The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Finn

Of all the times Reyo has requested my presence, none have been as ominous as this. Our footsteps echo down the deserted hallway like a macabre drum of war. Our strides fall in line with one another, creating a heavy pulse to remind us that Death Himself is creeping close to everyone I hold dear.

Leo readies his fist against the War Room door. I'm used to seeing guards flank its entryway, but today it's left alone. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to make sense of the time. Without slivers of daylight, my sanity is beginning to peel away. I am losing track of how long I've been here. The days are bleeding into one another as I continue to breathe through the nightmare of my reality.

Leo is staring at me when I open my eyes. His body is taut, his expression hard. Puffy bags sit like gray clouds beneath his intense gaze. He's trying to convey a silent message to me, but unlike Bogdan, I can't decipher the silence. His knuckles wrap at the door in a pattern that only the guards use. Is he one of them now? Does he really have a choice?

The lock of the War Room releases, and the door is left ajar for me to enter. I brush past Leo, nodding with a feigned understanding of his cryptic message. The warmth of his forearm grazes against mine. The touch is comforting, reminding me that even as a human, I'm not powerless. I'm not powerless, and I'm not alone.

Platters of food are splayed across two serving carts. Fresh bread, meats, pies, and fruits are decoratively arranged on every dish, untouched. The aromas fill the large room, and my treacherous mouth salivates to their sensory taunt. It's a trick, a deceptive display to signify Reyo's 'good nature and good intentions.'

This time, I know better.

I pass by the decadent foods to where Reyo is sitting behind the myriad of flickering screens. His eyes allow each of them a cursory glance before turning his attention to me.

"Finn." My name falls from his lips with a refreshed sigh, like the first sip of ice water on a hot summer's day. "I'm glad you decided to join me."

As if I had a choice in the matter, I think.

Bogdan's words echo through my head. I have to play my part in this, too, whatever that entails. I force myself to relax into the chair, but every muscle aches with tension. Reyo studies me before nodding at the display of food.

"Are you not hungry?" he asks, and there's a steely edge to his tone that wasn't there a moment ago.

Bogdan's masculine voice whispers through my mind. It's all a game, human. But even in chess, the smallest pawns can make all the difference in the outcome. Eat the food. Play the game.

I graciously thank Reyo and walk back to the spread of food. He watches me out of the corner of his eye while I pile my plate, ever poised and refusing to break the act. When I join him again, he seems satisfied enough to resume the scanning of his precious screens.

The food is chewed and swallowed without me ever really tasting it. It's automatic, as if my mind is disconnected to the motions of my body. All I can focus on is sneaking glances, searching for the screens that will give me an update on either Bogdan's and Kelly's whereabouts.

One of the screens at the end catches my attention. It's darker, indicative to the lack of light wherever it's located. A womanly figure moves in and out of the shadows. She bangs her fists against the stone wall again and again. Blood and sweat are left behind in streaks, remnants of her shredded hope and humanity. They have a human, in captivity.

I bring another piece of bread to my lips, trying to fill the silence with my glutenous chewing. The Secondaries are capturing humans now, too? For what? What could they possibly want with them? With us?

I scan the other screens with mild interest until enough time has passed for me to study the woman again without attracting Reyo's attention.

Only, the next time I do, my stomach bottoms out.

"Fiona."

I whisper her name like a plea and a curse, hating the fear that's bubbling up inside me. Her face becomes illuminated the closer she gets to the camera. Her red hair sticks to the sides of her face and her neck like red snakes slithering across her pallor flesh. The belly I last saw her with is gone, and in its place, her slender frame is giving way.

"It appears your friend has taken a turn for the worse," Reyo mutters, following my gaze.

I tighten my hands into fists, ignoring the pain as my nails dig into my tender palms.

"Why do you have her?" I ask. "Where is her child?"

Reyo smiles gently, and his nonchalance sparks an ugly feeling of hatred inside my hardening heart.

"She'd already had her child by the time we found her," he says.

I note the words he chooses to use. 'By the time.' 'Found.' He admits with his carefully selected repertoire that Fiona isn't here due to a human attack on the Secondaries. Reyo told his Guard to hunt her down, like a beast to its prey.

"Why do you have her?" I repeat.

Reyo nods a head towards another screen, about three rows to the right. It's the medical unit. All false pretenses are cast to the side at the sight of my best friend hanging onto his life, minute by prescious minute. My plate clatters to the floor, and I scramble to move closer. Somehow his body has deteriorated and aged years since the last time I saw him. Instead of a young man in his twenties, he looks like a middle-aged man with a gaunt face and weathered skin. My heart thunders against my chest as my gaze flickers between the two screens.

Guards flood into Fiona's cell. Though I can't hear her screams, I see each one as it rips from her dried lips. The Secondary guards are not gentle as they hoist her from the ground. More blood oozes from her knuckles as she fights against their hold. It's useless. A single Secondary could overpower her with little effort, especially in her weakened state. Four of them could destroy her.

Fiona moves from screen to screen as she's forced through the underground world. She stumbles every few steps but manages to keep her head held high. Hundreds of memories spin through my mind. Watching her make pancakes in her fluffy pink slippers. Listening to her gush about Kelly's new song every time another stroke of brilliance hit his music bone.

It all feels like another lifetime. Fiona's slender frame moves in and out of sight again. Tears blur my vision and time seems to stand still as she enters the last screen. With what little strength he has, Kelly lifts his head. Fiona pants and glances around the room. Kelly's mouth moves, and I lean into the screen to read his lips. He's calling for her.

Fiona takes hesitant steps towards him. Their eyes lock, two lost souls finding each other in one of the realms of hell. My lungs burn as I watch the scene unfold before me. I know I should look away. It's not for me to watch, this intimate moment that's so long overdue. Yet I can't tear my eyes from my best friends.

Fiona collapses into the chair beside Kelly's bed. Her bloody hands curl around Kelly's hands, young against old. Clean against blood. The sight sickens me, a reminder to everything that's happened and my part in it all.

"It was his dying wish," Reyo mutters into the silence. "To see her again. And when he dies, she will become a bargaining chip to get us one step closer to ending this war."

Tears slip down my cheeks, but I swallow down the urge to sob in front of my enemy. He may see my pain, but I will not give him the satisfaction of hearing it, too.

"What happens now?" I ask, clearing my throat with feigned indifference.

Reyo leans into me. He reaches for my wrist, trailing a line up my green vein with the tip of his pinkie finger.

"Now," he says quietly. "You have a debt to pay."