Falsified (Tarnished Book 2)

40 Victory, Huh?

After I blacked out, I found myself in a bed with bandages on my arms. I sat up to find myself in the room Eulis gave me when I was pretending to be someone else. I noticed my short sword belt over on the desk and realized I never used them on Ravela like Artemis said I should have. I wonder if I really got rid of that pestilence.

The door opened and in walked Mesmer with my best friends in tow. I tore my eyes away and focused on my lap.

"You're up that's a good sign," Kay tried to fill the awkward silence I was giving them. "So, how are you?"

I did not want to talk about it. I tore the sheets off me and wandered over to the window. No crows crying at me to wake up this time.

"About what happened with Ravela, you didn't need to go that far," Simon stated the way I dealt with that wretch. "Do you think Judas would want that for you?"

I folded my arms and leaned by the window. "I did what needed to be done. I did what I should have done when he made his threat. Do you think he would have stopped?"

"No, but that isn't the point. You killed him, Jaiden, that's worrying."

I frowned and clicked my tongue. "He killed Judas and nearly killed Gavin too." I snapped and glared at Simon. "He would have killed you too."

"You worry about everyone else except yourself, Jaiden. What happened to do this together?"

I paused for a moment unsure of how to respond.

"You always say you don't like charging ahead, but why did you do it this time?" His brow rose to wait on my reply.

Another guest walked into the heated discussion of how I dealt with Ravela. Artemis was there and glanced over at her brother for a moment before glaring at Simon. "That is enough. The man is dead there's no use in pointing blame at him for it. Ravela was not alone in his plot."

I jolted at her words. She knew what he said to me. "Who was Ravela talking about, I thought the only evil in this world stemmed from him?"

Artemis locked eyes with me and sighed. "The heroes before you failed to stop him, and there was only one who came close. Ravela was a large part of his plans and now that you have killed him. It is likely he will target you before he continues to send his army of monsters into Terra."

I scowled at her. "He said I would fall and that I won't stand a chance, but this man he spoke of is not human. So, if you know who I am dealing with I need to know now." I searched for a sign she would tell me, but Artemis remained silent and Mesmer walked over to me.

"We can talk about it later, right now, we all need to rest." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

I broke away from him and stormed out of the room. Ludicrous, I cannot afford the trail of corpses that stack up around me when I have another monster worse than the one, I just defeated.

I stopped in the courtyard and my mind ran to Judas. It was not supposed to happen like this. I bent down in the spot where he passed away. Brushing the blades of grass, my chest ached at the gentleness along my fingertips. I sat down and crossed my legs. My shoulder dully aching as I clutched the wound.

Footsteps behind me disturbed my grieving heart. "He was important to you or you wouldn't have killed his murderer so mercilessly." My brother's voice inserted itself in the place of the silence. "Those two managed to hold off until I got there, but not before I saw you obliterate Ravela. When you collapsed after taking him out, those two lost foci, and that dragon would've killed them both. All the crests came to you when they realized you cared more for your allies than blind vengeance. You made good friends and allies, that was always your strength."