Thursday, September 1, 2022

Charlie’s apartment, TriBeCa, Manhattan, New York, United States

“We told ourselves lies,” Ella whispered, “‘We are a good person,’ ‘We would never do that,’ or, the worst, ‘We will make up for this later.’” Her voice was hoarse and full from unspent emotion.

She clung to Jade, tears falling from her eyes.

“Lies,” she repeated. “The Aqrabuamelu told Us it would end. That the Emperor’s death would see the end of us. And yet here We are.”

Jade held her and kept her eyes tightly shut, gently running her hand down Ella’s long hair. The room was painfully bright, the crown on Ella’s head fully manifested.

She paused and moved away from Jade, to look her right in the eyes, “We are a butcher. A killer. And We will continue to do it until I am stopped. We are a… monster.”

Jade looked at her once friend. She had changed so much in the past few months and from what little Jade had heard, she had done horrendous things in the Orclands.

But that didn’t matter now.

“Each night you do this,” Jade said to her. No gentle words from her. “You allude to horrible acts… you hide in this room and wish for death. But you could do that yourself if you wished. You won’t even take the responsibility of that. And the world is burning outside of here. Tens of millions are dead. Today, a dragon flew above and burned Mumbai to the ground until it was shot down.”

Jade shuddered and took a breath.

“Put that damn crown away so I can see.”

Ella looked at her, her eyes wild and unfocused, but the crown faded away and the blinding light.

“Arcsa said he can’t kill you. You are holding it all together, the Thousand Kingdoms aren’t all open yet. Because of you and your magic.”

“But they also won’t act without their Liberator. Others, such as Xu, continue to amass wealth in the chaos, but won’t spend it without you.”

“Everyday you wallow in this room, you condemn thousands more.”

“Be ruthless. Bury your shit or get it together or do whatever, but you need to step up and fix… this.”

Ella looked at her but didn’t say anything. A box in the corner of the room mocked her, a dagger and a mask inside.