Page 74 of Our Vicious Descent
“Not if they see a value in continuing to partner with her. We have to ensure they know how dangerous she is. Karine is not the reaper they should be trusting,” Elise said softly.
At this, the ire faded from Layla’s expression. Her lips parted, and she looked at Elise with tender awe. “And who do you propose they should trust?” she asked.
Elise’s mouth stretched into a smile. “You know who.” She stepped away from Layla as Arendale and her father approached the small cage made of Saint steel that had been containing Sena for the past few hours, all thanks to Nicoletta and her full surrender of the Saint compound because of the reapers’ and Elise’s assistance in freeing them of Sena. The ancient reaper sat in the middle of the enclosure, a silk robe draped over her straight shoulders and her hands in her lap while she watched everyone surround the steel bars to peer down at her.
“So this is how reapers live now…” Mayor Arendale glanced around the cathedral, his dark eyes alight with wonder.
Layla gave him an unimpressed look. “I’m surprised Karine didn’t give you a rundown.”
The mayor stopped by the enclosure, staring down at Sena. “If your accusation is correct, she did not tell me about a lot of her actions. This is Valeriya?” he asked.
“Sena is her true name.” Tobias nodded. His expression filled with a sad regret. Elise wondered how much of his interactions with the ancient reaper he even remembered, if so many of them were tainted by her poison, and how he even looked back on them withanything besides pure vitriol. “You’ve taken so much from me, and still you continue? When will it ever be enough?”
“I could ask the same of you,” Sena muttered. She shot a piercing glare at Tobias Saint, who only returned the ire tenfold with his own scowl. “Pity to be woken from a vicious slumber only to be met with disappointment and used over and over again. I have been used my whole life. These experiments, whether you pay for them or not, will never end. You fight one side, they will always retaliate. I have seen every iteration of war and every perceived offer of peace. There is nothing you can do to change someone when they’ve already made up their mind about the way things should be. You say I changed your daughter, but I had her for only a month. You raised her. You made her into what she’s become. Both of them,” Sena said strongly. “Maybe it’s time you all took responsibility for the state of our world too.”
Elise had never seen someone confront her father with so much hostility. It made her wonder just how intense their conversations had been in the past, in the quiet darkness of privacy. “You must feel betrayed by your friend. She brought you back only to use you to sow more violence.”
“I do not have the energy to feel much of anything anymore. I was willing to do what Karine wanted of me because I had a chance to take care of your sister. It was Karine who encouraged her to follow her impulses. I simply wished to protect her,” Sena said.
Tobias shot forward, his fists clenched around the bars. “She was perfectly safe.”
A low chuckle left Sena. “You gave her to a reaper. And after the lengths Elise went to keep her from you…there is no way you still believe yourself.”
“Elise knows nothing—”
“Has anyone ever told you that you talk too damn much?” Layla snapped. She stiffened next to Elise as she turned to face Tobias. “Shut up. Your daughter has done more for everyone in this neighborhood in the past few days than you have done in your little empire’s ten-year-run. If you sat back and looked beyond your ego, you would know that.”
Wide-eyed, mouth agape, for a moment, Tobias was stunned into silence. Eventually he released the tension from his fists and turned away from Layla, ignoring her searing words.
Elise could only press her fingertips to her mouth to keep from smiling. Layla continued to shoot daggers at her father even with his back turned on her.
Sterling cleared his throat, drawing attention to him. “The reason we called you all here was to demonstrate that partnering with reapers can work. We could not have stopped Sena’s violent rampage if it were not for the help of the Diamantes and the rogues. You have a chance to do the right thing and dismiss Karine as your partner. Choose someone else to lead reapers into a liberation movement.”
Mayor Arendale crossed his arms and stepped away from the enclosure. “Perhaps I can negotiate with Karine. She seems sensible and willing to find a compromise as long as reapers benefit—”
Layla interrupted. “I don’t think you understand. There is nonegotiating with Karine. We tried with her, and when she refused, she turned to raising the dead for an army. She will not let even those who have been gone for decades rest. We have to act against her, and we have to do it before she realizes that we’ve met.”
Silence filled the room for far too long. The mayor and Tobias continued to watch her with contemplative expressions, neither of them making a move toward a decision.
Layla shook her head, cursing beneath her breath. “Forget it. Do whatever you want, but don’t ask reapers for help.” She made her way to the back of the building and disappeared downstairs.
Elise let out a tired sigh. She faced her father, careful not to make her expression too vulnerable, lest he see an opportunity in her. “Please. You’ve said it yourself—you have nothing left. Let this be the one thing you choose to be a part of.”
Tobias passed a look to Arendale, who still seemed rather unmoved. He turned back to his daughter, and to her surprise, she saw resolve in his dark eyes. “If the only way out of this is a war, then we must make sure we can support that. Give us a day to decide.”
38
Layla found peace in the quiet cold beneath the cathedral. The stone arches making up the walkways and bridging the rifts between the walls felt like another type of cage, albeit much more beautiful than the one Sena resided in. While all the bodies in this space had been buried forever ago, Layla couldn’t help but wonder if they would be affected by Karine’s plans should she make them more widespread. If she figured out a way to spread Sena’s blood without needing her directly, the consequences would be catastrophic. How would Karine even control such a large army of lawless beings?
Suddenly all of the ancient reaper’s past musings to Layla made more sense. She had wanted Layla to step up and be a leader to reapers months ago. Maybe, if Layla had done so, they would not be in this position. Perhaps Karine would have found more satisfaction in Layla’s rule had she actually tried. This whole time, Layla had been too concerned about hurting people with her reaperhood—sheshould have been more concerned about taking care of that side of her to ensure her community remained safe.
Now it was too late.
All the work that had been done would be wiped away in an instant if Karine had her way.
Layla considered how Elise had finally begun to smile and sleep properly since being reunited with her sister. Layla could not burden the Saints with this vicious path she knew she needed to take.
She stood, intending to go back upstairs and sneak out to find Karine on her own. But an icy chill swept through the underground space, followed by the heavy tension of another presence.
