We pause at the edge of the forest, gazing at the expanse of green bordering the dirt trail.
"I don't know, Cara," Kaya shifts. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"It'll be fine," I tell her. "We won't be more than a half hour. If we don't find anything, we'll turn back." Kaya nods and we head onto the path.
Sunlight filters through the trees, dappling our surroundings. The scent of pine fills the air and the only sound is the chirp of birds and the occasional rustle of leaves. I inspect every bush we come across, searching for the berries that could mean the difference between life and death.
After nearly twenty minutes, I run my hands through my hair, nearly tearing out the strands in frustration. "I'm so stupid." I kick at a tree. "I listened to the ramblings of a crazy old woman and let her give me hope. But now we're here wandering through the trees and digging through bushes like fools."
"Let's just turn back," Kaya sighs. "At least we tried. Maybe I can try mixing some of the things we bought or I could try sending someone to one of the other sec –"
"There!" I cry, cutting Kaya off. I point toward a cluster of bushes a few feet away, their branches laden with black, glistening spur-shaped berries. I race over and fall to my knees, scrambling to grab the berries. Kaya falls next to me, pulling a large cloth from her bag and piling the berries on it.
We load in as many berries as the cloth can fit and place it in the bag. I beam at Kaya, a hope I haven't felt in a while filling my body. "She's going to be okay," I laugh, throwing my arms around Kaya. "She's going to be okay!"
The clomping of hooves grab my attention and I get to my feet. Not many people frequent the woods, mainly merchants traveling to sell goods directly to Aurelians and the occasional hikers. The merchants only go once a month, and they already delivered their wares last week.
"Hide," I hiss. Kaya and I dart behind the bush, crouching low behind the leaves. A few moments later, a pristine white carriage rolls by. The crest of a wolf before two daggers is imbedded into the side.
The crest of man who stole so much from me.
I can't manage to breath and my hands curl into fists. All I see is red and nothing comes into focus. My nails dig into my palms but I barely feel the pain. I haven't seen a carriage bearing the crest of Rioda in seven years. Not since that day.
The past shrieks in my head and digs its claws in my heart. You took him. You took him and now he's gone. You took him without a care, without consideration for the innocent life you were extinguishing. You took him through my screams and fight. You took him without mercy.
You took him and it was my fault.
"Cara? Cara, listen to me." Kaya eases my fingers open. "Don't do that, you only hurt yourself."
"I deserve to be hurt," I whisper. "I lost him. I lost him because I didn't fight hard enough."
Kaya shakes her head. "No. You lost him because of them." She gestures to the carriage trundling through the forest. "You know that nothing you could have done would have changed anything. It's their fault, not yours."
An icy cold washes over me. My fists fall and I watch the coach as it continues on. "You're right," I say quietly. "It's their fault."
I stand and make my way through the foliage, following the horses through the plants.
"Cara, wait. Where are you going?" Kaya hisses.
"I'm going to do what I should've done a long time ago."
Leaves and branches snap as Kaya hurries to catch up to me. "Cara, don't do something you'll regret later. Walk away. We have what we need for Nona. We can save her now."
"But I couldn't save Jax."
I stumble as my foot catches on something. I right myself and look down at the rock that tripped me. Not too large, but quite small either. I pick it up, running my fingers along the jagged edges. Lifting my head, the carriage is now no more than a few feet away. No more than a stone's throw away.
Kaya realizes what I mean to do. "Cara, don't do it. Trust me, you'll wish you didn't do it. It won't do anything satisfactory. This won't end well."
Her arguments fall on deaf ears. I toss the rock a couple times, testing out its weight.
"Please, Cara, don't do it," she begs. She tries to grab my arm, but I hurl the rock before she can touch me.
The rock slams into the carriage with a crack and the snap of reins precede the horses' halt. The once flawless coach is now marred by a long scratch and stained by dirt. For a moment, everything is still. Even the birds are silent.
A girl steps out of the carriage. Her long blonde hair is tied high with not a strand out of place. Her eyes rove over every inch of the forest, searching for the culprit. I hardly dare to breath and Kaya trembles beside me. Maybe she'll leave. Maybe she'll think it was an animal and be off.
