When they reached the canyon, Magnus flew from the van and charged towards the group huddled in a circle. Estera watched him shove his way through, while her own feet struggled as if wading across mud. The small crowd parted for him, all while her heart throbbed in her ears, blocking the shrill that escaped his mouth as he fell to his knees. Her instincts were telling her to run, yet she proceeded forward, needing to see his body for herself.
Jupiter was hunched over with hands on his knees, and tears were dripping from his cheeks while Magnus remained knelt with his hands pressed into a pool of blood. His head jerked her way as she stepped through the crowd, and the red, glossy rage in his eyes left her cold in her tracks. He got to his feet, staggered towards her, and she backed up, swallowing hard.
But to her surprise, he embraced her, and from over his shoulder, she could see a trail of blood smeared on the ground, but no body.
"I want everyone down here searching for my son!" Jupiter straightened, wiping his eyes.
"I don't understand," Estera whispered, as they began dispersing to scour the canyon.
"Coyotes must have dragged him off..." Magnus replied. "We can't let them take him. We need to bring him home, where he can have a proper burial."
"What if he's alive?"
"He's not," Mira sniffled next to them. "Abel couldn't feel his pulse."
"What were they even doing out here?" Magnus asked.
"Izzy said they come out once a week to hunt small creatures," Rafi cleared his throat. "It's a game they've played for years."
"Where's your sister. I need to speak to her." Magnus searched about.
"Mag..." Rafi held up her hands. "Izzy is in a state of shock right now, so bombarding her with questions won't help."
"If it was Izzy who fell, would you still be telling me the same thing!" he snarled. "Take me to your sister."
Rafi held his ground, a hand pressed to Magnus' chest. "Not if you're going to yell at her."
"I'm not. Now move!" He shoved Rafi, but his friend pushed back.
"I said, no."
Looking determined, Magnus weaved around him, but there Rafi was again, in his face, blocking the path. This time, Magnus shoved him so hard that it caused him to trip over his feet. With the way clear, he started marching forward with the others falling in line behind him, trying to catch up. Meanwhile, Estera remaining a few paces behind, as she watched Mira tug the back of his shirt collar, trying to get his attention. He spun fast with his fist raised but froze when he saw Mira. She shrieked at the knuckles aimed at her, and Zemora slid between them.
"What is wrong with you!" She threw her arms around her wife, protectively.
"I..." He shook his head, his face whiter than the moon. "I thought she was Rafi. I would never-"
"What, hit a girl?" Rafi finished his sentence. "But you'd hit me. Your best friend?"
"No." He shook his head again and bent at the waist, gagging.
"You almost hit my wife because you thought she was Rafi. Since when do we take swings at each other?" Zemora glared.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking..."
"It's ok." Mira waved her hands. "We're all very emotional right now."
"But it's not ok. None of this is ok." He slapped a hand to his mouth, and his shoulders shook as a muffled sob filled the quiet midnight. Without hesitation, Rafi threw his arms around him.
"We know, man. We forgive you, and I've got you. Just let it out."
"We will find Sammy," Zemora assured him.
For the remainder of the night, hoards of citizens combed the canyon, searching for any signs of where the coyotes might have dragged Samson's body. Estera walked beside Magnus, her hand in his, and her mind absent as her boots crunched over twigs and moss covering the ground. She kept looking for a way to escape - to run when no one was looking, but where would she go? Not only that, but it would make her look guilty.
And she was guilty, wasn't she?
The question played in her mind over and over again throughout the search while Magnus gripped her hand as if letting go would shatter what little composure he had left. By the time daylight broke on the horizon, Samson had yet to be found, and Jupiter insisted that everyone go home and rest while he continued the search alone. However, they all objected, insisting right back that they would stay. His lips began trembling with his face on the verge of crumbling as he held back a cry.
