The Fighters gathered around her and lifted Brady’s body to carry it back to the village. She watched in complete despair as Selena fell to her knees at the sight of her only son. Sarah screamed and held her mother as they cried uncontrollably.
Sixty-eight Fighters died. Sixty-eight men and women who had families and loved ones who had been expecting them to come home. This was the bloodiest battle she had ever seen between them and the Brutes, and somehow she knew it was only going to get worse.
Anastasia stood on one of the watchtowers and stared into the night sky. The ground before her was coated in blood, and the stench of sulfur still filled the air.
“We will end him.” Argento’s deep voice sounded from behind her, and she turned to see him climbing the ladder. “He will pay for what he has done.”
She nodded into the darkness. “I am going to kill him.”
“That boy did not deserve to die. I feel great sadness that his mother is now having to bury him.”
“I know you do, Argento, you are a good man.”
He snorted. “Not much of a man, though, am I?”
“I disagree. Being a man is more than being human, and you are more of a man than most.”
He grunted at the compliment and stepped to stand next to her. “Do you have a plan?”
“Working on it.”
“Whatever you may decide on, know that my people and I will stand with you. I trust you with my life, Phoenix.”
“Phoenix?”
“Do you not know that is what the people call you?”
She smiled slightly at the nickname. She supposed the tattoo on her back had vastly swayed them in that direction, but she found she rather liked the name.
“Thank you, Argento.”
He nodded and turned to leave.
At the sound of someone climbing the ladder behind her, she felt her heart quicken and knew that only one man had that effect on her, and she was beginning to see it as a problem.
“Hi, Dakota,” she said without looking behind her.
“How did you know it was me?” He climbed on the platform and she felt his hand at the base of her back.
“We need to talk.” She pulled back and noted the immediate change in his demeanor.
“What is it?” he asked cautiously.
Anastasia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her entire life she had only wanted to be with Dakota, and now that she was, it seemed as if her destiny had other plans.
“We can’t be together anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” Dakota’s voice took on an edge that Anastasia couldn’t ever remember hearing before.
“It’s a distraction, and distractions are dangerous.”
“Are you kidding me, Ana?” He took a step towards her and she moved back. “After everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve gone through trying to find you and bring you home to me, you are going to seriously stand there and tell me that I’m a distraction?”
She had known he was going to be angry, but she couldn’t have prepared herself for the heartbreak she felt standing before him.
“People have died because of us, Dakota.”
“People have died because of Vincent.”
“Brady died because of me.” The fresh wound reopened in her heart. “Vincent went after him because he lost me. The only reason he had me to begin with was because I gave myself up to save you, something I would have done regardless of whether we were together or not,” she added, and then turned to look out at the field beyond the village.
“You can’t seriously be blaming yourself.”
“How can I not? It’s my fault, Dakota. He died because of me, and if we continue this,” she motioned between them, “then people will continue to die.”
“Brady died because of Vincent. Don’t you dare blame yourself for it. He died to save you, and if you blame yourself, you will take away from what he did.”
She felt the anger bubbling under the surface of her skin, and she knew that if she wasn’t careful, it would erupt and there would be no controlling what she said.
“His death won’t be in vain because I acknowledge that it was my fault,” she said softly. “He died to save me, a death that wouldn’t have been necessary had I stayed with Vincent.”
“It will be in vain, you will damn yourself if you take the blame for Vincent’s actions. Not to mention the damn fact that you are in turn blaming me.”
“I did not blame you!”
“You did, by saying that I was a distraction, that you can’t be with me because it causes people to die. Fuck that.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She dismissed his words. “We can’t be together, end of story.” She headed for the ladder and he grabbed her arm.
“Don’t walk away, we aren’t done. You promised me that you would never leave willingly again. Does your word mean nothing now?”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Not that long ago,” he said angrily.
Anastasia’s skin began to glow, and she stared Dakota in the eyes. “Let. Me. Go.”
“You don’t scare me, Ana, I know who you are.”
“I should scare you, Dakota. That’s part of the problem.” She yanked her arm away from him and climbed down the ladder.
Dakota looked into the bottom of his nearly empty glass. He took one last swig and then refilled it with the amber liquid. How dare she tell him he was a distraction? As if he hadn’t sacrificed every damn thing to follow her here. As if he didn’t also carry the weight of the many deaths he had seen on his shoulders. Shit, he carried hers with him for ten years. It was such bullshit that she believed she was solely responsible for them all. The only one who was completely at fault was Vincent, and that was the end of it.
He tried to stand and fell back down when the sky started spinning around him.
“Shit.” He looked down at the now empty bottle of Terrenia whiskey. Where did it all go?