"My lady?" someone calls from the front of the carriage.
"Stay where you are," she snaps. "I will handle this."
The girl's fingers twitch and the ground beneath me freezes. Valentina. The iciness filling me is nearly matched by the freezing foliage. I hear a crack and barely manage to warn Kaya in time. "Cover your face," I hiss, right before the greenery shatters.
The bush is no more, revealing Kaya and I to Valentina. Her face takes on a dangerous expression. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you to stay in the trenches for your own good?"
The rage of the past seven years explodes and I fly at her, whipping out my knife. She throws up a sheet of ice that crumbles when I slam into it. The iced trail causes me to slip, but I manage to slice through Valentina's black fitted shirt on the way down. I quickly rise, but Valentina sends a block of ice careening at me and I fall to the ground.
I swing my knife at her leg but the blade bends away from her white-clad thigh. I stare in shock at the twisted steel as it begins to shift into a spiral. Bile rises in my throat. Manipulation.
I look up to see a dagger of ice form in Valentina's hand as frozen manacles pin me to the ground. "Don't worry, I'm doing the world a favor," she says sweetly. "I'm getting rid of another Standard Scum." She raises the dagger and all I can do is close my eyes.
"Cara! No!" Kaya's voice sounds right before I hear a thud.
I open my eyes and see Kaya and Valentina sprawled before me. Kaya scurries away from the Aurelian to me and pulls at my arms. "Come on, we need to leave," she says.
"No kidding." I nearly break my wrists trying to shatter the cuffs, but they won't budge. "How do I get free of this?"
Kaya opens her mouth, but instead of her voice I hear gun fire. A bullet hits the ice binding me and shatters it. I spot the rock from earlier and grab it, hacking away at my other wrist. I flinch with every bang, terrified the bullet will hit me next. The ice finally gives and I pull free. I scramble to my feet and tug Kaya along. "Run!"
She stands as another shot is fired and stumbles. She stops and looks at me, pain and confusion etched into her features. She peers down and I follow her gaze to the blooming spot of crimson staining her stomach. No. She wavers for a moment before crumpling.
"No. No, no, no, no." I collapse next to her, pressing my hands her chest. "Kaya? Kaya, come on. Come on stay with me."
Her breaths come fast and shallow. "C-Cara? Cara, what's happening?"
"I-I don't know. God, no. This can't be happening. Kaya. Kaya what do I do? I don't know what to do here. Please, Kaya, what do I do?" Tears stream down my face as Kaya's blood paints my hands.
"Cara, I-I don't want t-to... die. P-please, I c-can't." Kaya clutches my arm.
"N-no, you won't die. You won't die, Kaya. Please," I sob, "Please, don't die."
"I don't want to go," she whimpers.
"Oh, Kaya, I'm so sorry," I cry. "This my fault. Kaya, please, I'm so, so sorry"
Her eyelids flutter and a new kind of terror I've never felt before seizes me. "Kaya? Kaya, don't do this. Don't leave me, please. Kaya. Kaya, stay with me." I push harder on her chest as the sticky blood never stops flowing. "Please!" I scream to the sky. "Someone help!"
I look back down her. "No, no, don't die. Stay alive. I can't lose you, too. Please!"
"Bryn." The word is so faint I barely catch it. I shake my head. "No, Kaya, no. You need to stay. If not for me then for her. She can't lose you. Dammit, I can't lose you. What will I do without you?"
"I'm sorry, Caralynn." Kaya's hand falls from my arm.
"No. No, Kaya, no!" My voice shakes as I ramble. "Please, don't. I can't go on without you. Come on, Kaya, please." Anything, anything but this. Please, don't take her from me, too. "Kaya, don't do this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I swear I'll always listen to you, I promise. Please, just wake up and I'll never do another stupid thing again. I'll follow your every word. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Kaya," I sob as I repeat the vows over and over.
Beneath my hands, I feel Kaya's chest still.
The world bursts into flames.