Bria swallowed audibly. “I’m not sure. It happened a few months ago. The night of the burnings.”
“Burnings?” I echoed.
She nodded sadly. “The night they burned the two omegas that were left after you two both …”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Maisie and Shane. The night they killed Maisie and Shane.
“You were there when they died?” Mom whispered, clearly as distraught as I was.
“After some of the council took their turns, “ Bria shuddered, “they tied them down. Threw gasoline on them. They took bets as they tossed matches to see whose would catch first.”
My stomach cramped painfully. It physically hurt to remember Maisie and Shane. I could only imagine how terrified they must have been. How much pain and humiliation they endured before they died.
Guilt smothered me in a suffocating embrace. We should have gone back for them or figured out a way to bring them with us. I could feel the press of Remy’s gaze on me, trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
I held as still as possible. If I looked at him, even for a second, I would crack and shatter. I would fall apart like the fountain. If I started crying now, I might never stop.
“After they burned the bodies, the men, and some of the women, were in a frenzy. I should have stayed home, but we were all Commanded to attend. I tried to get away, but I wasn’t strong enough. Several other women and a man were killed that night. It was too much for their bodies to take.”
Mom was openly weeping beside me, enough so that Nikolai was headed our way. His expression was fierce and terrifying.
“Bria, would you like to come with us to Blackwater?” I asked her, working around the swelling knot of emotion in my chest.
Bria’s head lifted. Her greasy, brown hair hung in limp streaks over her face, but there was a flicker of hope in her blue eyes.
“We have a medical center there that can help you when it’s time to deliver your baby,” I added, ignoring my father as he pulled Mom to the side, crushing her to his chest in a hug after a pause.
“You’ll be safe,” I promised her.
Tears filled her eyes and spilled over as she nodded. “Yes. Yes, please.”
“Katy,” I called, looking for my friend.
Katy’s red hair caught in the sunlight as she looked up with a smile that slowly melted. She walked towards me cautiously.
“Katy, this is Bria. She’s coming back with us,” I said firmly.
Katy immediately stepped forward. “Hey, Bria. Why don’t you come with me? We’ve set up an area with some food and water until we can work out the logistics of getting people home.”
Bria started to turn, but at the last second closed the distance between us and hugged me. Her arms squeezed me as a soft kick from the baby landed against my flat stomach.
“Thank you,” Bria whispered. “You saved my baby’s life.”
I nodded as Katy led her away, shooting me a worried look.
“Honey,” Mom said, coming up behind me and sliding a hand along my shoulders. Nikolai stood beside her, his worried eyes studying me.
“Can you … I need a minute,” I mumbled, stumbling back a step.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Nikolai offered, his worried gaze making me self-conscious.
“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. I met his eyes. “I just need a few minutes.”
I turned away and headed down the road, not entirely sure where I was going.
“Babe.” Remy’s hand reached for mine and caught it, falling into step with me.
“I can’t talk about this right now, Remy,” I told him, staring straight ahead. “I just … I need a minute.”
“Do you want me to leave you alone?”
He was worried and frustrated, but he would do as I asked if needed.
I started to choke on a laugh. All I could do was tighten my hand around his. Words stuck in my throat like the desert dust to my sweaty skin.
He would leave me to wander the streets of Long Mesa because I actually could now without worrying about being grabbed or taunted or chased.
Cassian was dead. He had finally gasped out his last breath an hour earlier. Preston had been dead for over a week. Marc was still alive, but in an indescribable amount of agony while being watched by an elemental who had zero issues with breakin more bones if he considered moving.