Commander Nobelis, stuck in meeting after meeting after recent events, had left Cerid to conduct a press conference all on his own. He stood on the podium in the center of the meeting room in his house, taking soft, shallow breaths. Members of the press seated themselves in the columns where the council members usually were. The public swarmed in the between spaces, filling the room with a sticky, anticipatory heat.
It wasn’t all bad though. Shark had managed to find a spot near the door despite how many people tried to shoulder them out of the way, and they would give a slight nod or smile whenever their eyes met Cerid’s.
Still, the energy of the room was already off. It had been eleven days since Gren Fall and Dorothea’s escape, and the general public was scared and angry that nothing had yet been done.
The reason for the army’s lack of movement would be made clear. Cerid just had to answer questions calmly and honestly. Calm breaths, calm breaths… He was not calm.
“Greetings!” His voice cracked. This was his vital first impression, and it cracked. “Ahem. As you know, I am Cerid Creed, captain of the Sacerian army.” He pushed his shoulders back and lifted his chin in a false display of confidence. “None of us have use for platitudes, nor will I twist the truth. Dorothea Atlin has joined the Ghurian cause. However, this does not mean our loss. I shall outline this guarantee on our commander’s part throughout the following proceedings.”
“I wouldn’t even trust Iree Nobelis to clean the piss stains off my toilet!” came an enraged call. “How can I trust her to protect my life? My children’s lives!”
Cerid buried his panic. He had to show Udara’s people that they didn’t need to live in fear. “All I ask is that you listen with open minds. We are reeling from this unexpected betrayal just as you are, and it is our sworn duty to rectify things and protect each one of you. Now. Please ask me whatever you wish. I will clear up any and all concerns.”
One reporter raised their pen in the air. “You just guaranteed Sacerian victory. How do you intend to make good on that promise considering our army faces both Bittersweet Nightshade and Eternal Rosemary now?”
It was a seemingly invincible combination, but that was far from the case. “Eternal Rosemary is a parasitic magic. With each use, it wears away the life of its user.” Cerid paused as gasps and murmurs flowed around the room. “Dorothea Atlin is the last of her line, and she does not have much longer to live, especially given the strain the restoration of Sirpo would have caused.” He tried to hide his regret. He had wanted to protect Dorothea, but things had ended up like this instead. “She will not pose a threat for much longer.”
“And how will Sirpo go forward in its relations with Sacer now that its leader has aligned herself with Ghuria?” another reporter asked.
“Correspondence received from Sirpoan representatives has stated that it does not intend to ally itself with either nation. We do not know the current status of Dorothea Atlin’s leadership.” A man called Sil had personally delivered a letter to Udara’s fort watch, one succinctly outlining that Sirpo had been restored, would no longer be allying itself with Sacer, and also…
Well, this was the complication.
“Additionally, Ghuria has declared a ceasefire,” Cerid stated. “They promise no raids or attacks of any kind starting from this moment, so long as Sacer stays its hand.”
A buzz of disapproval swelled; no one would believe that. Cerid didn’t, not really, but still he wondered. Dorothea had something to do with this attempt at a truce, no doubt.
Someone voiced the very questions on Cerid’s mind next: “Why would she join the Ghurians even knowing they destroyed her home, and why wouldn’t Sirpo lend us aid to help the fight against the Ghurians that killed them previously?”
He didn’t understand it either. There was sympathy and then there was this. “Dorothea Atlin’s motives are of less concern than the way her actions endanger us. Be assured that we are not taking your safety for granted. We will be on guard.”
He couldn’t shake his uneasiness. Dorothea had asked him what he would do if he were tasked with ending the war without further bloodshed. He had believed for years that the path he had set out on was the only way. Was another truly out there? It seemed impossible.
Another audience question snapped him out of his thoughts. “What about Iree Nobelis’ squad and leadership? What revisions will be made? Surely things can’t continue as they are.”
They had arrived at the next thing he dreaded discussing. “I am not a part of the decision as to whether Miss Nobelis will remain commander. However, due to Rhys Tamlin’s apparent defection, there are squad openings that shall be filled.” Cerid didn’t know what Iree would do next. He as a captain had let this all happen while being blissfully unaware and unacting.
