Page 37 of Tears of Tungsten
A wave of clarity swept over me. She’d joined them because August wouldn’t have been able to come otherwise. He was the one piloting her right now.
The idea of August acting as her temporary tamer didn’t bother me. I wouldn’t have minded sharing Sphinx’s time with him, just like Pollux didn’t mind sharing Charybdis. But this wasn’t about me and Sphinx.
The blood of these people was on the hands—and claws—of my friends and lovers.
I had to stop it. There had already been a lot of deaths, but maybe, just maybe, if my lovers saw me, they’d still listen. Maybe I could still save at least a few of these innocents.
“No, Selene!”Sphinx shouted in my head.“Stop!”
I ignored her. It hurt to push her away, but I had to do it. I’d trusted her. I’d believed she was on my side, that I could rely on her to support me in my fight to change the world. I’d been a fool.
And maybe I still was, a little, because I couldn’t believe everything I’d shared with my lovers had been a lie. I’d touched their souls with mine. Our minds and bodies had been one. We’d made love so many times, and I’d sensed their honesty and dedication in every second we’d spent together.
“Was it really love?”a voice whispered at the back of my mind.“Half the time, when you’re together, they treat you like trash. You’re their slut. You might as well be selling your body in Tartarus City.”
I furiously shoved aside the thought. They hadn’t forced me into anything I hadn’t wanted or enjoyed. I couldn’t think that way. Even if they’d come here and killed all these people, that didn’t have to mean our connection was false.
My heart hammering, I rushed straight toward Typhon, dodging the people who were still trying to escape. “Stop!” I begged them. “Stop it now! Please!”
As expected, they didn’t hear me, not at first. Compared to Typhon, I was only a tiny, insignificant gnat, and dressed in these robes, I was unrecognizable. I jerked off my hood, but that didn’t help either. In the chaos the chimeras had unleashed upon Gaia’s Haven, one Terran woman looked just like any other, red hair or not.
Frustrated, I reached out and channeled the tachyon particles in the air, summoning them inside me. It was a bad idea, since I was risking tachyon overload. But right now, I didn’t care about the danger to myself. I had to give these people one more chance, even if I bought it at the expense of my own life.
The fire Cerberus had summoned started to diminish, swirling around me like an obedient snake. “Stop!” I cried out again.
This time, it worked. The Cerberus howled, and then went silent. Scylla dropped one of the men seconds before she could devour him. In front of me, Typhon went very still. “Hatchling? What are you doing here?”
I wanted to answer him. I wanted to tell him that was my line and they were the ones who needed to provide an explanation. But the fumes he emanated had grown so thick. My muscles ached. The tachyons in my veins suddenly felt like they were burning me, and I couldn’t control them any longer.
“Selene!” somebody screamed. I recognized the voice as Brendan’s. When had he opened the cockpit?
I tried to look for him, for any of them, but the fire around me had grown. It was an impenetrable wall, so tall I couldn’t even spot the Typhon anymore. I dropped to my knees and curled into a ball, wondering if this was the way I was going to die. How stupid. I’d had so many dreams, so many hopes and plans. I’d wanted to master my power so I could help my loved ones. I wouldn’t get the chance to do any of it now.
A tear trailed down my cheek and evaporated before it could hit the ground. “Why?” I asked, although no one could hear me. “Why did this happen?”
“Because the world is cruel, Selene,” a familiar voice answered. “And three-quarters of the time, nothing is black or white. You might think you know who your friends and your enemies are, but it’s all a lie.”
I cracked my eyes open again—when had I even closed them?—and looked up at the figure of Jared Glass. Wreathed in flame, he reminded me of the avenging angels I’d read about in one of those ancient books my mother had given me.
But he wasn’t an angel, or any kind of paranormal being. He was dead, yet another victim of The Grand Judiciary. I didn’t know why I was seeing him now of all times, but if I’d gotten this chance, I needed to say something, to tell him what I’d never managed when he’d been alive. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have died that way. I hoped I helped you with your mission.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You did. You helped me more than you know.” He knelt by my side and pulled me close. His skin smelled like ash and smoke, but I didn’t mind it. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. You can rest now, my Selene.”
He leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine. The last thing that occurred to me was that his lips tasted awfully familiar, and then the world went black.
