Divided

by Rae Brooks

  “You promise?” she asked weakly. She needed more reassurance, the idea of that noose—of seeing Leif dangling from it—was horrifying. Her heart felt as though it had permanently taken up residence in her throat.

  All that she got in response for a moment was his quiet nod and his dark blue eyes burning into her. She felt that need for him, desire, igniting in her body. “I love you,” she finally gasped. She threw her arms around him, and then their lips were pressed against one another.

  When they parted, after his lips had held hers for several moments, he offered her a whimsical smile. “One sun soon, I will have you do that when we aren’t about to part.” He sounded genuinely happy, for that single instant, and she smiled.

  “One sun soon,” she agreed.

  He kissed her cheek gently, and they could hear the approaching guards again. The small alleyway where they had taken refuge would soon be overrun. She choked and nodded to him. “Are you going to find Katt and Alyx?” She hated that they had abandoned the two of them—especially after what Alyx had been forced to witness.

  The dark eyes clouded in consideration of this statement Leif was clearly not intending to seek them out. “They’re safe. They haven’t been seen with us. Though, Katt will have to hide Alyx. She seems rather skilled at that sort of thing, though.” Once again, he sounded confident, as though they had nothing to fear. “Now go.”

  He eased her forward, and she launched herself over the wall behind them while he climbed onto a roof in the opposite direction. As much as she hated to be away from him, she knew that if she got into trouble—then he would soon follow. Her body moved breathlessly through the walls and carts. So few people were in the streets, all having retreated to their homes after the scene in the square. But guards—those were everywhere.

  Aela moved her body in and out of alleys, just avoiding sight, as the men continued to search for her or Leif. They would know her, and she would surely be compromised the moment they laid eyes on her. Still, she managed to evade them for a while, using the roofs and unattended stalls to hide her body. She could hear them talking to one another, and some seemed amused at what had happened while others were terrified.

  She moved quietly throughout Dark District, and she realized that she didn’t know where she would go. She couldn’t return to Katt’s, as that would damn the red-haired girl at once. No, she would have to find somewhere else to go. She found herself by the wall of the Shining District again, near the hole that they had gone through just this sun. Why did that feel like such a lifetime ago? Because she had witnessed innocent people hang between then and now? Yes, that was why.

  She eased along the wall, trying to figure out where she could go. She could always try and disappear into a cellar like Leif and she had done once before. However, she didn’t know how she would get food, and she hated to corner herself like that. She was at the hole, and yet she could think of nowhere to go. She tried to think like Leif, though her mind was drawing blank. She was not as skilled as he was, by any stretch, and if she didn’t come up with something soon—then she would let him down.

  “I just saw someone go back there, Reate, check it out,” a voice said from behind one of the buildings near her. Aela’s eyes widened in concern. Were they talking about her?

  The other man responded, giving her a moment to process it. “You didn’t see anyone. You always say that. Why do you always try and get me to do this shit?” a voice snapped in response. “If you think you saw someone, go check.”

  The way they were talking, Aela was sure that someone had seen her. She stared around in panic. The nearest roof was not high enough—she wouldn’t be disguised, and then she would begin a chase. No, there was only one way for her to go that would ensure that she wouldn’t be caught. However, just as before, a hole would be obvious. She glanced immediately to a cart that sat a few paces away from her. She moved towards it, yanking it backwards, towards the hole, and then, as she ducked through, she pulled the cart directly up against the hole—it was just large enough to cover it.

  On the other side of the wall, she found that she was alone again. She hoped that the guards on the other side of the wall were not the only smart men in all of the Telandan army—because they would have to be, based on what she’d seen, in order to discover her trick. She moved away from the wall, not waiting to see if she would be discovered.

  “Are you going?” someone said from behind a corner that she couldn’t stop herself from turning in time. The roads had been so deserted that she hadn’t been thinking to be cautious, and she turned the corner foolishly soon.

