Page 42 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
Verena turned from the throne and gestured to the far door on her left. “Not here,” she said. “The council room is relatively unscathed. We can discuss there.”
We all gave one last look to the untouched throne sitting stalwart amongst the ruin and debris, and turned to go plan our next moves.
I FOUND MINA OUTSIDE THE MOON PRIEST’S CHAMBERS. A ROWof bodies had been lined up along his outer wall, each one being taken into his open-sky chambers in turn and burned along with his moon prayers. It was more than they deserved, the traitors, but Verena was determined to have the pack be unitedin their grief. There was no room for vengeance amongst the dead.
When she spotted me, Mina quickly recovered the face of the dead Wolf with the white burial shroud. I knew at once she was looking for Hector’s face amongst the dead.
“I didn’t see him,” I signed to her when she looked up at me. “I don’t think he was there.”
“I didn’t see any Silver Wolves either, besides Grae,” she signed back. “But I had to check.”
“What would you have done if he had been there?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
I let out a long sigh and sat upon the stone bench carved into the far wall—a place for mourners to gather and wait. But there would be no mourners this time; anyone bold enough to openly mourn these Wolves was lying dead beside them.
“I hate him,” Mina continued, her throat bobbing. “I hate him so much for what he did. But I miss him, too. He was the only thing holding me together after Malou died.” I was reminded once again of the pain of her loss. I couldn’t imagine losing a twin. Even having Briar leave with Maez felt like my soul cleaved in two. “I just needed to know if he was truly gone.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “I hate him, too,” I said aloud. “And yet I miss him in equal measure.”
“Do you think he’ll go south and try to find Sadie?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think she’s why he betrayed you.” She grimaced as she signed the words. “He would do anything for his sister, no matter how misguided. He made the wrong choices for her, but I can’t bring myself to blame him for it. The way he looked at me when he held that sword to my chest, the way it faltered...”
“Everything is in tatters,” I said, dropping my head in my hands. “This is not how our court was meant to be. We were supposed to all be together. We were supposed to all defeat Nero together and live out our happily ever afters in Olmdere. Now Sadie is hiding out in Damrienn training monsters, Briar andMaez are Moon knows where, and we areyet againin a foreign kingdom trying to build allies.”
Mina wandered over and sat beside me, placing a hand on my back and rubbing. She waited until I lifted my head to sign, “Briar went with Maez?”
It didn’t surprise me she already knew which of those three things I was most fretting over—only a twin would truly understand. Of course I was worrying about Briar. Maez had practically snapped her fingers and killed an entire pack, and my twin was still so desperately in love with her, she couldn’t let her go.
“I hope she’s okay.”
“I have to believe Maez will protect her.”
“But she must be hurting. Maez isn’t the same person she fell in love with. That darkness will twist and warp her and maybe Briar will one day realize it and want to get out and it’ll be too late.”
We sat there in silence for a long time, both of us staring at the row of endless shrouded bodies.
“What Maez did on that battlefield... ,” I said, staring up at the ceiling. “We could definitely use that in a battle with Nero. His ‘friends’ are dropping like flies. The Onyx Wolf pack is practically extinct, and the Ice Wolves are now our allies.”
“Finally,” Mina signed.
“Finally,” I echoed. “And at a terrible cost. Do you think we can trust Verena?”
“I don’t know how much trusting I’m going to be doing from now on.”
I huffed. “Agreed.”
“But if we can use her,” Mina signed, “we should.”
“I don’t know if she’s willing to storm Damrienn with us. Not after losing so much of her pack, but I will endeavor to convince her nonetheless. I think between us and the Songkeepers we might have a chance.” Mina’s face pinched. “What?”
“That monster.”
“The one with the many hands?”
