Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(25)

"Okay." The girl ran off, her yellow sundress billowing behind her as she bounced the ball in front of her.

My hand shook. My stomach cramped. I lowered my gun. He could be useful, I told myself. He could still serve a purpose down the line.

I clutched the gun in my hand and left out the door, then out the command center. I refused to think about that little girl looking so lovingly up at her father.

In my e-Glass, Trix spoke. "We made it. Thanks, N."

"Don't thank me," I said. "I'm done."





Chapter 11


A Teutonic Knight


I had just tossed the two e-Glasses aside and ditched the helmet when someone tugged at my arm. I swung around, my heart beating against my chest in loud thumps, ready to fight off whoever was touching me.

"Scarlett, relax, it's just me!" Jax let go of my arm and put his hands up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, slowing my breath as I relaxed. "Yes, I'm fine. Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you," I lied.

"Trying to find you. The whole area's been quarantined. Something happened with the Inquisitor and everyone's in a panic. The rebels escaped. We have to get out of here."

"Of course."

He looked me over and frowned. "Why are you wearing an Officer's uniform?"

"There was gunfire everywhere. I didn't want to be mistaken for a rebel so I grabbed this from one of the dead Officers, figuring it would offer me some protection."

"Good thinking. A lot of innocent people lost their lives today." Jax looked more closely at me. "You have blood on your mouth."

I wiped it away quickly. "People were shot around me. Blood sprayed. It was awful." I wanted to feel disgust for what I'd done, but the blood had restored me, and had done more than that, it had given me a dark clue as to what I was becoming.

Jax held up my arm, his mouth a line of concern across his face. "You're bleeding."

As the adrenaline left my body, a dull pain replaced the euphoria. I looked down at my bicep. "I must have scratched it on something. I'm fine." Or I would be soon. I could already feel it healing.

He tugged at my other hand and led me to a vacant building where we sat in a corner and waited for the fighting outside to die down so we could go back to Castle V.

Exhaustion hit me—emotional rather than physical—and I rested my head against the cement wall.

Jax moved closer to me, his face a mask. "Scarlett, are you okay? You look… different."

"Probably just hungry," I said. Though that wasn't true. For the first time since I woke up on the broken and empty crystal box, I didn't feel hungry or physically worn out. I felt powerful, revived, restored.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a Life Force. "Drink this. It should help."

I didn't want it, didn't need it. The blood had done more to quench my hunger than a hundred Life Force pouches could do, but I drank it to make him happy.

He grazed a finger over my cheek, a half-smile on his handsome face. "You look better. You have color back in your face for the first time since… last night."

"What happened today?" I asked, changing the subject.

His face hardened. "Someone screwed up. I should have been told about this. I never would have chosen today to take you to the city if I'd known."

"Jax, why are you a part of the Orders? How can you support what happened today? The public executions. The beatings. The whole thing was obviously a trap to catch the rebels, which means the Inquisition knew innocent people would die today, and they didn't care."

He leaned back against the wall, our shoulders pressed together, knees and thighs touching. "I didn't know, Star. I didn't know. This operation was likely kept secret by the council."

"And that secret is killing innocent people. How can you trust the Orders? How can you trust anyone at Castle V?"

"I can't," he said, surprising me with his answer. "I didn't join the Orders because they're perfect. I joined because I can make them better." He turned his head to look at me. "I remember how we used to turn on the television when our parents were out and watch the beatings. I remember talking with you about how wrong it was. But breaking the law isn't the way to change things. The Shadow of Rome and her rebels are just as responsible for this destruction as the Inquisition. They shouldn't be fighting, they should have joined the Orders, changed the way people think with words, and eventually, changed the law."

"But they're Zeniths," I said. "They'd never rise high enough in the Orders to change things. There's still too much discrimination against those with para-powers."

He looked away. "If they tried hard enough, they would."

I stood and paced in front of him, frustration growing in my body. "No. You don't get it. No matter how hard they try, how good they are, they'll always be the minority. If they want power, they have to take it."

He stood, reaching for me. "You're wrong, Scarlett."

I didn't agree, didn't think I was wrong about this. Not after everything I'd seen. But an Officer burst through the door before I could speak, with three more behind him.

He pointed a gun at us, shouting. "Hands up!"