  Eyes shot up to her, and they flashed with irritation. “Hey—what are you doing?” the voice shouted, coming from one of two people that were just a few paces away from her. Aela turned and moved away, down the road and into another side street.

  The people were chasing her, and she could hear their clumsy feet on the pavement behind her as she continued forward. Surely, she ought to be able to outrun a few nobles—even in her current condition. Her side hadn’t been too badly punctured, but she could feel it with every step that she took. She wished she’d had time to tend to it before she’d had to run so much. Leif had tried to get her to stop, but she had been certain that such a break would have gotten them apprehended.

  Slowly, but surely, she could feel herself losing the two men behind her. They were growing further and further away, with every twist and turn that she made through the Shining District. The roads were much easier to navigate than in Dark District, but it was much harder to lose someone. Aela wasn’t even thinking about running into others. And yet—she did so. Skidding to a stop, she saw the backs of what must have been a hundred people.

  Before she staggered back, her eyes were dragged upwards, upwards, upwards until she was staring at an injured form on the stage. No, not a stage, a noose—a risen square for hanging. And there was someone there. Someone that she knew, and her heart was stuck in a free fall while her body seized with pain and pleas. No, this couldn’t be—this couldn’t be now. No, no… she had to… she had to move, but her body wouldn’t. She just sat there, weaponless—helpless.

  All at once, his eyes found her. She could see the dried and wet blood that soaked his chin and neck. He was covered in blood, she realized. His eyes were tired, but above all, they were horrified at seeing her. Her eyes widened, and the paralysis spread to all parts of her body. Her breathing stopped, and she thought she wanted to die. Hang me, hang me first! Her mind screamed, pleaded to people that couldn’t hear it.

  “No,” she whispered. Her voice caught in her throat, though, and she couldn’t make herself any louder. No, the sight of her brother—her poor, sweet brother, in that condition, was stealing her breath. He was riddled in bruises, in cuts—his lip was busted, and blood coated his face and body. Cuts tore all along his arms, terrible, long ones, and up his chest. Aela whimpered, trying to force herself to fight through the pain.

  Taeru was miserable at seeing her, and she was amazed at how he even bothered to care that she was present. He was the one who had gone through this—through this awful pain. This… unbelievable, horrifying brutality. Pain exploded through Aela’s chest, and she thought that she would die—she would die first, here. She ought to. She would prefer it. Nothing mattered but all those injuries. His injuries.

  And then, there was the sound. A sound that echoed through her mind and cut out everything else. Leif would ask her to look away, but she couldn’t… how could she abandon her brother? Her hands felt idly for a weapon that they’d never find, and her feet stumbled forward. The rope dropped and so did Taeru—but… there was… something else. Her body paused, staggered forward, and she saw the arrow—the rope split at once, and Taeru fell—all the way to the ground.

  Aela’s breath caught, and she moved her body forward, weaving through bodies as chaos slowly began to break out. She shoved and pushed them, trying to fight her way towards the front, and eventually, she succeeded. “Taeru!” she shouted, t
hough the sounds of other shouts from guards overshadowed her. The arrow—who had shot the arrow? Leif?

  That didn’t matter—what mattered was that Taeru still had a chance to live and that she had to get to him immediately. As she pushed to the front, she saw Lavus on the ground. He’d jumped, she realized, and he was standing over Taeru with his blade. Taeru was scrambling, having just managed to remove his wrist bindings—apparently they had been jostled by the fall. “I am ending this, you worthless child,” Lavus roared.

  Aela tried to moved forward, but another body slammed into her, and she was thrown to the ground.

  Taeru!

  The first blow was caught by Taeru’s outstretched hand. Her brother let out a soft cry as the blade cut through his palm. It stopped the blow, though, and Lavus wrenched the blade back angrily. Taeru’s hand was jolted forward, and again, he cried out in shock. Aela tried to reclaim her feet, but the chaos was getting too difficult to navigate. No—she couldn’t lose him here, not when… no! Another thrust of the blade, and Taeru just managed to knock the blow away. The sword caught him through the side, though—much like Aela’s own injury. Taeru hissed in shock, and this time, when Lavus pulled back, Aela could see Taeru’s eyelids fluttering.

