If she wasn’t…

She would never see him again.

23

Two days later, Zarya paused as she navigated her way through the charred remains of a burned-down building. Historical and regal, it had always been one of her favorites. When she’d been a little girl, her father had brought her here for cherished birthday meals.

Oh how she’d loved the cake they’d serve her with sprinkles and carved chocolate bunnies…

She touched her stomach, wondering what joyful memories like that she’d give to her child. Please, let every one of them be good.

Most of all, she hoped that everything went as planned so that she could get back home before Darling realized she was gone.

Over the last few years, she and Sorche had begun meeting here as well. Since it was close to Resistance headquarters and to the engineering firm where Sorche worked, it’d been a logical place to get together.

Now it, like most of the people she loved, was gone. Nothing more than a faint memory…

Her heart ached as she stood at the remains of her favorite table where she could keep her back to the wall and watch the door. She’d been sitting right here, in her usual chair when she’d told Sorche about her engagement to Kere.

Laughing and crying, Sorche had oohed and ahhed over her ring while taking her to task. “Only you would obligate yourself to a man and not know who he really is or what he looks like. Really, Zarya… Someone must have dropped you on your head as an infant. And by that I mean more than once.”

She smiled at the memory.

Until her gaze went to the burned remains of a painting that had hung near the register. It was of the owner’s daughter.

Please tell me everyone got out of here alive.

Saddened by the waste around her, she swept her gaze to the horizon where even more fires blazed from dozens of buildings and homes. Thanks to the Resistance and the gerents, Taranyse—the outpost where the Resistance was headquartered—was being systematically torn apart in a show of power between the two factions.

For that matter, the Resistance seemed determined to tear down anything in their path. People. Buildings. Furniture. Rodents… It didn’t matter what. If it got in their way, they set fire to it. It was like they were drunk on destruction.

But she knew there was more to it than sheer havoc. Rather than protect the people as they’d sworn to do, the Resistance was hoping to either draw Darling out so they could assassinate him, or cause so much furor that it forced the gerents or League to kill him.

Meanwhile, since the gerents couldn’t use the professional Caronese guard without Darling’s approval and sanction, they’d activated the Citizen Army to fight against the Resistance. Something that had resulted in a bloodbath on both sides as the Resistance and CA clashed all over the empire.