Others in the crowd began weeping, and Estera felt her body sway as if an imaginary ripple had gone through the group. Or maybe it was her guilt causing her knees to buckle? Then she realized that, for the first time since the search began, Magnus had let go of her hand to pull his father into a hug. She averted her eyes, unable to bear the fact that she was the cause of their grief.
But warriors didn't feel guilt or the need to apologize. Yet why did her heart carry the weight of an elephant?
"We'll find him. We'll find him," Magnus repeated to his father like a mantra.
But they didn't find him, and after several more hours of searching, they decided to stop and accept Samson's fate.
∆∆∆
In the days that followed, Estera watched Magnus deteriorate as he mourned for his brother. At night he slept in Samson's bed, and in the mornings, he struggled to leave it. She found herself helping him sit up, forcing him to shower, and practically spoon-feeding him so that he would eat. Jupiter was worse. He locked himself in his room and refused to exit. At night, she would press her ear to the door and hear him crying. It only compounded the guilt she was already feeling, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave.
With everything that happened, there was one crucial thing that Estera had forgotten: her arrangement to meet with Dev.
At the trading post, he promised to travel north within a few days, and present her with a plan. The night had finally arrived, and she sat through dinner, eyeing the clock while Magnus kept his head down, pushing around the food on his plate.
"You have to eat," she said, taking in the ebony facial hair now covering his gaunt cheeks. She studied the wiry grey flecks scattered in it and reached out to caress his jawline. "You need to take better care of yourself."
"I'm tired, Estera." He pulled away. "Think I'll go lay down."
"I'll help you to bed then."
"No." He shook his head quickly. "You've done enough."
The words hit her like a slap. If he only knew exactly how much she had done. Her eyes followed him as he left the room, and then she sat back, exhaling a breath. She wasn't sure how much more she could take with so much shame yoking her shoulders.
Later, when midnight struck, she made her way out of the apartment, and through the tunnels. Once she was on the other side of the wall, she inhaled a deep breath to ease her racing thoughts. Meeting Dev was risky, but she needed to see him and let him know that she'd changed her mind.
The walk lasted for about an hour, with the steady sound of twigs and moss crunching under her boots as her only companion in the dark. Moonlight winked through the trees, and despite the cold, sweat gathered on her forehead from the trek. Before she knew it, she was at the same tree where Magnus initially spotted her. At first, she stood there alone, but as she surveyed her surroundings, Dev rose from the ferns — his tall form a shadow with blinking eyes.
"Didn't think you'd come," he said.
"Why wouldn't I?"
He shrugged. "Wasn't sure if you were serious about wanting to take the north."
"About that... Something has happened, and I worry I'll get caught, so I think it's best if I leave."
"Leave?" He drew his head back. "The Estera I know wouldn't run away. She would fight."
"But you don't know me, Dev."
"I don't?" He approached and backed her against the tree, a hand on her waist while looking into her eyes. "I know everything about you."
"Knowing my fighting stats doesn't mean you know me."
He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I know that when you get frustrated, a little line forms between your brows. That you're self-conscience about reading aloud because you stutter when you do. How when music plays, you like closing your eyes to really feel it. I know it bothers you that you don't know who your father is and that the only reason you fight is to live up to your mother's reputation."
"That doesn't mean anything!" She jerked her face away.
"Well, then let me tell you something that will." He stepped back, and the moonlight cast a beam onto his brown skin, revealing his stern expression. "I did a little research to learn about our enemy to find out how we beat them during the Great War. I figured we could use those same tactics to take the north."
"And?"
"It's interesting because you'd think for such an epic defeat, we would have it plastered all over our history journals to teach the younger generations, but we don't."
"Ok, so?" Estera folded her arms.
"The point is, we didn't beat the north. They beat us, and that's why the truth was buried so deep in our archive it had cobwebs."
"Let me get this straight..." She stepped into the moonlight. "My mother, and our leaders, lied to us about winning the war?"
"Yep. I confronted Elliot Shaw about it when he was drunk two nights ago, and he confirmed it."