  The injuries on her brother were more than Aela’s worst nightmares come to life. And despite his best efforts to bring his hand up again, Lavus’s next blow was going to kill him. Aela tried to crawl forward, and her feet seemed impossible to reclaim. She needed to get there—she had to.

  But, Lavus was already bringing down the blade. “Taeru!” she managed to gasp. Taeru didn’t look, and neither did Lavus, even as Aela outstretched her hand.

  Then, though, there was the clang of metal on metal, and a new figure had entered the fray. Lavus was staggered, stumbling back in the chaos. Aela found the person before the king with widened eyes. Calis Tsrali. He looked terrifying—his entire body was coated in blood that didn’t appear to be his own, even his blond hair was splotched red, and there was a gash across his face. Where had he been? How had he gotten here?

  Then, Aela saw the white horse standing in the pandemonium, just behind Calis. It stood patiently despite the turmoil. Swiftly, Aela turned her head back to the fight unfolding—though, just as she did, the fight ended. Calis moved forward, and his sword exploded out of Lavus’s spine while the larger man choked on blood. There was no emotion in Calis’s face, though, and rather than concerning himself with whether Lavus was dead or not, he retracted his blade. “I told you that you’d regret laying a hand on him,” Aela heard over the noise.

  Then, with a flourish, Calis brought the sword over his head as hateful words and blood sputtered from the king’s lips. Then, with a single motion, Calis brought the sword down into the man’s mouth, cutting through tongue and bone until it came out of the other side of his father’s skull. Releasing, Calis stepped back, and his eyes remained cold and blank for a moment.

  Aela inhaled sharply, unsure of what she’d seen, even as the image played in front of her eyes over and over. Those eyes. Aela was terrified, and she quivered at the sight of them. Then, in a moment, they were gone. The prince turned to regard Aela’s brother, who had been rendered unconscious at some point during the exchange. Then, the eyes were so filled with emotion that Aela felt dizzy. In fact, there were tears, Aela noticed, in Calis’s eyes.

  Calis’s body moved forward, kneeling over Taeru, even as further chaos broke out as people realized that Lavus had been murdered. Calis seemed entirely oblivious to the people around him, even his father’s corpse, impaled through the mouth on a sword stuck in the ground. The firm, cold hands that had put that corpse there, though, shook as they hovered momentarily over Taeru’s body, and Calis choked out a weak cry as he brought Taeru into his lap.

  So gentle. So entirely careful. Calis caressed Taeru’s body, whispering words that Aela couldn’t hear over the calamity. Calis moved the back of his hand over Taeru’s cheek, and he slowly brought the boy’s head to his chest. He kept whispering, the sadness was palpable, and his eyes were so entirely filled with emotion and… love… that Aela could scarcely believe he was the same person who’d just struck down his own father.

  She knew only one thing in that moment—she had been wrong. A sun had not passed since their meeting that Calis Tsrali had not loved Taeru Lassau. Taeru had been entirely right in his trust, and Aela knew that there was nothing she could do that would protect Taeru more than Calis’s embrace. She stood, throwing herself back into the crowd. She needed to find Leif.

  Unfortunately, she never did get that chance, as the moment that she’d broken away from the crowd, he leapt out of a small building and seized her by the shoulders. “Aela!” he cried. Worry was whirling in his eyes. Did he know? “What happened?” he begged. “Aela! T-Taeru…?”

  She must have looked paler than she’d realized because the panic in his voice was rising too quickly. A frown twisted onto her face. Or perhaps she’d already been frowning and this one was less frightening. “Taeru is… alive,” she whispered. The relief that came with that statement was jarring. Taeru was alive, and he had someone who was so in love with him that they would murder their own father without thinking in order to protect him. Then, to tend to Taeru so gently…

  “He is?” Leif gasped. Relief was obvious on his face, too. “Where is he? What happened?” he asked again.

