𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 · 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 ⁴

𝟒.𝟐𝟑

──── 「PRAIMFAYA」 ────

     Sam had left the level to take Ethan down as I stood there, seeing the people of Arkadia get distributed between those who stayed and those who were meant to die. Roan was helping to get the people out of the bunker, so I moved to the main room and sat on the chair, going over everything that had happened in the last... 10 hours. I zoned out as my eyes stood on the clock. They should be on their way back by now. Any minute now.

I was still surprised Bellamy had left without saying anything, but I understood; deep down he was the same guy that fell for Sam so long ago, only wanting to keep her out of danger's reach. He knew she wouldn't have hesitated to go after Raven alone, but we both knew she needed a break. I honestly needed one too. I was glad he left her behind. After all, they'd all be here in...

- "Anyone there?" –I hadn't realized the radio was on still as I blinked hard a couple of times focusing my eyes on the panels in front of me- "Anyone copy?"

- "Bellamy?" –I took the radio- "Where are you?"

- "O. You okay?"

- "Yeah, Kane finally decided the 100 spots for Skaikru, they are getting the rest outside now." –I glanced at the door for a second- "How much longer is it going to take you."

- "O..." –I recognized the sorrow in his voice before he explained things- "We're not going back, we don't have time."

- "What happened?"

- "We had a problem during the trip, we got lucky Monty found us with the Rover, and now..."

- "What are you going to do?" -I cut him off quickly, I didn't need the details of what had happened, I just needed to know what he was going to do; I needed to know he was not going to die- "You don't have food at the lab and..."

- "We're going to the Ark."

- "What?"

- "Raven is flying the rocket there."

- "5 years, Bellamy..." –I sighed stressed and panicked- "Can you really survive up there for that long?"

- "Raven says we can." –his voice was calm as if trying to reassure me everything was going to be fine- "As soon as it is safe, we'll find a way back down. We will meet again."

- "I'll be waiting." –I covered the radio as I yelled at the guard I knew was at the other side of the door to go look for Sam fast- "Under the floor."

- "You're not that little girl anymore." –I stood silent, I didn't know what to say; 5 years, that was a long time- "What's wrong, O?"

- "I'm not sure I'm up for this, Bell; I don't know if Sam's either... you should see them, they look at us like we know what we're doing." –I scoffed dryly- "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her; if anything, they should listen to her."

- "O, they look at you like that because you saved them, but it won't last. You have to lead... both of you."

- "How? I'm not a leader... it should be you or Clarke or... I'll just let Sam..."

- "O, stop." –his voice cut me off quickly- "Neither of us could've done what you did."

- "I didn't do anything, that was Sam!"

- "O, it wasn't just about winning a fight, you gave people hope when there was none. You're Prometheus!" –he chuckled through the radio- "Stealing fire from the Gods and giving it back to the human race."

- "Prometheus got chained to a rock so that eagles could eat his liver."

- "Thanks for ruining my metaphor, O."

- "It wasn't your best." –I smiled, even if he couldn't see me- "You left Sam out of it too."

- "I know you're both going to be okay, as long as you take care of each other."

- "We will. I'll keep her alive until you're back."

- "Don't let her know you're her nanny now."

- "Yeah, I don't think she'd take that too well." –I laughed with him, realizing I was going to miss him more than I could even begin to imagine- "I love you, big brother." –I fought back the tears threatening to spill down my eyes- "Guess it takes the end of the world for me to say it."

And before I could hear his voice one last time, the radio cut, everything coming out of it was a static noise as the controls on the screen went crazy before it completely shut off. As much as I tried calling his name, he wasn't there anymore.

- "Fuck!" –I yelled, throwing the radio's microphone on the table.

     After I took Ethan down to one of the rooms left for Skaikru, I made my way back up. It can't take them much longer, right? I mean, maybe a couple of hours, but they should be contacting us by radio soon to let us know when to open the hatch. I should probably go check on Lila... oh, and make sure Jasper isn't sharing a room with anyone too brusque. Maybe he should bunk with us, I'm sure Lila will adore him in no time. I'll ask Octavia. I was making my way back to my room when a Grounder intercepted me.

- "Skairipa gaf in gon ai op yu." [Skairipa wants to see you]

- "Sha. Werom ste em?" [Where is she?]

- "Kom raun ai." [Follow me]

I nodded and moved after him until we got to the main level and he pointed at the control room. I walked up to the door, seeing Roan coming down from the room that led to the hatch.

- "It's done."

