Page 106 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
Not that she blamed them after hearing from Elias what theenhanced soldiers were capable of. They had torn each other to pieces.
"They know," Liliat breathed. "They know the rebels are coming."
The basement had gone quiet except for the muffled sounds of battle above and the soft weeping of several servants. Everyone watched the guards, reading their fear like tea leaves, trying to divine their fate from the terror on their immortal faces.
Then, suddenly, everything changed.
One of the guards lifted his hand to his ear, and his expression shifted from terror to confusion, then to a look of disbelief. He turned to his fellow guards, and Tamira saw their lips moving rapidly, sharing whatever they had just heard.
The transformation was instantaneous, with fear melting from their faces, replaced by relief so profound that one of them actually laughed. Two guards high-fived each other, a gesture so incongruous in the situation that several people gasped.
"What's happening?" Areana demanded, rising from her position.
One of the guards turned to face them, and his grin was fierce with triumph. "The leader of the rebellion has been eliminated! Lord Navuh collapsed a tunnel on him and seven others. They're buried under tons of concrete. The remaining rebels are retreating or surrendering across the island!"
For a moment, there was silence. Complete, absolute silence as everyone processed what they'd just heard.
Then the basement erupted.
Servants cheered, hugging each other, crying with relief. Several fell to their knees in prayer, thanking whatever gods they believed in. The ladies embraced, even the usually composed Sarah wiped tears from her eyes. The guards were slapping each other on the back, their customary self-control completely abandoned in the face of survival.
"We're saved!" someone cried.
"Lord Navuh did it!"
"I knew he would win!"
"Can we come out?" one of the braver servants asked. "Is it safe?"
"Not yet," the guard said, though his tone was far gentler than before. "We need to wait for the all-clear. Some enhanced soldiers are still at large, but they're being hunted down."
"We've won," Raviki murmured. "We've actually won."
Tamira sat frozen as the celebration exploded around her. The knife was still hidden beneath Elias's thigh, its presence a reminder of how close they'd come to the unthinkable. She should feel relieved. She should feel joy. They'd survived. The rebellion was crushed. Their lives would continue as before.
"We're safe," Tula said, hugging Areana.
They might be safe from the rebels, but everything had changed.
How could she return to her gilded cage, to her carefully controlled life, to the endless monotony of existing?
"Tamira?" Elias's voice was soft, meant only for her. "We need to get rid of the knife."
"Keep it hidden for now," she murmured. "Until we're sure it's over."
Around them, the celebration continued. Someone had found wine among the supplies, probably meant for the ladies, and was passing it around. Even the guards accepted cups, toasting their lord's victory. The fear that had gripped them all just minutes ago vanished as if by a magic wand.
"Eight enhanced soldiers," Areana repeated what the guards had told her. "Buried alive. They'll heal from their injuries only to find themselves trapped and wait in agony until their bodies enter stasis."
"They deserve it," Rolenna said. "We don't know the extent of the damage, but given all those explosions, I have a feeling that half the island is gone. I just hope that the servants living in the hotel are okay. Humans don't regenerate from wounds."
"I hope Tony is unharmed," Tula said.
Tamira felt awful for not sparing a thought for the harem servants. She'd been so gripped by panic and imagining what could happen to her that she hadn't thought about anyone else.
"They'll run out of air," one of the guards said, having clearly been eavesdropping. "They'll essentially sleep forever, trapped in their tomb. It's not so bad. Perhaps in a few centuries the lord will decide to free them."
Tamira thought about being conscious in absolute darkness, feeling the weight of tons of concrete above you, knowing that no amount of enhanced strength could free you. Knowing that you'd failed, that your revolution had led nowhere, that you'd spend eternity in a grave of your own making.
