Page 182 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Graeson cursed.
Couldn’t at least one of them listen to his instructions? Or did they both wish to give away their positions?
Kallie stood, and he grabbed her wrist, tugging her back down. "What are you doing?" he asked. They might have been civilians, but he had seen several weapons lying around.
"Look at them, Graeson. Most of them are wounded or dying."
"That does not mean they’re our friends."
She snatched her hand away. "No, but—" She gasped, swallowing the rest of her argument.
Then she was running.
"Fuck," he spat and took off after her.
Chapter 73
KALLIE
Kallie was seeing things.She was having another nightmare, and any second, she would wake up. There was no other explanation for the sight before her.
A cold sweat slicked Kallie’s palms as she ran, struggling to breathe. Each inhale was a desperate plea for air as she gaped at the pale body on the ground. Myra lay face-up, her blonde hair draped over a woman’s lap and the moon’s glow kissing her freckled cheeks. Blood dripped from her nose, and the woman cradling Myra’s head dabbed her face with a stained cloth.
"No, no,no," Kallie repeated as she ran.
Myra was not dead. She couldn’t be. They hadn’t resolved things yet. They hadn’t had time to discuss everything they had gone through, everything they had put each other through. Even though Kallie was still angry at Myra, she had never wished for this.
Kallie pressed her hand to her chest as the years of manipulation, lies, and hidden abilities squeezed her heart. They were both victims. Two children taken by a heartless man.
Her nails dug into her chest, nearly tearing her blouse.
She could hear Graeson on her heels and the gasps of horror coming from the strangers they passed, but she didn’t stop. She had to know the truth.
She crashed on the ground beside Myra’s body. Questions tumbled from Kallie’s mouth in a flurry, so fast the woman struggled to answer a single one. Kallie’s hand hovered above Myra’s face. Her cheeks were smeared with soot, and her normally bright blonde hair was dull from the ash.
An arm wrapped around her waist. Graeson tried to pull her away, saying something about giving Myra space. Kallie shoved him away. Teardrops lined Kallie’s bottom lash-line, their weight tugging on her lashes and blurring her vision.
They were too late. They were?—
Kallie’s breath hitched. She choked back her tears as she tore her gaze from Myra and looked at the woman. She had to have misheard her.
"Phaia?" Kallie croaked, finally recognizing the woman.
The handmaiden gave her a weak smile.
Kallie shook her head, struggling to understand. "W-what did you say?"
Phaia exhaled, exhaustion tinting the warm beige skin beneath her eyes. "She’s not dead."
"Sh-she’s not?" Kallie’s arms buckled beneath her, but Graeson was there to catch her before she collapsed.
There was still time. She could still fix this.Theycould fix it.
Phaia wiped away the blood from Myra’s nose, and Kallie finally noticed Myra’s chest rising slowly, as if she was in a deep slumber.
"No, she’s not. I think she pushed herself too far. She was running around, helping as many of the wounded as she could. Then she passed out. I think that’s why she’s bleeding—" Phaia paused. A line formed between her brows. "Why are you here?"
Kallie looked at Graeson, her words jumbling in her mouth.