- "Alright." –I stood in front of the door- "Now, we just need the rest to arrive and get inside before the radiation burns them alive. Easy."

- "Then, you'll have to lead."

- "Can we go one problem at a time?" –I moved my head to the side to look at him, raising an eyebrow- "I may need your help with that."

- "You don't need anyone's help to rule."

- "Stay close in case I do." –I placed my hand on the door and Roan made a move to follow me- "No, O asked for me, I go in alone."

- "Whatever you say, Heda."

- "You forgot the most important part of my name."

- "Did I?"

He gave me a look too hard to decipher in the little time I cared to wait before I went inside the office room, so I simply rolled my eyes at him and entered the room, closing the door after me just before I heard something crashing. My head shot to look at Octavia, her head bowed forward over her palms as she held the weight up with her elbows on the table; the radio kept making some static noise and I saw the microphone hanging from the front of the table. What now?

- "O..." –I whispered softly not to startle her- "What's wrong?"

- "They aren't coming back." –she blurted out as she rose her teary eyes to look at me- "Bellamy's going back to space. The radio cut before you..."

- "Hey, hey." –I approached her, not wanting to think selfishly for one second about it and choosing to comfort her first- "It's okay, he's going to be okay." –I pulled her to me- "We're going to be okay."

- "Sam, I'm so sorry..."

- "You had no control over any of this, don't apologize."

- "But..."

- "Shh." –I pulled her away from me just enough to look at her eyes- "There's no place I'll rather be."

- "I know you're lying."

- "I mean, sure, I'd have rather for your brother to be with us... or us going with him, but space? Seriously?" -I chuckled for a second as she gave me a puzzled look- "Hell nah, I appreciate the feeling of the ground under my feet way too much. I am never going back up there, I only got shitty memories and I don't need them."

- "You'd be with him."

- "He doesn't need me, you do."

- "Aren't you mad he left without telling you?"

- "I'm sure he had a reason." –I shrugged my shoulders, sitting on the table.

- "He probably thought he'd come back before you knew it."

- "He's not the best at time management, that much is true; his 20 hours are going to be five years now."

- "And you didn't get to say goodbye."

- "I never can." –I smiled at her, my heart ached so hard inside my chest I felt it could implode but I had to be strong now, for her, for me, for both of us- "Now, let's focus on this and I'm sure time will fly quickly in front of our eyes and, before we know it, we'll be one happy team back out there, no more war no more deaths and definitively no more fights..."

- "You mean a family?" –she walked up to the front of the table to sit beside me.

- "Sure, that too." –I eyed her, seeing the smile on her face- "If you'll take me."

- "I adopted you the day we landed."

- "Huh, interesting."

I smirked at her and shoved her shoulder softly with my mine and we both laughed; her hand found mine and I squeezed it as we stood there in silence, looking at the door that we would eventually have to cross to put some order in that place. I wasn't particularly looking forward to that though.

- "How are we going to do this?" –Octavia spoke again- "I'm not a leader."

- "Do I look like one to you? Because this is the last job I'd sign up for." –I tilted my head, thinking for a moment- "But, I mean, we've got Indra and Roan, I'm guessing they could give us a hand with this, right?" –I smiled- "We got this, O."

- "Ogeda."

- "Ogeda."

     I allowed Sam to go inside the office room alone, standing just outside as I kept an eye on everyone on the main level. Two survivors, two Champions. Two people to rule over all of us. If they don't settle things fast, the clans will choose sides and we could all die down here in less than a month. From the corner of my eye, I saw Indra walk into the level, looking around as the last Skaikru were taken inside before she made her way to the door I was standing next to.

- "They both in there?"

- "Octavia asked to see her."

- "Something must be wrong then."

- "They aren't coming back."

I was not sure if that was what was happening, but it was the best explanation and the Trikru war chief seemed to agree. She knocked on the door and I followed her inside, seeing the sisters sat on the table with their hands interlaced. I could tell the younger one had been about to cry, which explained why they were holding hands; she must have taken the message and delivered it to Sam and, honoring her name, the older one remained strong, at least as far as I could tell.

- "Seal the bunker." –Sam jumped from the table- "Unless you think we have enough time to bring a couple more people inside to fill in every spot."

- "We can't risk it."

- "Fair enough." –Sam took the initiative, nodding to Indra as I smiled to myself- "Seal us."

Indra nodded and left to the door to make her command known.

- "What happened?"

- "They run into some type of problem." –Octavia answered me this time- "They are going to space."

- "I am sorry to hear that, I was starting to warm up to your brother."

