Seduced by Darkness (The Seduced Saga)(32)

Ryder sat up and spit blood out of his mouth, then leaned against the bars. "I was wrong. I judged them all for the sins of a few. I should have looked at my own heart."

"Don't pretend to care. You tried to kill my friend." I spat at his feet.

He looked up at me, his eyes laid bare. "I just want peace now. I'm tired of fighting. Tired of bloodshed. Tired of being a monster and chasing monsters in the night. I want to rest."

His eyes held something familiar. Something I saw in Curtis' eyes before he died. That same longing to change something that can't be changed. To make the world a different place.

"I had a friend once who thought that way," I told him. "He died at the hands of those he would have saved."

"Do you think he would have changed his path if he could have?"

I shook my head, an idea forming. An idea inspired by Curtis. By Ryder. By all those who want to see a difference in the world.

"Will you help me now?" I asked Ryder, holding out my hand in a sign of friendship.

He looked at my hand. "Help you do what?"

"Help me end this."

Ryder reached for my hand and we shook. We weren't friends, but we weren't enemies. It was time to let go of the past, let go of old grudges, and look to the future. We couldn't let Talon win.

The prisons were filled, packed with Nephilim and with my friends. I stood at the bars and spoke until my voice carried through the entire structure. I spoke to reach the prisoners, but to also reach the guards, who stood every few feet through the hanging stone prison.

"Why are you all content to let your fates be determined by a madman claiming the power of your people?" I asked.

A few heads turned, a few prisoners murmured, but the guards banged the bars with their swords and everyone settled back down.

I wouldn't give up.

"Guards, why do you fight for a man who wants to end your kind?"

Ryder stood behind me. "They have no choice," he said quietly. "They are all under his control."

I looked at the guards, whose eyes flickered toward me. "Is this true? Are there none of you here of your own free will?"

The guard next to me shook his head. "We all serve because we must," he said. I was surprised he answered me. Talon's control must be limited when he's far away.

"What happens if you resist?" I ask.

Ryder sighed. "Pain. A great deal of pain."

"But it is possible to resist?"

Ryder shrugged. "To an extent. I don't know how far it can be pushed."

"All of you, listen to me. What if you can fight this control? What if, like a rubber band, it has a range? What if you could pull away enough that the control between Talon and you would snap, freeing you? If I help you do this, will you fight? Will you free us all and fight with us?"

One of the prisoners spoke up. "Why should we fight for the Queen? She never helped us."

"You aren't fighting for the Queen. But for peace. For an end to this tyranny. I had a friend once who walked into a mob of angry men and let himself get beaten to teach compassion."

The prisoner cackled. "How'd that work out for him?"

"He died," I said. "But in his death he taught those people the meaning of life. He changed them. He changed all of us. He created a safe haven for those who were different and made sure none would be excluded or discriminated against."

Murmurs of understanding spread through the prison. I continued, louder than before. "We cannot let our anger destroy the world we live in. Guards, help free us. Free us so we can end Talon. So we can end this tyranny and free you."

I could see the struggle on the guards' faces. They wanted their freedom. They wanted out of this hell created by the Queen and continued by Talon. But they were powerless to fight the pain. "Just free me, and don't fight us. Resist. Just resist long enough for us to get out."

The guard nearest my cell nodded, grinded his teeth in pain and opened the cell. He screamed as he turned the key, dropped to his knees and howled as it opened.

The other guards stayed in place as I went through the prison and freed everyone. They didn't stop us. But one by one they fell to their knees, crying, screaming, in utter agony, their faces pale and bloodless.

Drake walked up to one and asked, "Do you want me to knock you out to ease the pain?"

The guard nodded and Drake used a single blow to rend him unconscious. Following his lead, we did the same with all who couldn't handle the pain.

Ryder couldn't help with that. He couldn't attack other Nephilim. But since he hadn't been tasked with guarding the prison, he could leave with us. That didn't go against his orders, per se.

There was one guard remaining conscious as we walked out with the prisoners, the guard who had first freed me. He held out his hand. "Please, free us," he pleaded.

"I swear it."





THIRTY THREE





A World Of Sighs





ROSE





She gave me for my pains a world of sighs

— William Shakespeare, Othello




AS WE MARCHED through the golden hues of early morning to attack the Forgotten City, my heart sank lower into my chest. How could I do this? How could I sacrifice the lives of hundreds, maybe even thousands, to save Derek? But how could I watch him being tortured and do nothing to stop it? Resisting wouldn't save these people. They would still die at the hands of the Emzara under the will of Talon. Resisting would just end my family. Destroy my heart.