A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 79 | We Cannot Speak Of Love, Without Speaking Death's Name

Jasmine and Mya lay next to each other, broken and bleeding, as the battle raged around them amidst a blizzard of snowstorm. The remaining soldiers and cadets around them, injured and defenceless, were being slaughtered by the hive that had finally found them after they had managed to kill most of the hacker-jackers.

With a subconscious groan, Mya rolled into the ground, crawling through the broken earth to reach Jasmine. Her own consciousness was slipping away, and she wasn't sure how much time either of them had left due to the extent of their open wounds.

Finally reaching Jasmine, Mya found her in a wheezing unconscious state, and knew that she might not make it before her. Blinking back tears, Mya's thoughts were solely focused on Mackenzie. She had wanted to hug her properly this morning and not to leave this world without being able to do so shattered her heart in ways she wasn't ready to cope with.

Mya struggled with the choices that this life demanded, knowing that they had to fight for the greater good or face something much worse. Grasping at the mildew ground again, Mya pushed on Jasmine's shoulder, "don't go to sleep," the exasperated plea came out.

Mya's vision was blurry and distorted from the wounds on her forehead and blood-stained body, and the cries of the dead echoed in her mind. When the sounds faded away, she realized that all the soldiers and cadets had fallen.

"Ja-zzy ple...ase," Mya sobbed, her throat coaxed with blood that she had been coughing up, "wake up." Jasmine's eyelids drooped heavily as Mya continued to beg her to stay awake, her voice choked with tears and blood. The reality of their impending deaths was all too clear.

"So-rry," Jasmine's voice was weak and trembling. " I-I don't w..want to d-d-die," barely audible above the chaos of battle. "I do...n't wa...nt t-th...is." Her eyes glazed with tears. She didn't want to die.

As the chaos and terror escalated around them, Mya's strength began to fade, and she knew that her time was running out. She whispered to Jasmine, "Nobody wants this," but her words were lost in the cacophony of screams and pounding footsteps.

Mya's eyes closed, and she thought of her family, praying for their safety. She had never prayed before, but in this moment, it was all she could do. Her heart ached with the desire to protect her daughter from the horrors of the world, a longing that consumed her thoughts in her final moments.

If there was anything in this world she had desired more, it was to keep her away from all of this.

It's all she ever wants in life now.

To protect their little girl from this cruel, cruel world.

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The aircraft had descended upon a landscape littered with corpses, where snow covered the ground and wranglers lay in wait.

Matthew, Toni, and Richie were momentarily stunned as the aircraft made landfall. Without a moment's hesitation, Richie darted past the others and flung open the side door, jumping out into the frozen terrain.

"Fuck," Matthew exclaimed, overriding the autopilot system to bring the craft down faster.

"Go!" he barked at Toni, which in turn forced Toni to use his powers, snapping from the craft to follow Richie.

Richie trekked through the field, horror gripping him as he took in the sight of the slaughtered and mutilated bodies. The snow fell softly around him, a serene contrast to the brutality before him.

"Mya!" Richie knew she had been stationed here, and his insides were churning, "Mya! Answer me!" 

As he continued his searched for Mya, Richie spotted Jasmine's unmistakable purple hair in the distance, along with a woman with raven locks lying face-down beside her. With a consuming rage, Richie charged forward, ready to confront the wranglers standing between him and the women.