In Shadows We Rise

Chapter 43

Xander

"Why did you pull me out? She was starting to listen!" Atticus whisper-yells at me once the door to Reia's room closes.

"She was dying in there. We need to give her time. Forcing her to hear us out won't work."

"You don't know that. You said you can't feel her anymore."

"I still know how to read people. She's hurting, A. Feeling the loss of your powers is always hard and I've never even seen anyone having such a relationship with theirs as Reia did. That in addition to everything she's been through- She needs time and we have to give her whatever she needs." Atticus looks conflicted, as if he knew I was right but determined not to believe it. Not to accept he's still causing her pain. In the silence that lays between us a sound from Reia's room comes through to us. A sob. My chest tightens and A visibly flinches. He looks like he wants to barge right back in there but I know he won't.

Not wanting to intrude I turn to head for the rest of our group while my friend stays back and runs a hand over his face and into his hair.

"Is she awake?" Layla asks when I reach the table. I sit down next to Layla and grab her hand. She's been awfully quiet since we've been in Reia's room for the first time and it's been even worse since she healed Reia three days ago.

I nod at the blonde girl. "How is she?" Layla asks.

"I still can't feel her but she's not happy about being here. She's even less happy about the shackles but it's nothing we haven't expected. We'll give her time and keep trying until she's willing to listen to us. We'll take it a day at a time." While I'm reassuring them, footsteps draw nearer until I see Atticus sit down in the chair on the other side of his sister. She pulls her hand from mine to wrap her arms around him and it makes me wish he wouldn't always lean on her so heavily. She's not doing well either, not that anyone of us is, but she'd never admit it to him. She has this idea that to be a good big sister she needs to be fine at all times. That needing help herself will cause everything to collapse around her.

"We might not have much time. We might have succeeded at destroying one governor but there are still two left. We have no plan as to how we'll overpower them. Especially now that they won't underestimate us it'll be nearly impossible to win this war we've started. Besides, the guards that made it back to the capital saw our faces. It's only a matter of time until we're identified and found."

"None of the guards Reia had let go returned to the capital. They're too scared of her to talk," I tell them. I would have known had any of them tried to rat me out since I went back to work today. The word of Ianira's death has been spread but other than the fact that the Rebels are responsible for it there was no information leaked.

"We need her," Sorin chimes in. "If we want to have even a sliver of a chance, we need Reia's help."

"That is not why she's back. I want to make things right with her so if any of you have an ulterior motive, I suggest you forget about it really quickly because she doesn't deserve that. She's never deserved that. She's not some weapon to take advantage of and then discard," Naiara snaps.

"No one is saying that, Naiara. Our priority is to make things right with her. We'll see how the rest turns out."

"Our attack on the remaining governors shouldn't wait too long. Things are chaotic right now and we can take advantage of it. If we wait too long, they'll have found a replacement for Ianira and the whole thing will have been in vain," Calista remarks, always the strategic.

"Their guards are up now and security measures are at their all-time high. We should wait it out, gather allies and supporters for when we take over. Maybe travel across the nation to build ourselves an army to even out the odds," I propose. I've tried giving it some thought but my mind has been really preoccupied lately so this is all I've got. The room falls silent as all of us get lost in our own thoughts.