Kaija: Queen of Stone

24

Hona

I faced Jonga with sweat on my palm and the obsidian dagger in my clutch. He gritted his teeth, stepping toward me. I never thought we would do this again. The last time I faced off with Jonga was when they were both found by Baria. Not even in training were we pinned against each other. I remembered how Jonga pressed a spear to my throat, now I had to do the same to him.

I lashed out, brandishing the dagger. I screamed as Jonga fell back, landing on his feet. Jonga was unarmed, but I could tell by the look in his eye that he didn't need a weapon.

He was deadly enough with the Guardian's power streaming through his veins. I knew I didn't stand a chance, but I had to try and right my wrong.

"I warned you," Jonga gritted his teeth as I collided with his chest, lashing back as a violet shield appeared from his palm, blocking his body.

Udanians were rushing around us, trying to reach the portcullis. I gasped as Jonga lifted a hand, closing the way out of Udan that we knew. They reached through the iron bars, their arms desperate for freedom. Cries of anguish melded with the crackle of the flames.

Jonga scoffed as I stood to my feet. I wasn't going to give in. I was going to fight until my last breath if I had to.

"These are your people," I stated, breathing. "You've lived among them for years."

"They are weak creatures oblivious to the true nature lingering outside of these walls," he spat. "They have been rotting in this kingdom."

"Why not set them free?"

"They won't be able to handle the outside world," Jonga said with a sigh. "It's better if they perish here."

"Perish?"

"They are awaiting death in this grave," he said, his jaw tightening.

"Jonga!" I shouted, feeling disbelief course through me. Jonga was dense, but he wasn't this dense. "You are being manipulated," I said. "I know it, I know you!"

Jonga's eyes twitched. "You know me?" he taunted, scoffing. "You called me your brother but you never asked me anything about myself. We were raised together that was all. You never asked what I wanted when Baria died. You never questioned if I was okay," he answered. "You were so focused on your precious Kaijan," he spat. "The vile woman that took the one thing in my life that mattered."

"Baria?" I gasped. "You loved her?"

"Pointlessly," he sighed, furling his fists. "She loved you."

"I am sorry," I answered. "Truly."

"You never saw my pain," he whispered, stepping forward. "Now you will see it and it'll be the last thing you see."

Jonga reached forward, grasping his fingers around my head. My eyes rolled back. I was stuck in a memory that didn't belong to me. I was Jonga.

I looked down, noticing the darker skin that was darker than mine, and felt the dreads on my head pull me down. I couldn't control where I was going, but I could hear, see, and feel everything that was presented.

Jonga moved down the hall toward the kitchen. He stopped when he saw her body. Everything broke, forming into hatred. I thought that Jonga was filled with enough hate, but after seeing Baria's body, mangled, stabbed beyond recognition, his heart broke into two. I recognized the heartbreak and related it to my own. When Anai died, I had the same feeling.

He walked in, reaching toward her body. The tears blurred his eyes as he sniffled. He had loved her and Mara had taken her away. Jonga touched her hair, feeling the strands between his fingers. He related it to the Guardian; the silver beast that he had drank from.

The memory shifted, they were in the woods. Jonga had hunted down the Guardian with the other members of the Rabaka.

Nasira was there, the orange haired man he saw pulled the lever, and another woman with copper skin. They were holding him down, taking turns draining him of his blood. The Guardian's sun-colored eyes vanished to black, and he was no more. His carcass still rotted in the center of the woods near a glowing tablet.

I was pulled from the memory. I looked at Jonga as tears formed in his eyes. Before he could say another word, he took the dagger from his fingers and stabbed it into my side.

I sputtered, feeling the burn while the heartache still panged in my chest. I fell to the ground, my head lashing to the side. My eyes focused on the fire burning, the screams from the Udanians. I was the destroyer of Udan, I had destroyed Jonga. In truth, I was a traitor.

"I wish I was there for you," I gasped, sucking in air while I still could. Yet, no matter how much I tried to bring into my lungs, it became harder, as if I was drowning. "I wish I saw your pain before it was too late."

"Me too," Jonga whispered. "Maybe things could have been different."

I reached out a hand toward Jonga. Jonga grasped it. I felt the warmth from his palm. I stared into my brother's sad eyes.

"Why did it have to be this way?" he asked. "Why couldn't you join me?"

"I was protecting," I said between gasps. "Udan."

"That's why we will never see eye to eye," he whispered. "Ever again."

"You aren't going to kill me?" I gasped out, feeling blood filling my lungs.

He turned, facing the portcullis. Lifting them, he released the Udanians fighting to escape the growing infernos. They stormed outside the walls, screaming as they tried to find safety.

Without an answer, Jonga stalked toward the gates, leaving me be. My eyes fluttered, darkness came, consuming me. The infernos were growing, the heat numbing my body. My eyes flickered as Jonga left Udan. Tears fell from my eyes as memories surfaced.

"You all right there, boys?" Rooke called from a far away place. "You look worn down."

I touched the back of my nape. "Just tired is all. It's a lot to learn."

"Well," Rooke said, placing a hand on each of his knees. "Even when things get bad, remember you have each other."

"Each other?" Jonga said, scrunching his face. "We hardly know one another."

"You were found together," Rooke answered. "A divine force brought the both of you together."

"For what?"

"To be brothers," Rooke answered. "And brothers are kin. Blood or not."

The memory faded away from my mind. My breathing was becoming harder to control; each moment being more important than before. My people shrieked as they escaped as the crackle of the flames sounded. The iron portcullis roared, grating as it reached the top. They would be able to get out, to be free.

Tears fell from my eyes, lining my cheeks. I had been the betrayer. I had been the cause of all of this to happen. I tried to think of what I could have done differently, but at the same time, I wondered how it could be reborn. Mara came into their lives, she declared change, and change was brought.

I wheezed as a voice flooded my mind. "Hona," Anai whispered. "You are coming back to me. Join me in Azali." Her voice was tearful.

I blinked, finding she was next to me. I wasn't sure if it was real or not anymore. I had seen Aani as a ghost since I had bound myself to her.

"Where did you go?" I breathed in a wheeze.

"I went looking for you," she answered. "But you were lost in a dark place and you wouldn't let me in."

"Now I am found," I breathed, reaching out a hand to touch her cheek. "Take me with you."