Dmitar is breathing heavily. "Thank you, daughter."
I grab a handful of his sandy-colored hair and jerk his head back.
"The only reason you are still alive is because my brother is so concerned for our mother." I drop his head and reach for Hejae's knife, then the blade still in his throat. "It has nothing to do with any familial relation to you."
I try not to look at Hejae, try not to think about how easy that kill had been. No thought. Just action.
I guess I've become Kuzabn.
I hear more footsteps on the stairs. Finally. I wait expectantly beside Dmitar's seat, but it's Shark who emerges instead of Briar.
He pulls up short when he notices Hejae's body, and curses. "What happened?"
"He was going to kill Dmitar." I'm sinking into a state of shock. Too much has happened that I haven't been able to process. "I don't know where Briar went or what's really going on but—" I take a shaky breath. "I think I ruined everything."
"Calm down, Nadia." Shark teepees his fingers and presses the pointer fingers to his lips. He paces along the bottom of the stairs.
"We have a slight riot on our hands," he finally says. "Hejae really riled everyone up against the Viry."
Shark stops pacing. "I think he's safest here for now. We should find Ritter; he'll know what to do."
I don't know if Shark means Hejae or Dmitar. I follow Shark up the first steps, leaving both men behind.
"Hey," Dmitar yells. "Are you just going to leave me here with a corpse?"
Shark whips around. "If you don't keep quiet, his won't be the only corpse down here. Go, Nadia."
He follows me up the stairs now.
"What do you mean by 'riot'?" I find my voice as we near the door in the wall of Shark's gym.
Shark sighs. "The whole mountain is divided. Most of the recruits are hunting down Dmitar's Americanan guard who came looking for him. A very few of us have sided with Ritter, who has asked for peace." He nods to the knives in my hands. "Still, you may need to use those again. Be ready."
He pushes open the door. His gym is empty, but I can hear commotion above us. Kiira bursts into the room.
"There you are!" She seems relieved, but turns back to the door, holding her hands up.
"He's not here," she says. "We don't want any harm."
Four of the dark-skinned guards enter, holding short, curved, metal tubes pointed at Kiira. They are the strangest weapons I've ever seen, almost like the flare gun Ritter uses to start our races.
One of the guards notices me. "She was involved. You are all traitors to Novy Mir." He points his weapon at me.
"Wait." Shark steps in front of me. "What if we could find Dmitar?"
Find him? We know exactly where he is.
"If you know where he is, you will be executed for hiding him."
Shark doesn't flinch. "Hejae hid Dmitar, not us. And this young lady ended Hejae's life. That should count for something. If we could find where Dmitar is being held, could you ensure the safety of two people within the Viry walls?"
I glance at him, wondering why he made it sound like we don't know where Dmitar is. The guards lower their weapons, though, considering Shark's offer. Kiira steps forward.
"Go now. We mean you no harm. We'll search for Dmitar and deliver him to the Krasavets Palace immediately."
Something moves in the stairwell, then an arrow pierces the back of the guard closest to the door.
"I got one!"
My insides jump into my throat when I recognize Eveia's voice. I might have guessed she'd rise up against the Viry; she never tried to hide her bitterness.
"We should have known better than to trust you!" The front guard raises his metal tube and Kiira steps between him and me.
There is an ear-splitting crack.
I don't see any sort of arrow fly from it, can't see anything slice into her, but Kiira is on the ground, blood pooling beneath her back.
Shark responds without hesitation. I am frozen in place, staring with shock, but Shark is in motion. He grabs the wrist of the front guard, twisting the weapon away from himself and kicks the second guard in the stomach. He pulls the weapon free and slams it across the face of the first guard and then uses it on the third. The second guard gets a shot off, but nothing happens except for the loud noise, then Shark snaps his neck.
He drops to his knees beside Kiira, shaking his head.
"Hold on, baby. We'll get you to the healing room. You'll be okay."
She lifts her hand from her abdomen; it's coated in blood. "I don't think I will, lover."
From the corner of my eye, I notice Eveia, Wick, and Kaz inching into the gym.
"She's okay?" Kiira lifts her head and looks at me, then smiles. "Good."
Shark is still shaking his head. "Kiira, I can't. I can't live without you." Shark's voice breaks. He rests a hand on the floor beside her head, propping himself over her face.
