Death of a King

Chapter 28

Dustin remained in his uncle's office for the rest of that day, locked behind closed doors in the hopes that enough time would provide answers towards a growing problem that threatened our very way of life. The Reapers were rivals, bathing in the blood of Tribe members who have fallen in the past. The Reapers didn't care whether we lived, they'd rather see us burn.

But most of all, they wanted to see Dustin suffer.

The very thought churned my stomach, setting loose butterflies in my gut as they raided my nerves. I was scared for Dustin, mainly because there was nothing I could do to help. Dustin has faced this problem on his own since the moment his father first cut into Katrina, and even now Dustin stands alone against the Reapers because Donovan held no true power and I was just as useless.

Rosen has surrounded himself with people who hate the Tribe and are willing to die for the cause. Dustin has surrounded himself with people he cares about, people he wouldn't let sacrifice themselves even if it meant saving himself. He'd rather die than watch anyone he loved perish as his family had.

Corinth tried to protect him, Lumiere swore to as well, even Eli. But in the end, none of them could save him. I couldn't save him.

Just like the beast from my dreams promised.

With the sunlight fading and no sign of Dustin emerging from that office, I wasted the rest of the day by lounging with Lumiere and joking around with Eli. My friends have become the most important aspect of my life, far more greater than my duties at home had ever been. But even sitting here, laughing and talking with them as if we've been friends for years, I felt guilty. I shouldn't feel such shame for leaving my brother behind, and even my father as much as I hated to admit it, but they were my family too. And I left them behind, forgot their existence.

Did I do so for the right reasons? I'd like to think so. Did that make my decision worthy? Probably not. But the past can't be changed. I chose to stay and though that choice came with consequences, I wouldn't apologize for them. For the first time in my life, I'm living for me and me alone.

I'm free. And not even the regret of leaving my family behind could deter that independence.

When the sun finally fell below the horizon, I retired to Dustin's room to wait for him. It was hard to say whether he'd been in a good mood after spending the day discussing strategies with his uncle but I wanted to be here when he returned. Through the good and the bad, I'm not going anywhere.

I won't leave him the way Katrina and his family did.

For a long time, I kept myself busy by pacing around the room, trying to establish all the different ways Dustin could potentially react to my new hair. It was a feeble thing to be so concerned about, but Dustin and I finally admitted how we felt for one another quite literally this morning. I didn't want anything to jeopardize that progress.

Reapers were trying to kill us, Dustin is a criminal, my family has been abandoned, and there is no assurance that we'll survive past the week. But despite all those gravely outstanding problems, I'm still a teenage girl and I still worry over teenage things.

Like boys for instance, and whether a new haircut will rip one boy away from me.

It won't matter to him, I promised myself time and time again. He won't think it's ugly, he won't find it repulsive that my spiraling locks were stolen by one of the men who broke his ribs. He won't think I'm weak, he'll think I'm strong. He'll feel all the wonderful things I felt when I first saw my reflection.

He'll love it.

I still hadn't convinced myself of them when the door opened hours later. The sound was quiet, a mere squeak of the hinges being the only indication that I no longer was alone. I sat up from where I had been stretched across Dustin's bed, waiting for him to returned. Now he stood before me, shoulders slumped and face drained of color from exhaustion.