- "You're a terrible liar." –Sam smiled as Octavia shook her head- "What now?"

- "Now you lead." –the door opened as I spoke.

- "It's time for you both to take command." –Indra closed the door after her and walked to us- "I know..." –I cleared my throat- "We know you're tired, but we have to focus on the chosen now. 1200 people are waiting for your orders: when to eat, where to sleep, how to live."

- "The unrest will turn to violence," -I continued- "we have seen that before."

- "You both must lead us now."

- "That's what my brother said." –Octavia looked at Sam- "But we're not Commanders and we're two."

- "The time of the Commanders is passed; the time of the Flame is passed."

- "This is your time." –I added- "The time for the Skaikru sisters that became Trikru and Azgeda before uniting all the clans and guiding them to the future."

- "So..." –Sam glanced at Octavia before eyeing both Indra and me- "What do we do?"

- "Let us help."

Indra placed her hand in front of them, opening her fist and revealing a cog, surely the one Lexa used to wear.

- "But there's only one."

- "It's yours." –Sam moved Indra's hand in front of Octavia- "I know we're Wonkru now, but the root of this symbol is Trikru, and you're far more Trikru that I ever was... more than I could have ever become."

- "We're together in this." –Octavia faced her sister- "If you don't have one, I'm not wearing it either. I'm not over you, we're co-leaders."

- "I have seen one of those before. Hold up." –I turned to the door- "And you..." –I pointed at Sam- "Do not do anything stupid."

- "I'm not even offended."

     I had been talking with Octavia, hoping to get a chance to say goodbye to Sam too when the radio cut off. I tried pushing all the buttons in front of me, turning them on and off but nothing worked; they were gone. Anger and despair traveled through my body. At least I could talk with O and explain what happened, more or less... but Sam, she asked me not to go anywhere and what do I do? Take a rocket to space for the next 5 years.

As the realization hit me, I clenched my fists; I was about to spend 5 years away from the people I loved most; 5 years with no chance of getting in contact with them. At least we'll all survive.

- "Bellamy?" –Clarke opened the door and looked at me- "You okay?"

- "I'm sorry..." –I rose from my seat apologetically- "The radio's dead, you won't get to say goodbye to your mom."

Her eyes went down to the floor as she shook her head before she started sobbing. I felt so bad, the only thing I could do was hug her to try to comfort her as she trembled in my arms.

- "Clarke! Bellamy!" –Murphy yelled frantically from downstairs- "Get down here!"

Everyone was standing in front of the monitor on the wall that had been marking the count down for Praimfaya to reach Arkadia, Polis, and the island. We had an image of the Tower, so we stood there, watching as everything was devoured by a wave of fire and radiation before the camera shut off. My heart clenched in my chest and I had trouble standing still, I rubbed my eyes as I looked down. May we meet again. We'll meet again.

- "I'm suddenly glad you opened that hatch." –Murphy eyed me.

- "Why?"

- "Because, even if we've ended up here, at least Sam's inside. I'm not sure I could have slept knowing she..." -he simply pointed at the screen, I understood.

- "You could've stayed." –Echo's voice came from behind all of us.

- "What?" –Clarke to rose her voice as we all turned around.

- "You don't seriously think anyone would have made room for us in there, do you?" –Murphy was feeling brave as he retorted to Echo- "They kicked you out."

- "Samantha had saved a place for you both and someone else, but I'm not sure what their name was."

- "What!" –Murphy exclaimed as he looked at Emori, taking her hand in his.

- "Echo, explain yourself."

- "I... Before she fought for Azgeda, she made a deal with Roan before we even knew Luna would be a problem for everyone's survival. She agreed to fight for us if at least Azgeda, Skaikru, and Trikru shared the bunker equally. Roan accepted."

- "Why?"

- "Because he knew Jusheda would kill him if he touched your sister." -she eyed me- "Once Luna showed up, he realized he had made the right choice, for only she would have a chance against her. He was right." -her voice went quiet, I knew she felt ashamed as Roan had banished her for going against his orders.

- "That doesn't explain how we got a spot." –Murphy pointed at Emori and himself.

- "Knowing the three clans would still make up more than 1200 people, she forced Roan to agree on freeing three Azgeda spots. Those terms remained once it was decided the bunker would be shared not by 3 clans but all of them."

- "The third spot was for Jasper." –I breathed out as the realization hit me.

- "You didn't tell her he stayed behind?" -Monty seemed surprised- "Why?" -the disapproving look on his face made me feel worse than I already did.