  “Lavus is dead,” she said flatly. Leif’s panic was back.

  He shook her, and his eyes widened in disbelief. He surely thought that she had done something to bring this about—but no, she couldn’t take the credit for that miraculous deed. “What did you do?” Leif hissed.

  Then, with a blank expression, she spoke again. “Nothing.”

  “Then what happened? How is he dead?”

  “The prince—Calis Tsrali. Calis Tsrali killed his own father,” she said.

  “The question of who was the hero was one very simply answered.”

  -A Hero’s Peace v.ii

  Chapter lv

  Calis Tsrali

  Every fiber of anger evaporated from Calis’s body, as though it had never been there—as though his lack of control had never existed. A part of him was restored that he hadn’t known was missing as he dropped next to the newly stilled form of Taeru Lassau. Calis was aware of his anger as he looked at the injuries riddling the slight form, but he couldn’t feel it. It was something entirely separate from him.

  His hands shook as they hovered over the stilled body. “Taeru… Taeru…” His words were pained, and he scarcely recognized his own voice. Very gently, Calis lifted Taeru and removed the rope about the boy’s neck. Then, Calis brought the injured form into his lap, assessing his injuries with mounting anguish. There were long, jagged lines up both of Taeru’s arms, and both of his palms were carved with the same cruel design. Around the jagged lines were strange bruises, swirls of purple, red, and brown. Taeru’s arms were hardly recognizable, and his exposed chest looked the same. There it was—the anger, far away from Calis, and yet present. How could anyone do this to Taeru? The Cathalari’s eyes were closed, and he would have looked peaceful if not for the swelling under his eyes. His lips were bloody, his face streaked with blood, and bruises littered every part of him. Whip marks indicated the visualization of the marks Calis’s hands felt as they moved along Taeru’s back. “Oh… why?” Calis choked.

  Taeru’s face and neck were covered in blood, though Calis couldn’t find the source. There were abundant gashes on the boy’s face, but they didn’t seem deep enough to produce such a vast amount of blood. Lastly, Calis saw the new wounds—a very light stab through the side, and the hand that Lavus’s sword had pierced entirely.

  Very gently, he placed the back of his hand to Taeru’s cheek. The skin was still soft, despite the ravaged nature of it. Taeru flinched a little, twitching just barely, at the touch. Calis’s lips quivered as he stared blankly into the damaged face. Then, the same tears from before slid down his cheeks—unchecked. “I’m so so
rry,” Calis whispered. He brought the small body closer to him, cradling Taeru’s head protectively. The rope had left a red mark, and beneath that, there was a light cut all along Taeru’s neck. Why? Someone tell me. Why?

  Yet, in all of his marred state, Taeru was still the most beautiful thing on which Calis had ever laid eyes. Calis’s heart pounded harder at the sight of him, and the feel of him—having Taeru in his arms again was the most liberating and terrifying experience of Calis’s life. They had left no part of Taeru untouched, and Calis wanted to hate all of them. But he couldn’t. Not here—not staring into Taeru’s face. He couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but an overwhelming love for the creature in his arms. Love and desire to protect. Desire to do what he had failed to do.

  “I love you so much, Taeru,” Calis whispered. He bent his head so that it touched Taeru’s gently. Then, he moved the boy’s head down so that his lips were resting on Taeru’s forehead. “I’m going to keep you safe. I’m going to get you out of here, and everything is going to be alright. I promise. Stay with me, Taeru. I love you.” Calis brought Taeru’s head down to his own chest, cradling gently. Calis needed to get Taeru away from here—to somewhere that Calis could assess his injuries and could apologize and care for him like he ought.

  Strangely enough, Taeru whimpered quietly in Calis’s hands. Though, it ought not be strange, as he was probably crying about the movement of his injured side. In response, Calis lifted Taeru’s bloody hand, kissing it gingerly. “It’s going to be alright—I promise,” Calis whispered.