I watched my brother walk away from the fight to that girl. He left the battle because she was in danger! That wasn’t so far from giving his life up for her.

  Nero was right. I was pushing him farther away from me and closer to his demise. Still, that explosion should have taken care of the girl. She was human. She wouldn’t have survived that.

  I smiled and charged an enemy brigadier. When he was down, I charged another, giddy that my last plan worked. There would be no savior and my destiny was finally overturned.

  I glanced back at the hole my brother made and gasped as I watched many slaves, and more importantly, that girl, stumble out alive! How? Wasn’t she a crazy human? How did she evade my explosion?

  I growled and killed the last brigadier before whirling around and heading toward the girl. I wanted answers. I was going to get them. I shoved the other fighters out of my way and headed to where the girl was leaning against a ruined wall.

  “How did you survive the explosion?” I growled, pinning her to the wall.

  She raised tired eyes at me. “Runes.”

  I yanked her by the hair and brought my dagger down by her neck.

  “Well, runes can’t help you now,” I said grinning, and sliced down only to be met with a shield of Ether.

  “What is this!” I cried as I tried to slice deeper.

  “The question, Datha, is what the hell are you thinking?” came Nero’s calm voice as he appeared from behind the wall. I should’ve known he wouldn’t have been far. I smiled. I could turn this into my word against hers. I was known and she was not.

  “I’m eliminating a threat. She blew up the base,” I said, loudly catching people’s attention.

  “Your gun did that,” Nero replied, and I frowned. It was my word against a reigning commander’s I wouldn’t win.

  “Runes can’t be used around those weapons,” I said.

  “Then how were we supposed to reload the weapons?” asked a short male who was close to us.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Wait five minutes then press the power rune. It’s all very simple,” I said smirking.

  “We weren’t told this. Just locked in a room with five guns as protection, no guards, and a large rune map to follow,” said a woman.

  I smiled. “All of you knew runes. It should have been a simple task to find out.”

  That girl scoffed. “A simple task? You call deconstructing thirty power matrixes a simple task? Not to mention, most didn’t have that kind of knowledge. You threw us in blind for what? So you could kill me? Well done,” she said, clapping and I gritted my teeth.

  “I’m not stupid. I know you’ve been trying to separate me and Jonah. Why Datha? What have I done to you that made you hate my very being?” she asked.

  “You are going to lead him to his death!” I screamed.

  Her eyes widened and she backed up. “What I’d never…”

  “I’ve seen it. So has he. You and your craziness are the cause of his death,” I said smirking, watching as tears fell from her eyes. Nero glared at me. She pushed past me, and I watched her go. It was that easy? To tell her and she’s gone? I turned to Nero who shook his head.

  “You’ve condemned your brother to something worse than death,” he said, turning away.

  I turned to him. “What do you mean?” I asked, eyes narrowed.

  “There is a reason why Watchers, Seers and especially Oracles are bound by their word. Should they reveal a prophecy to the one that causes said prophecy, destiny shifts and not in a nice way. You’ve damned Jonah with your meddling Datha. I hope he survives whatever destiny has in store for him,” he said.

  “I wanted to save him from her Nero! That’s all I wanted!”

  “At what expense! Did the Oracle teach you nothing? You’ve just damned Jonah to the fates! You won’t be able to see his fate anymore! That is what you wanted?”

  “No, I wanted him away from that crazy girl!”

  “Your prejudice has been your undoing.”

  I scoffed. “And you’re not prejudiced? Who was it that forced her to slice her wrists to escape her handcuffs?” I sneered.

  He sighed. “I was wrong. Myra has never shown any ill will to any of us. What she battles is her own psyche. It has nothing to do with us.”

  “But it can put us in danger,” I said, shrugging.

  His eyes narrowed. “What do you truly fear, Datha? The girl or her illness? She cannot give whatever she has to you. What if it were you in her position?”

  “It’ll never be me!” I yelled, fists clenching.

  His eyes widened. “Is that what you’re running away from? Why you forsook your destiny?”

  “I have a right to choose!”

  “Not when it’s ruining your life,” he growled, chocolate eyes ringed in violet for an instant then he calmed. “You are destroying yourself Datha. I hope you can see this before it becomes too late. As it is your bomb will have outlying repercussions for us. I’m sorry for your loss,” he said walking away.

  I glared at his back and huffed. What sort of repercussions could my bomb possibly have? It leveled the base. That was all.

  I walked back into battle but by then almost everyone was either dead or captured. It was a good haul for us. I went to find Mikale who was arguing with another commander.

  “I don’t know who’s supposed to replace him, but we need someone from the frontlines to fill in the space he left,” he said.

  “And I suppose that should be you?” said the other.

  “Until we can pull one of the leaders from the other bases then yeah, I pull rank.”

  “You’re a commander like the rest of us! Besides doesn’t Nero outrank you?”

  “Technicalities,” Mikale muttered.

  I cut in. “What are you two talking about?” I asked, glancing from one hostile male to the other.

  “Jason was killed in that rockslide. We need new management,” said Mikale, and my world slipped from me as I collapsed.