I'm alarmed at the level of emotion from Shark, who is usually pretty stoic.
Kiira slowly pulls a knife from her hip and drags the blade across the back of his arm by her head. Then she presses her bloody hand to the wound.
"I am with you to the end, and a part of you forever," she whispers.
I realize it's a crude Matching ceremony. I step closer, trying to shake out of my trance, unsure what to do, not wanting to interrupt their final moments.
Kiira breathes a raspy exhale. "Go save Briar."
Her eyes glaze over. Shark squeezes his own shut. He breathes deeply. Two breaths. Three. Four. He opens his eyes and stands.
Eveia, Wick, and Kaz huddle in the doorway, watching, unsure how to help. Both Eveia and Wick's cheeks shine with tears.
Finally, I speak, my voice timid. "Shark? What now?"
"Now we go take care of the rest of them," Eveia says. "Right, Shark? Justice."
Shark laughs bitterly. "Justice? By killing Viry and Americanan's? Those guards would have left had they not been shot at."
Eveia's eyes widen with horror.
"So, I think..." Shark advances, his steps slow, "the real justice would come from the one who's arrow caused Kiira's execution."
Eveia backs up. "Shark, I didn't—"
"Stop," I say, my voice cutting across the gym. "I brought Dmitar here. It's my fault." My voice loses strength as it all hits me. "It's all my fault."
Kiira's murder, Hejae's opportunity, this war blossoming between the sectors.
Briar and Ksenia's imminent deaths.
All of it.
Tears crowd my eyes. "I did this," I whisper.
Shark crosses his arms and glares at his feet, breathing deeply again. "I'm going to find Ritter. He'll know the next steps."
He lifts Kiira gently, cradling her close to his chest, then walks out of the gym; the others step aside to let him pass.
"The next step is to go to the Viry compound," Eveia says.
Shark doesn't stop walking. Eveia looks around at us. "Right? Let's finish this."
I shake my head. "No, Eveia."
"Should have known which side you'd be on. Well, I'm tired of being looked down on because I'm not pretty enough for your standards." She glares at me. "Go ahead and defend your dolls. We're going." She motions for Wick and Kaz to follow.
"I think you're wrong." Wick doesn't move.
Eveia stops. "Wick, are you not with me?"
He sighs. "Eveia, I'm always with you. I love you. But I don't agree this is best. I just want you to know. I'm always with you, but right now, I think you're wrong."
She stalks past Wick, who gives me a sad smile before following. Kaz turns to go, too. That shouldn't surprise me, either. He's been more hurt by the Viry than any of us.
But I'd hoped he'd choose to stay.
"I met my mother today." The words slip from my mouth. "And I found out I have a brother. A real brother."
Kaz turns back to me. "Maybe if the Viry rule wasn't in power, you'd have known them your whole life."
I step closer. "You think I haven't considered that?" I move another step. "I wish nothing more than to be normal, to have had a mother love me the way yours does you, to have had Briar looking out for me my entire life."
I'm almost close enough to touch him. "I didn't get a real family because of the Viry and their rules. You know better than anyone here how hard my life has been because of the Viry."
Kaz nods, and his gorgeous eyes rove over my face, trying to understand my point before I reach it. "Maybe you still could get to know them like that."
He doesn't move to close the gap, even though there's barely a foot between us now. I'm too proud to throw myself into his arms, no matter how badly I want to.
"When I kidnapped Dmitar Culum, who also happens to be my father, I inadvertently sentenced my mother to death."
Something flickers in Kaz's eyes, but he doesn't say anything.
I continue, "Briar disappeared, I believe to try to save our mother. So it is very probable the two people who are the only actual family I have in this world are now behind Viry walls, doomed to die either by Kuzabn invasion or Americanan fulfillment of Viry wishes. No matter which side I'm on, my family will probably still die."
Kaz has not reached out to me, but his eyes have softened.
"I just wanted you to understand why I'm not joining you. If there's a chance Ritter can convince everyone of peace, I have to help. And I'll probably have to rescue Briar and Ksenia on my own."
Kaz shakes his head. "Not on your own, Nadia."
And then he lifts his hand and cups my cheek. "I'm with you to the end."
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This is the end, folks. It's been a ride. And left open ended in case I ever decide to start a sequel.
I hope you've enjoyed Nadia's transition as much as I have.
Til next time,
x zuz