She threw her fist into the air to punctuate her closing statement. The crowd followed, pumping their arms and calling her name over and over again.

50

The Aftermath

Thea came back onstage then and directed the massive crowd on where to begin the march. Kerrigan ducked back inside and pressed her back to the door. They’d argued about whether or not Kerrigan should lead the march down out of the Dregs to the base of the mountain. She’d wanted to do it, but considering that she’d just escaped, they didn’t want to risk her being arrested again.

On the other side of the door, she heard the rallying cries of the beaten taking up for themselves for the first time in so long. And she was the one who had gotten them out there. She was glad to be part of the movement and terrified that she would walk a new group of people to their deaths.

She pushed off of the door. She couldn’t let that weigh on her conscience any more than the last rally. It hadn’t turned into a riot because of her. The deaths weren’t hers either.

When she stepped out of the darkened hallway, Dozan Rook waited for her. “Bravo.”

There wasn’t an ounce of jest in his voice. And for a split second, they were back in time. He wasn’t yet a king. She was just a girl, not a symbol. One word of praise from him would have meant the world. She let it fill her then and smiled back at him.

“Thank you for your help in this.”

“Aye, princess,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. “You’ll have one more thing to thank me for.”

“Oh?”

Fordham appeared out of the shadows.

“I didn’t kill him when he set foot on my property,” Dozan said.

He looked as formidable as ever. He was wrapped in black silk. Those storm-cloud eyes swirling like a tornado. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight. They’d been on such unsteady ground ever since Geivhrea. She wanted to fling herself into his arms but held herself back at the last moment. “What are you doing here?”

“I helped you escape, and you didn’t think that I’d come find you?”

“What’s happening at the mountain?”

Fordham shrugged. “Lorian is in an uproar. He swore that he would catch you and try you publicly for what you’d done. Helly managed to talk him down. She also kept from showing her pleasure at the fact that you’d gotten away. But she couldn’t hide it from me. She asked me to check on you once things calmed down. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lorian is knocking down these doors soon as well.”

“Let him try,” Dozan boasted.

Fordham shot him a venomous look. “You can’t hold back an assault from the Society.”