One reporter, looking concerned, asked, “We’re sure the former captain isn’t being held against his will?”
A scoff came from the back of the room. “Let the sympathizer rot with the rest of them!” The words were followed by cheers.
Cerid chomped down on his tongue to stop a bitter retort. No matter what, he still believed that Rhys and Dorothea were good people at heart. That was what made this all so hard. “We have to assume that he left of his own free will.”
The next question didn’t help his frustration. “Then what about the continued involvement of Ariana Kingfisher? Do you think it’s a coincidence that Dorothea Atlin betrayed us for that woman’s homeland after the two were in such close contact?”
“Miss Kingfisher has demonstrated her loyalty, determination and quality of character many times. Next question.”
He tried to focus and made his way through the rest of the conference without issue. When it was finally done, he looked for Shark as the crowd dispersed. They were among the very first to leave, storming out with their jaw set.
That couldn’t be good. Shark had seemed unbalanced since Dorothea’s departure, and their nerves were only wearing thinner as the days passed. He had to do something to help, but what?
He made to give chase, but his approach was blocked. Ariana took his arm, steering him into the main parlor and waiting until they were alone. “Just wanted to let you know that you’re an idiot. Determination? Quality of character? That’s not me at all. What bullshit were you feeding them?”
“That is the truth of how I see you. There is no doubt in my mind that if any of your comrades were truly in trouble, you would fight harder than anyone to save them.”
She kept up her glare for a few moments before sighing and crossing her arms. “Hope you know what you’re doing. I may not be Iree’s pet anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m your ally either.”
Cerid offered a small smile. “You seem to be doing well, at least. That is good. However, I believe I may need your help going forward if you are willing to give it.”
Her brows furrowed in suspicion. “What are you getting at?”
“I am finally beginning to suspect that the world might not be as clear as I had once thought. Far too late, I am afraid, and I do not know what finding the answers might mean.” He paused, searching her face. “Would I be correct to guess that you know something I do not? And that Dorothea also knows that something, and this factored into her actions?”
“What makes you suspect that?” Ariana was watching him carefully.
“Anything less does not make sense. Why else would she do something so drastic, especially if it meant leaving Shark behind? It has to be something much bigger and much worse.” He tried to smile again but was so unsettled it came out as a grimace. “So?”
She glared at him for a few seconds before letting out a huff. “Fine, whatever. I’ll tell you. But answer one question first.”
“Very well.” He waited, heart pounding in anticipation.
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“If you find out who the real enemy is, would you be willing to give up on your goals? Would you change everything to make it right?”
It would mean changing the very reason for living that he had clung to for years when he had felt so alone. He might lose Shark, and he wasn’t sure his spirit could handle that again.
Still. The truth was the truth, even if right and wrong weren’t so easily defined.
“I will do whatever it takes, Ariana.”
There was a spark in Ariana’s eyes that Cerid had never seen before. It was a bewitching light, filled with growing determination and something almost approaching hope. It suited her.
“Then come on. Let’s find Shark. You both need to hear this.”
*
There were some deeds a heart couldn’t turn back from. Ariana had thought those words to herself and now they hung over her, choking.
She had made the wrong choice and was now alone with no friends or family, no comfort to turn to. She had come very close to giving in to her despair, but she had been pulled back and ordered to find a reason to live by Dorothea. Easier said than done.
She’d been treated like dirt, her hand stolen, her humanity mocked. Even if this was justified punishment on the part of the universe, the indignity of it all was crushing. She wanted Iree Nobelis and Cinder Creed to pay for what had been done to Ghuria, to her, to Pearlie, and to Dorothea too.
A reason to live, huh? Maybe something like trying her best to bring the castle Iree and Cinder had built crashing down around them would be a start.
Which brought her to Cerid. His goals and relationship defied every law a good Sacerian citizen was supposed to abide by. She could do worse to stir the pot than seeing how things went if he was given the full picture.
But he and Shark were kind of a package deal, and what was Shark doing? Being a pain in the ass, as usual. Cerid was skittering after them through the maze of hallways on the first floor, Ariana strolling behind in half amusement and half impatient frustration.
