The Way We Fall

Chapter 182 (Roche)

Leinos declared her ready to return to work after a lengthy examination after she awoke. Her skin had been scrubbed clean of Kairon's runes, but her skin itched like his markings were still etched into her flesh. The vision he's shown her weighed heavily on her mind.

Tigris will face her end at Moiris.

Roche sucked in a breath, curling her fingers around the edge of the bed as she described the prophesied death to Leinos and a pale faced Verita. The moment she'd finished explaining all that had happened, Verita leaned forward, looking more serious than Roche had ever seen her.

"Tigris mustn't be allowed to fight at Moiris," the librarian insisted, her voice so low that it was barely audible. Her eyes flicked to the infirmary door nervously, like she feared it would be flung open by an eavesdropper. "If she falls, everything you two have worked so hard to build over these past few years will be at risk. The prophecy will go unfulfilled."

"I don't know, Vee," Leinos murmured after a second, "The prophecies declare that Tigris' arrival would herald an age of justice and balance. Is that not what Tigris has done? She has ruled fairly and justly. Her people are content, and no one has been unfairly persecuted in ages. She does not rage against inkblood as Romulus did."

Verita bit her lip, drawing a single drop of ruby red blood to the surface. "Yet inkblood is still illegal," Verita argued, "True balance has not been restored."

"And is inkblood the marker of balance?" Leinos retorted, "I want an age of free ink as much as you do, but Tigris hasn't enforced the ban of inkblood. Perhaps that is enough for the prophecies. Perhaps that is considered as her role being fulfilled."

"Does it matter?" Roche interjected, blurting out the words before she could think them through. The castle elders turned to her as she rattled out a mirthless laugh. "I can't let her die. I don't care about the prophecies. Tigris must live, she's earned that right after all she's done as queen."

The words seemed to alarm the two inkblood before her. Verita seized Roche by the wrist.

"You must be careful saying such callous things about destiny," the librarian hissed, her papery fingers curled jarringly tight around Roche's wrist. "Destiny is not something to tempt."

Roche met Verita's gaze evenly. "I don't care. I'm not letting Tigris die."

"You may not have a choice-"

"There is always a choice," Roche insisted, her chest tightening as Verita exchanged a pitying glance with Leinos. The sight set her heart on fire. "You taught me as much. I may be destiny's plaything, but I am still the Ala. My job is to protect the queen, and I will not fail."

"Roche," Verita said softly, like she was breaking a difficult truth, "A foretold event is one that cannot be evaded. All paths of the future lead to that point eventually."

A helpless feeling tightened Roche's chest to the point where she couldn't draw in a breath. She forced down the overwhelming sensation, shaking her head furiously.

"No!" she snapped, so loudly that Verita and Leinos jumped at the sound of her voice. She glared at them both. "Stop acting like she's already dead!"

"Roche-"

"So what if Tigris dies at Moiris?" she demanded harshly, the coldness of her voice foreign and frightening to her own ears. Leinos flinched at the sound. She still continued. "She can die at Moiris when she's old and grey. I'll take her there myself when she's ready. We control when she gets there, and I'll be damned if she fights there when we're not ready."

She swept her glance across, daring them to argue. Verita's lips thinned into a flat line. She opened her mouth to reply when the infirmary door creaked open. Kai peeked his head in, his eyes widening when he saw Roche sitting upright.