cascade | kotlc

15. Fervent Diplomacy and Pure Hatred

 "Stop!" Sophie yelled.

The room fell silent, and even Dex's gadget stopped wailing. Those who hadn't seen Fitz's fall took in the carnage.

June hurdled the wounded antrhopleura and dropped to her knees at Fitz's side. Dex and Sophie were there too, and June pressed her hands to Fitz's chest to stop the bleeding.

"No," she whispered. "Not like this."

"What happened?" Della asked, fighting her way to her son. Hers kin turned ghostly pale when she saw how painfully still Fitz was.

"Come on, Fitz. Come on. We'll get you out of here."

"It was an accident," Zarina said. "He- I-"

"It was my fault," Dex mumbled.

June removed her cloak and draped it around Fitz. "We'll get you out," she promised. "Come on. Just stay with me a little longer. We'll get you to- the Black Swan's physician."

Let Dex take him to Physic. Call swan song to any of the gnomes and they'll take you there, Mr. Forkle's voice said, filling her mind.

"I'll leap him," Dex said to her. "You're needed here."

She nodded, almost painfully, as Dex held up his leaping crystal.

"I'll take care of him," he promised as he grabbed Fitz and leaped the two of them away.

Outrage erupted, the Councillors ordering the dwarves to restrain the rest of their group.

"Are you serious?" June screamed. "You're going to arrest us, after what you did to- my boyfriend?" She pointed her gun at the ceiling and fired, the bullet bouncing across the room before it clattered to Emery's feet.

"You can't be serious," she breathed, still holding her gun up, her hands trembling. "Look what you've just done."

"You are still outlaws," Emery told her.

June pointed her gun at him.

Oralie glanced at her.

"Set down the gun, Ms. Ruewen. No one else needs to be hurt," Emery told her. "Do not make us restrain you."

"You'd never get the chance."

"Let Sophie settle this," Oralie said quietly.

Her sister reached into her pocket and stepped to the center of the crowd. "You're going to let us go now, or I'm going to use this. June, set down the gun, please."

She held out Kenric's cache, eliciting a round of gasps, even from the Collective.

Her arms were still shaking too hard, but she engaged the safety, still pointing the gun at Emery.

He reeled on Oralie. "Is this your doing?"

"It is," she said. "I honored Kenric's last request. He feared Sophie would need protection, and he was right."

"Treason!" Alina shouted, and several other Councillors agreed. Bronte and Terik tried to calm them, but it turned into a screaming match.

June clicked her safety off.

Her boyfriend was dying, and here the Councillors were, arguing among themselves while trying to arrest them.

Fitz's wound might not heal. He might've been dissolved in the leap. Dex might not be able to get him to the physician in time.

The Council was too weak to prevent these accidents from happening.

Fuck them.

She fired her gun at the ceiling again, the loud ricocheting ringing in her ears, echoing her barely suppressed anger.