“That was about half full when you started,” Argento said as he emerged from the dark.
“Or half empty,” Dakota muttered.
Argento regarded him for a moment. “Yes, I suppose that could be true as well.” He eyed Dakota cautiously. “What is troubling you?”
“Women,” Dakota said simply.
“Ah, yes. They do seem to be a confusing group, aren’t they?” He laughed and took a seat next to Dakota at the table.
“You said before that you are married?”
“Yes.”
Dakota noted the pain behind Argento’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It is not prying, we are friends.” He took a deep breath. “I told you that our race is matriarchal, and that the queen is my wife.”
Dakota nodded.
“What I failed to mention was that she is missing.”
“Missing?”
“She was taken, by the captain of my guard, I believe.”
“Argento, I’m so sorry, man.”
Argento nodded. “I believe he took her and somehow convinced her to take most of our warriors with her to suit his needs.”
“She may be being manipulated by Vincent.”
“I believe that as well, much in the way that young man Brady was.”
Dakota felt the stab in his chest at the mention of Brady’s name.
“I feel sadness at his death,” Argento said softly. “He was much too young to suffer such a terrible fate. Had your Anastasia not killed the one responsible, I would have taken great pleasure in the death of my enemy.”
“She’s not my Anastasia,” Dakota growled, his words slurred.
“No?” Argento questioned. “She certainly seems to be.”
“Not anymore.” Dakota tried to stand again, and once again fell down. He sneered at Argento when the Brute began laughing madly.
“You going to help me, friend?” Dakota asked sarcastically.
“Yes, yes, in a moment. We will sit a bit longer, I need to gather myself. I have never seen anyone so intoxicated before.”
Dakota smiled at the humor reflected on Argento’s face. Seeing a Brute with such humanlike expressions was still a surprise to him.
“I suppose you all don’t drink?”
“No, we drink, we just handle it much better.” Argento began laughing again and Dakota couldn’t help but smile.
“So what happened with not your Anastasia?” Argento asked, changing the subject.
“She thinks I am a distraction. Believes that had she not run into me, or come back from Vincent, then Brady wouldn’t have died.”
“A distraction? That’s foolish. True love is a strength, not a distraction. If anything, not having someone to spend your life with would be a distraction.”
“You should tell her that.”
“I will.” Argento started to stand, and Dakota grabbed for him.
“No, that’s just an expression.”
Argento eased back down. “So you don’t wish for me to speak with her?”
“No, I do not. I do, however, wish you would help me up so I can go to sleep.”
“Very well.” Argento lifted Dakota’s weight with ease and set him cautiously on his feet.
“Thanks.”
“I will walk with you. Where are you going to sleep?”
“I’m crashing at my mom’s. Wow,” he laughed, “that sounds lame.”
“You must not give up,” Argento said to him as they stopped in front of Elizabeth’s cottage. “She may just need time to process what has been happening; it has been a lot for everyone, and she is at the center of it all. Your Phoenix will come back, Dakota.”
“Thanks, Argento, for everything.”
He nodded. “It is what friends do for one another.”
“We will find your wife,” Dakota said softly, patting Argento’s giant shoulder.
“Yes, I believe that as well. Sleep soundly, Dakota.”
“You too.” Dakota crept into the house as quietly as he could, but it apparently wasn’t quiet enough.
“Dakota George Parker.”
“Come on, Mom, I just want to go to sleep.”
“What happened? Why are you here?”
“You know the answer, Mom. There is only one reason why I would be stumbling into your house in the middle of the night after having drank nearly half a bottle of whiskey.” Too drunk to care what she had to say, he collapsed on the couch.
“What’s going on?” Tony asked sleepily as he came into the living room.
“Seems we have a fight going on between this one,” she motioned to Dakota, “and Anastasia.”
“He drunk?”
“That’s what it looks like.” She pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and covered Dakota up.
“I’ll talk to Anastasia tomorrow.” Tony rubbed his hand over his chin. “It’s not good if they are not speaking,”
“I agree,” Elizabeth started, “but why do I feel as if it’s for a different reason than I think?”
“Dakota is her light.” Tony clarified, unsure how much Elizabeth understood about the importance of it.
“That’s what the letter from Gregory said, but what exactly does that mean?” she asked, referring to Gregory’s last journal entry.
“It means that without him, Anastasia could wander too far into the dark. We could lose her completely.”
“That is definitely a bad thing,” Elizabeth agreed. “I suppose we are just going to have to fix things then, aren’t we?” she said simply, and turned for the bedroom.
“You continue to amaze me.” Tony stared after her. “I am very blessed that I have found you, woman.”
“Yes, you are.” Elizabeth giggled as Tony ran after her.