- "I wanted to find the right time, I was not going to tell her Jasper was dead as soon as she stepped into the bunker after the Conclave." -I shook my head realizing only then that Sam would be waiting to see Jasper in 5 years, for I was sure Octavia would have told her Monty found us with the Rover and she'd immediately assume Jasper was with him- "Sam knew Kane and Jaha would never get him in..."

- "Same way she knew we would be kicked out." –Emori nodded, looking at Murphy.

- "I'll have to thank her and apologize once we come back." –Murphy smiled for a second- "But let's focus now on getting out of here. Can't thank her if I die because none of you is getting to work."

     As Roan left, Sam prompted Indra to get me ready. I didn't know where he expected to find one of those, but I was not going to wear anything that placed me above my sister; we had started this together, we'd end it together.

Indra seemed to have left some stuff in the room before any of this, which led me to think she had it planned out since we all entered the bunker. She made me straighten up my clothes as she put a red piece of cloth around my shoulders. She was securing it to my jacket when Roan came back; he looked at us before moving towards Sam that had sat down on the table, looking pensively. I knew she was thinking of Bellamy. It's going to be a long 5 years.

- "Look at me."

Indra regained my attention and made me focus my eyes on her as she finished with the fabric, making it look like a cloak before taking the clog out of her pocket. She was also carrying some type of powder that she applied to the symbol before commanding me to close my eyes; as I did, I felt something cold on my forehead, the sensation quickly overrun by pressure on that same spot. Once I opened my eyes again, Indra's eyes were focused on the space right between my eyebrows as if making sure she had placed it correctly.

- "You're done."

The first thing I did was turn around to look at Sam: she had her back to me but she was wearing a white cloak; I realized Roan had made it fall from her right shoulder as opposed to mine that fell from my left one. We're two sides of the same coin. As she turned around to look at me, my eyes immediately went to the spot between her eyebrows as she was now too wearing a clog. I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows as I still couldn't understand where it came from.

- "Lila had it." –Sam read me like an open book- "It was Sheda's."

- "White?" –Indra looked at Sam but addressed Roan before I could even address the fact that she was wearing now something else that belonged to Sheda at some point, we had to talk about it; she kept wearing things that belonged to someone she had loved more than I had imagined and had been cruelly murdered without a chance to fight back; plus, there was Lila- "There's no more..."

- "It's not for Azgeda." –Roan cut her off, pulling me off my thoughts as I eyed him- "I saw the red fabric and it reminded me of fire, so I made Jusheda's white for ice or water."

- "The Ice Nation." -Indra spat with disgust. It was going to be a long 5 years.

- "No." -Roan didn't seem bothered by Indra's tone- "The four elements: Earth, inside which we'll live; Air, that we'll breathe and share as a unit; Fire, to symbolize power; and Water, to represent life, survival."

- "Blue would have been a better suit for water." –Indra mumbled and I had to agree with her as Sam eyed Roan.

- "There was no blue cloth long enough to make a cloak for my Queen, so white will have to do." -he retorted quickly, my eyes landing on Sam at the title, she simply shrugging her shoulders- "I could say the same about the Trikru symbol."

I didn't imagine Roan could be so thoughtful, let alone be able to handle a deep conversation or find meaning behind symbols, but apparently, he did.

- "White's fine," -Sam interceeded- "it's not like I'm going to be walking around with this forever, right?"

I nodded in agreement for I had no intention either to be carrying that piece of cloth around with me for the next 5 years. She walked up to me, standing to my left and squeezing my hand as Roan and Indra moved to the doors in front of us; they gave us a final look before opening the doors and walking outside, holding them open for us to come out and face our people.

- "Ogeda."

- "Ogeda."

     We had lost Clarke. Everyone had done their part, but for some reason, Clarke had stayed outside way too long and it was my responsibility to get the rest out of Praimfaya's reach, so I did. I didn't know how, but before she died, she managed to get the systems to work as I had explained to her and we had been able to breathe fresh air a couple of minutes after we entered the Ring. Fresh as in from the ship's circuits and not our suits. We all felt horrible for having left her behind, but I had to or we would all have died. I couldn't let that happen.

Once we got everything more or less settled, we decided to look through the Ring to see what we could find. As I was walking around one of the main hallways, I thought I heard someone sobbing, so I followed the sound until I got to a small side corridor that led to a window that looked over Earth: fire and explosions covered every centimeter of what my eyes could see. And there, Bellamy stood, unaware of my presence.

