostus’s skull. He stumbled two more steps, then fell facedown on the pier.
She stared at his still form, waiting for him to rise because a monster like Hostus could not be so easily vanquished. But the legatus of the Twenty-Ninth did not move as a pool of urine spread out around him.
Dead.
“Teriana.”
Her mother’s voice was weak, but her grip on Teriana’s wrist was strong as she said, “I’m so sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it.”
“Shhh. Don’t talk. We’ll get help.”
Valerius and his centurion reached her right as Yedda knelt next to Teriana. Her aunt pulled up her mum’s shirt to assess the injury. She immediately pressed her hands to the gaping wound, trying to stem the flow of blood, but the centurion sat back on his heels. “Say what you need to say.” His voice was quiet. “But be quick.”
“No, no, no,” Teriana pleaded. “We’ll get you help. Get you on the ship and find a healer.”
“Teriana.” Her mother lifted her hand to Teriana’s face. “You must lead, my sweet girl. Now is the time. You must lead.”
“Lead who?” Teriana sobbed. “No one would follow. It needs to be you. You need to live. You need to lead our people, not me.”
“It has to be you.” Her mother’s hand dropped, her eyes focused on something beyond. “Madoria says it must be you.”
“She’s wrong! She was wrong to choose me! Every choice I make is a mistake!”
Her mother only smiled, and said, “I love you, my dearest girl.”
Then she was gone.