“Shark,” Cerid whisper-yelled, “please stop fleeing! It makes it very difficult to hold a conversation!”
“That’s the point!” Shark snapped as they disappeared behind a corner.
Okay, now it wasn’t amusing at all and had crossed into just plain sad. Ariana slipped away from Cerid and waited behind the corner opposite the path Shark had gone down, anticipating their movements. When they started to rush past her, she stepped out and caught their throat in the crook of her arm, throwing them to the ground with their own momentum.
“What the—” they gasped, freezing as she put her foot on their chest.
“Stop throwing a temper tantrum. You’re not a child,” she scolded in a flat voice.
Their body went slack, face falling with grief and confusion. “Don’t think I don’t know that…”
Ariana sighed. Annoying as it was, being around people that wore their emotions so plainly was kind of nice. “Come on.” She stepped back to haul them up. “Talk it out so we can get down to business.”
Cerid was hovering nearby, hesitant. “Shark,” he began, “I know a lot has happened and this is a silly question, but what is the matter?”
Shark looked at their feet. “Why would you ever, ever say all that stuff about Thea? About how she’s going to die soon, how she’s our enemy, and…”
Cerid took a step closer, his voice gentle. “You know that in these situations I have to make it out with my credibility and leadership status intact. I did not like saying it, but I had to.”
“I know, I know you’ve had to play the game to get here, it’s just…” Shark deflated under a deep sadness. “I’m scared of losing her. I’m angry and hurt that she left me behind, and I don’t understand why—”
Cerid surprised both Shark and Ariana with his interruption. “You do understand why. I know you are smart enough to have realized it. So admit it to yourself,” he said, soft yet stern.
Shark shook their head. “I don’t—”
“We both knew. We saw how she reacted when we told her we intended to destroy Ghuria. But we simply chose to ignore it for our own sakes.”
“She didn’t trust me because of that,” Shark admitted weakly.
“Before she left, she asked me to take care of you,” Cerid said. “So I am trying right now to stop both of us from continuing down a path we would regret. In short, let me ask you this.” He took a deep breath and lifted Shark’s chin to meet their eyes. “Could you kill her?”
“No! What are you even—” Shark tried to shake him off, but Cerid held fast, fingers digging into their cheeks.
“We never questioned ourselves because of how badly we wanted to shape the world in our vision. But now someone you love has joined that side. Going ahead as we are means taking her life. If you cannot accept that, turn back from your anger and think. What is the right thing to do? What do you want most, and what are the truly acceptable means to get there?” He dropped his hand. “When I saw you starting to sink into your rage, I realized what Dorothea was trying to tell me. Too late, and I am ashamed, but I see it now.”
“But how am I supposed to just forgive everything the Ghurians have taken from us? What do you want from me right now, Cerid?”
Ariana saw this as a good point to cut in. “There’s a lot more to why Dorothea left,” she said.
Shark blinked as if just now remembering she was even there, then frowned. “Okay? Even if that’s true, isn’t it a little late for revelations?”
“Decide for yourself. Your best friend decided it was worth acting on, after all. Worth it enough to ditch you without a word.” Ariana smiled as they flinched. “I’m not going coddle you. All three of us are trash in my eyes. So just listen.”
She explained everything she knew: the epidemic had been orchestrated by Sharee Nobelis and Cerid’s own father, and Iree knew this; Sharee had used her Datura Whispers magic to manipulate Gren Fall into unleashing the epidemic; Dorothea had left with the Fall boy for those reasons, the two of them now working for a truce; it was Iree and Ariana herself that had destroyed Sirpo to get Dorothea to join the Sacerian side.
It took a long time for Cerid and Shark to work past being shocked speechless.
And then Shark punched her in the face, sending her sprawling to the floor. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” they yelled, struggling against Cerid as he pulled them back from going in for more. “Do you even know how much has been done to Thea by now?! That’s time she can’t get back!”
Ariana stood. “For what it’s worth…” She bowed in apology. “I’m sorry. Dorothea showed me there’s a better path, so I’m trying. You two deserve the truth, and that’s unfortunately how it is.”