- "Hey!" –I announced myself as I walked up to him- "You alright?"

- "She's dead." –Bellamy mumbled as he looked outside the window, not even bothering hiding how he felt- "For good this time."

- "It's not your fault, Bellamy." –I approached him, standing in front of the window too, looking at the burning planet in front of us- "Clarke saved us and..."

- "I wasn't talking about Clarke." –he turned to me; he looked devastated and I couldn't comprehend why, so I rose a questioning eyebrow prompting him to explain himself- "Sam, I left her behind. Again." –the words came out through gritted teeth.

- "She's in the bunker, she'll be safe there." -I furrowed my eyebrows, I couldn't understand what he meant.

- "I thought so too until we lost Clarke."

- "What do you mean?"

- "I know Abby saw them die like you saw the rocket. If the first two happened..."

- "You think Sam's dead because of what A.L.I.E. showed Abby?" -he nodded; I had to admit the things A.L.I.E. has shown me were all true, but still- "Bellamy, what could happen down there for her to die?"

- "We're talking about Sam, Raven." –he sighed, a scowl on his face as he glanced at me for a second. I understood- "Anything could go wrong... it might as well have already happened and I..." –he took a deep breath- "What have I done?"

- "Hey." –I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him, but not knowing how; after all, he could have been right- "Maybe Abby was wrong; don't start mourning Sam before even knowing if she's dead."

- "A.L.I.E. was right all the other times. Why would she have been wrong now?"

He faced the window again, his arms crossed over his chest, slumped shoulders, and teary eyes. If I had learned anything for A.L.I.E. during the last couple of days as well as from Becca was that they were usually right. I couldn't deny what happened with the rocket and leaving Clarke... Half of me was certain Abby's prediction would come true sooner or later, my eyes watered a bit as I remembered I never got to say goodbye to her; the other half wanted to throw those thoughts aside, knowing Sam was way stronger than anything we had already faced. If anyone had been playing with death, running into it time and time again, but never allowing it to reach them, it was Sam. But the part of me that still remembered vividly everything about A.L.I.E. weighted more than the other one.

- "A million things could go wrong in the bunker." –Bellamy continued my train of thought out loud- "And maybe she's still alive and maybe she isn't..."

- "Here you are, found anything worth my time yet?" –Murphy strode towards us, his content expression dropping immediately as he saw the look on Bellamy's eyes- "Hey, what's wrong? We survived, didn't we?"

- "You think Sam might still be alive?"

- "What?" –Murphy wrinkled his nose and furrowed his eyebrows before facing me- "What is he talking about now?"

- "Sam."

- "You really should have asked her to join us." –Murphy retorted, clearly not seeing what this was all about- "She'll be fine and she's with your sister. Nothing will happen to her, but as soon as you step foot down there, she's going to kick your ass for leaving her without saying shit."

- "She's dead."

- "What?" –Murphy shook his head- "Clarke's dead. Sam's in the bunker, don't let them know you confused them."

- "I mean it, Murphy!" –Bellamy yelled at him- "Everything A.L.I.E. showed Raven and Abby came true!"

- "You don't seriously believe that, right?" –Murphy scoffed- "Abby saw them die, sure, but in the radiation chamber."

- "What?"

- "How did you think Sam got her new blood?" –Murphy mocked him, looking around for a moment- "Learn to put the pieces together man; she injected herself with Luna's blood to save Emori from being burned alive!" –Bellamy eyed me as if looking for confirmation to Murphy's words so I nodded.

- "Abby said the only way to know if it worked was to test it and decided to use Emori. You know Sam, she'd die before letting anyone hurt us..." –I smiled to myself- "They all seemed to be okay with it except for Roan."

- "Yeah, that's right." –Murphy intervened as Bellamy's face distorted into a pure look of confusion- "Sam's alive because the Ice King Roan pulled her out of there. That's why I'm certain she's alive. You should have seen the way he behaves around her, he won't let anything happen to her."

- "A.L.I.E. showed Abby their deaths, Murphy! Just like she showed us the end of the world!"

- "Because of radiation!" –Murphy huffed exasperated- "A.L.I.E. also said the City of Light was safe and look what happened, she took everyone's memories and almost killed all of us in the process. Sure, Clarke's dead, but that doesn't mean Sam's too; she's a Nightblood in a bunker, underground, and safe and nothing will change my mind. You're just being stupid... what you're feeling is regret for leaving her behind, like you always do. Can't wait to be back down and see her finally kick your ass from the front row. Damn, it's going to be a long five years."

