Rise or Burn

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hast was bleeding on the ground, Nicco was crying next him. Wenly called to Anna to heal him. She was frozen. There was so much blood, she couldn't move.

"Anna," he called again, shaking her shoulder. She couldn't move. "Snap out of it, he's dying."

"I... yeah," she breathed finally coming back to herself. She moved to kneel on Hast's other side as Wenly pulled Nicco away and out of the room. She started the healing spell, reciting the words over and over again. Her hands glowed and she could feel the ebb of her magic, moving from the well inside her to his wound. It sealed itself. Flesh weaving into flesh until there was nothing but a thin pinkish scar and the blood staining his skin, the only evidence of the stabbing.

"I didn't see the knife in time," Sage muttered. She was still standing over Hast. Everything had happened so fast. Anna had hardly processed any of it.

Val slipped her hand into Sage's and squeezed. "None of us did."

"Andy," Anna called. He was standing awkwardly in the corner, like he didn't know what do with himself. He looked up when she called. "I need your help." Wordlessly he moved next to her. "We need to move him to the sofa," she instructed. He nodded and together they heaved him off the ground, draped his arms over their shoulders and dragged him to the closest sofa. He was stirring by the time they put him down.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "Nicky, I'm sorry."

"Kol," Anna said, he was staring intently at Hast, his gaze heated and hate filled. "Can you go call Wenly?"

"I—" he sounded like he was about to protest but he stopped himself. He nodded and left.

"That's the man Wenly had tied to a chair during the Dello ball?" Andy asked quiet enough for her alone to hear.

"Yes," she answered in the same whispered tone.

"He killed their father; he's the head of M.A.G.E."

Anna bit her bottom lip before she said. "I don't know."

Andy furrowed his brow. "What do mean you don't know? He confessed."

"Yes," she said, "but Wenly was so sure he was innocent. There's something not adding up here."

Andy contemplated this. "He was investigating Vory Mon before we were kidnapped."

"How do you know that?"

"Hae told me."

"How did she know that." He shrugged. "So Mon's the head of M.A.G.E."

"Oh you have a lot to catch up on," Hast said straightening himself on the sofa, effectively startling the two of them. "You've been gone for an awful long time and I'm afraid you've missed quite a bit."

"How long have you been listening to us?" Andy asked.

Hast smiled. "Long enough. And you're wrong. Mon isn't the head of M.A.G.E but he was involved with them."

"And so were you," Anna accused.

"Yes," he said blatantly. "I believed in them once, thought they could change the world."

Anna frowned. "What changed?"

His eyes filled with sorrow and he gave a sad smile. "I met Nicco," he said. "I fell in love with him and my sister punished me for it."

"She had you kill the old emperor."

"It was him or Nicco," he explained. "Or at least I thought so at the time. I thought I had no other choice. I should have found another way." He looked so broken Anna couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was hurting. "He hates me now. He's tried to kill me."