Eternity's War

Book 1: Chapter 37

Sierra sat atop the roof of the warehouse, watching the quiet world around her. It was well after midnight, and Athenia had shut down for another day. In the distance, the towering skyscrapers of Shangwu appeared lifeless and abandoned.

Skye leapt onto the roof and sat alongside her. "I take it you haven't seen anyone?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. Juliet is still sleeping, so we can't use her tracking ability. You and I will just have to guard everyone the traditional way."

The moon was bright, flooding the roof and surrounding woodlands with a white glow.

"Earlier you said that you understand our cause," Skye said. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

She shrugged. "I finally decided to accept that I can't kill Tahlia by myself. It might be a wise move to work alongside you."

Skye smiled. "Thank you. It's a relief to have a functioning team again."

Sierra paused, her eyes growing distant for a brief moment. "I'm sorry about what happened in the woods before."

Skye held a hand up. "Don't be. I'm the one who should be apologising. I know that none of us have been very welcoming. Our group has been divided since Foxtrot was killed."

"You're forgiven. But I still regret what I did. I shouldn't be taking my hatred out on anyone except Tahlia. It's just that ... what she did to me ... it's unforgivable."

"It's okay," Skye said, "you don't have to tell me what she did. I admit that I'm very curious to know, but it's also none of my business."

"I'll tell you one day," she said. "But not right now. It's far too painful to even think about."

"Well, if you ever want to tell us, you can. Only when you're ready though."

Sierra nodded. "Thank you. It's not a pleasant story. In a past life, Tahlia and I once fought for the same cause. In fact, it was a similar cause to White Shadow's. Maybe that's another reason why I'm happy to help you. We can't stand for corruption."

"No, we can't," Skye agreed. "Archie needs to go. And time is running out."

Sierra looked at the black trees around them. "What will you do if you can't stop him in time? You only have one more day."

Skye cringed. He needed no reminder of how long until the inauguration began. "I don't know. Hopefully we won't have to find out." He turned and faced her. "What about you? What will you do after Tahlia is dead?"

Sierra stared blankly at her surroundings. "I'm not sure. I think about it quite often. I could always return to my original cause. There's still plenty of work to do back in Viesta Roux. But then again, maybe there's no point. Everyone I cared about is now dead." Her eyes became distant and began to well with tears. "The only cause I believe in now is killing Tahlia."

Skye offered her a weak smile. It brought him relief that he finally felt close to her to be able to converse about deeper issues. No doubt the others would still tiptoe around her with their opinions, so as to not enrage Sierra, but Skye was no longer afraid of her. Like himself, she was a shengxian who had her own feelings, and was just as vulnerable to the stresses of everyday life.

"Tonight reminded me how dangerous the situation is," Skye said, changing the subject back to the one plaguing his mind. "Kai and Hana were willing to kill. Maybe my immunity from Nikolai clouded my judgement after all."

"Maybe," she agreed.

It was liberating for Skye to express himself freely, but he was reluctant to speak his mind constantly, lest he risked turning into Nikolai, a man who spoke whatever peculiar thoughts popped into his head at any given time. Of course, Skye also knew that Nikolai, who was virtually immortal, need not concern himself with offending anyone.