Page 204 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Hesitating for a second, she reached out and rested her hand on Rian’s shoulder. "Rian?—"
"It didn’t have to be like this," he whispered, trembling.
"It’s over, Rian," Kallie said gently. "Give the order."
He peered up at her, his eyes stained red. His lips parted, but before he could say anything, the world turned sideways as Kallie was thrown to the ground.
When she opened her eyes, she found two silver ones boring into her.
"Graeson?" Kallie sputtered. "What are you doing? Sebastian is dead. The battle is?—"
"You nearly got yourself killed!" Graeson shouted, chest heaving. Sweat ran down his forehead and over his scar. His black hair stuck to his face, like ink staining parchment.
She grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. "Did you not hear me? The battle is over."
He shook his head. "The battle is not over. Not even close."
"What? What do you mean?"
He moved and helped her to her feet.
As Kallie stood, she looked around. Drakonises still zipped across the sky as soldiers fought on the ground. Explosives still shook the capital. Screams still pierced the air. All around her, the battle continued.
Kallie took a jilted step backward.
The fighting hadn’t stopped.
She didn’t understand. Those nearby should have stopped. They should have put their swords down and fallen to their knees. Did they not realize Sebastian was dead?
"Rian—" Kallie began but cut herself off when she found Laurince kneeling beside Rian, a Frenzian soldier dead beside him.
As Laurince told him something she couldn’t hear, Rian snapped his attention to Kallie. His grip on Sebastian slipped, and horror flooded his features.
Graeson grabbed her wrists and bundled them between his hands. "The war is not over, Kal. Not yet."
Kallie looked from Rian to Graeson. The same fear and shock shone in Graeson’s usually calm demeanor.
"How? We won—We?—"
Graeson’s grip on her hands tightened. "Kal, he’s alive."
"Sebastian? No, Rian killed him. He’s right there?—"
Graeson shook his head. "Not Sebastian, Domitius—he’s still alive."
"No." Kallie tried to take a step back, to put space between them, to breathe, but there was nowhere to go. "You’re wrong. You’re?—"
"Look, Kalisandre," Graeson demanded, pointing toward the castle.
Kallie shook her head. Her entire body trembled. "No, you’re wrong. You killed him! He can’t be?—"
"Kalisandre!" Graeson grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.
Kallie blinked.
"Look," he demanded.
Kallie swallowed and looked toward the castle sitting on the hill.