“Well,” Cerid began in a small voice, “that certainly…changes things.” He buried his face in his hands. “My father… He knew what would happen, and yet, to my siblings… To my mother, to so many innocent people!”
“It doesn’t matter to me what you both do from here on out. But,” Ariana sighed, “the least I could do is tell you what’s actually going on. So… Good luck with whatever you decide, I guess.”
Cerid grabbed her wrist as she started to leave. “Wait. Is that really enough for you?”
She held up her other hand, well, stub. “Nope. No thank you. I know what you’re going to say, and I’ve had quite enough inspiration lately. Nooot interested.”
“Please.” He released her, giving her the choice. “Listen. I will not force you to do anything.”
Damn these gentle people that kept swaying her. But that was better than being swayed by someone who had made such bright promises of a good future and still treated her like trash in the end. Maybe if Cerid, Shark and Dorothea could figure something out, and if she could dare to be a part of it… Frowning, she motioned for him to go on.
“Before she left, Dorothea asked me what I would do if I was asked to make peace without bloodshed, and I did not have an answer. Well… Do you think that we could find that answer between the three of us? Do you think we could find it in time to save Dorothea and…” He paused, grim. “To stop the the war my father started from consuming Ghuria?”
“Sure,” Shark scoffed. “It’ll all work out, even with everything that’s been done, if we just agree to try our best!”
Not so long ago, Ariana would have had the same reaction. “But Dorothea’s out there right now, banking on that possibility,” she said quietly. “With the will to give up her life for it.”
Shark’s eyes widened, and Cerid nodded. “We must change the trajectory of history, not double down on it. I realize that now.”
Shark narrowed their eyes in thought. “There’ll be fierce opposition to peace on both sides. No direction we turn doesn’t have enemies. It’s naive to think we won’t have to kill, and Cerid, since it’s your dad involved, I just…don’t want you to overlook that. And I really hope Thea knows it too…”
Cerid closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath before looking to Ariana, then back to Shark. “Even so. I have decided what I must do.”
The strength to aim for something better despite how sullied you already were was something Ariana didn’t have. If she did, she’d have turned back long ago. But it was right here in front of her. Maybe even she was worthy of changing?
“I’m in,” she found herself saying. Her heart was racing. She was alive and here, and she had the power to change the direction of the life she’d misused thus far. “Let’s see how this goes. Worst that happens is we all get killed in a slow and brutal manner.”
Cerid smiled as if he’d had complete faith in her from the start because of course he had. “We,” he repeated. “Ariana…”
“Stop. Sometimes I feel like you sappy types only listen to ten percent of what other people say because the unicorns are too busy farting out rainbows in your head for you to hear anything else.” She turned back to Shark, frowning. “So what’s it going to be?”
They sighed and smiled a rueful smile. “I’m sorry, Cerid. For running away and blaming you… For a lot of things.” They relaxed as Cerid put his arms around them. “I was wrong.”
“Our selfishness led us to think it was acceptable to destroy others in order to have a better chance at our own happiness. We cannot leave that as our legacy.”
Shark nodded. “This isn’t going to be easy. We’ll be lucky not to get killed.”
Cerid smiled as he released Shark, albeit still holding them within an adoring gaze. “But we are still here, together. We have already suffered much and come through stronger on the other side. We can do it again, and do it better.”
“All righty then…!” Shark proceeded to slap their own cheeks with such force that Ariana winced and Cerid jumped. “I’ll be strong for you again, starting now!” They smiled, sharp teeth glinting. “I’m back to full form, my love. No more mopey angry Shark!”
Cerid chuckled. “Do not worry. I feel that we have come to understand one another better as a result of this.”
Ariana cut in before they could get mushier than that. “Nice. Good for you two.”
Shark glared at her. “To be clear, I don’t forgive you. Just because you told us the truth now doesn’t make what you did to Sirpo and to Thea okay.”
“I know.”
Cerid cut in. “Redemption is something we all need now. And even more than that, we need a plan.”
“Right.” Shark smiled, eyes going blank. “I’ve got nothin’.”
Ariana sighed. “We’re doomed.”