"But why would they lie to us for all of these years?" Estera began to pace. "All of my life, my mother has talked about the war - filling my head with these tales of conquering... Why?"
"Because you can't build an army off of failure, but you can build it with warriors who believe they're invincible."
"What does that even mean?"
He took her hands, forcing her to come to a stop. "It means our leaders have been quietly using us to build an army, and passing it off as self-policing our territory."
"I-" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I still don't understand."
"According to Elliot, our defeat has been a stain on our history for years. It's why they've kept it hidden, and your mother has been looking for a way to take the north — to win this time. You should've seen her face when I told her about you living up here. She wants to help us. Our leaders said they'd even allow you to return to us."
"No." Estera shook her head.
"I thought you would be happy about this? Back home, everyone is gearing up for battle! An army will start their march north in a few days, and it's because of you."
"No." She shook her head again. "This is not what I wanted!"
"But I thought you wanted to rule the north?" He searched her eyes, his brows furrowed.
"I do — I mean, I did." She turned away, rubbing her temples. "I don't know. But what I do know is that my mom will take this from me."
"No, she won't. She told me that you and I could rule it together."
"And you believed her? Dev..." She placed her hand on his cold cheek. "If what you're saying is true, if my mother has been waiting for the chance to defeat the north, then there's no way she will let me have it. You said it yourself; I am Catalina Montenegro's daughter. She wants to control the entire region, and I know this because it's my foolish ambition too."
"It's not foolish, Estera. We can have it all."
"No, we can't. Not with my mother, who turned her back on me, and was prepared to decapitate me!"
"She was following our laws, and you know that." Dev crooked a scolding brow.
"Screw our laws! They're lies. You said so yourself. They've been using us for their long-game of defeating the north. Doesn't that make you angry?"
"Estera, listen to me." He cupped her face. "We can use our army to take the north, and with the two of us fighting side by side, our people are bound to see that we're worthy of being followed. This means we can get them to turn on our leaders, and obey us instead. Isn't it high time our leaders step down and get out of our way? I won't let your mother take anything from you. The north is ours."
It was too much to absorb, so Estera turned away, a hand going to her chin. An army was about to march north, with her mother's rancor guiding them. Dev was a strong warrior, but he didn't know her mother as she did, and as cute as his list was, he didn't know her either. There was also no way she would let her mother win. Not this time. Not ever. Unfortunately, the only way to defeat her would be by coming clean to Magnus and convincing him to wage war against the south. Such a confession would either ruin her or earn his trust in her. Maybe even secure her place in the north?
"Ok." She spun around, taking his hands in hers. "We'll do this together. We'll turn our people against my mom, and leaders, but not one finger touches my grandmother. Am I understood?"
"Agatha is an old woman. I'd never lay a hand on her, so you have my promise with that."
"Good, but I should go now. It's a long walk back."
"Next time you see me, it'll be when I arrive with our army."
When she turned to leave, he hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her back to him with a smile. He removed something from his pocket and presented the necklace he made for her. After draping it around her neck, he admired the way it looked on her before pressing a kiss to her mouth.
"I will see you soon," he said against her lips. "I love you, Estera."
The blood in her veins pulsed at his words, and she stuttered, "I-I love you too."
It pleased him, so she turned and began making her way back to the community. When she was far enough from Dev's sight, she stared down at the wooden lightning bolt dangling around her neck, which he had carved to resemble her birthmark. Disgusted, she tore it from her neck and chucked it aside.
The south wasn't her home anymore, and they were no longer blood of her blood. Consequences be damned. She would help the north defeat her enemy.
Even if her enemy was her mother.
***
I made a lil something something again, but for how I kinda picture Rafi and Dev in my noggin. I also realized a few days ago that I haven't really described my characters, so once the contest is over and I expand this into a novel, I'll add those details, along with new ideas that have come to me 🤓
Thanks for reading!