Murphy left before Bellamy could get a hold of him. I knew he truly believed Sam was alive, but even I started to have my doubts. A.L.I.E. had shown me things, I knew things I wasn't supposed to know, and most often than not, she'd been right. I started to wonder what would happen in the bunker without Sam. But we also didn't know for sure how Sam died according to A.L.I.E. It could have been the radiation, as she had survived that just like Murphy had said, but she could've also shown Abby Sam dying in the bunker, or space if she had joined us. Or maybe in 10 years.

But I didn't know how to tell that to Bellamy without triggering something inside him. I knew him; I had seen him fall for Sam each day that passed around the camp and in Arkadia; I had seen him make peace with Sam's impulsiveness; I had seen him love her more than I'd have ever thought he was capable of. He had made mistakes, but the one thing about Bellamy I never doubted were his feelings for Sam. And I knew losing her would destroy him.

- "Maybe he's right." -I chose to hide my thoughts to try and give Bellamy some sort of encouragement, I knew he'd break if he thought otherwise- "You can't spend the next 5 years mourning her or wishing you'd had done something different; it'll destroy you."

- "I hate this, I hate everything about this, Raven, but all the things A.L.I.E. predicted became true one way or another." –he faced me again- "What if she's..."

- "What's the last thing you told her?"

- "That I love her."

- "And what did she say?"

- "Don't go anywhere, love." –he chuckled dryly, running his hand through his hair- "And what did I do? Leave her behind. Abandon her. Murphy's right, I'm the worst."

He closed his eyes and sniffled. I had seen him mourn Sam once and it hadn't been pretty; I thought he might have ended up hurting himself. However, this time, it felt different. Last time, rage and unspoken feelings had crowded his thoughts and the way he acted. This time? This time it was like standing next to a river that was once full of life and witnessing helplessly as it dried out; it was like watching the life leave his body as he became only a shell; it was as if the sun had stopped shining over him. It broke my heart.

- "There's still a possibility she's alive..." –I squeezed his shoulder- "And, even if she's not, you know Sam's always been big on living in the moment, you should do the same. Bellamy, you can't blame yourself, you have to keep going. And if it turns out she's..." -I gulped, I couldn't say it- "Maybe you'll have to find a way to move on."

- "I can't..."

- "What?"

- "Move on."

Bellamy's façade finally dropped completely, his knees gave in and he fell to the floor letting out an agonizing scream before the tears started pooling down his face. I didn't know what to do to try and make him feel better. There was no way for us to contact them nor was there a satellite still standing for us to get thermal vision inside the bunker; it'd be easy to tell if Sam was there because there was no one who moved like her or that'd stay still for long.

My heart ached for Bellamy, already mourning the loss of Sam, being 100% convinced it was his fault. The connection he hadn't made was that, if Sam was meant to die, she'd have done so coming to the lab with them, probably choosing to help Clarke and dying with her there and, even if she had come to the Ring, chances are she'd have died here too. But maybe that'd had been easier for him... at least he'd have gotten to say goodbye.

- "Bellamy..." –I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort him somewhat.

- "There's no one else, Raven. There'll never be someone else."

memorandum. July. 2021.

Season finale, guys! How are we feeling?

I've absolutely loved writing and editing this season. It has so many powerful scenes I keep coming back to reread myself. We've lost many, but we've gained some.

Thank you so much for keeping up with me and my story, it seriously means the world to me.

Thank you to everyone who's given this book a chance, an opportunity for Sam to grow into her full potential, even if there's so much more still out there for her. And maybe she's become exactly what Ulger wanted from her: an assassin; but maybe that was what the world needed. What she needed from herself.

Thank you for all the comments that never fail to make me laugh or nod in agreement. They make the story just that much better, so thank you for taking the time, even when it's just a little word or emoji, I swear they mean everything. And those of you who write me long paragraphs, you deserve the absolute world.

If you've enjoyed the story and have a little bit more time on your hands, I'd appreciate it endlessly if you could go back and vote for the chapters you haven't. It really does help my story; not only does that lil gesture let me know you've liked the chapter but, it also helps my book gain more exposure, rank higher in the tags, and, overall, lets other readers know it's worth reading. Ik most people don't know these things, so I thought I'd let you know.

Plus, as a writer, votes are like a little dose of endorphins alongside your comments!

If by any chance, you'd like to keep up with Sam and the rest of our faves, I'm pleased to tell you that the next book is already up and running: SCÁTHACH.

Love, Seira🌹