Eliuteria

Chapter 32

Aurael has been leveled. There is nothing left of the city I grew up in, except for the building where I spent my worst moment. "Can...can I see it?" I asked Gwena, needing the proof. Her brow creased, making the mark above her eyes more pronounced as the eyes themselves filled with pity. Did she think I would miss it? That I wouldn't want to see it fall? I'd spent my life as a prisoner in that city and watching it fall was something I never thought I would live to see. It was unfortunate that it was Juleen's doing. That there were people, human and Morri, I was certain, who would be lost in the fall. They were the ones who deserved her pity."Are you certain that it what you want? Your home has been destroyed. It's not an easy sight.""That wasn't my home." Aurael hadn't been a home to me since my father was taken from me. If Eliro was in Aurael still, if he was trapped when it fell... I pushed that thought from my head."Please" I asked, hoping that it would be enough to convince her. "I need to see it for myself."Gwena's head dipped in an elegant nod. "Very well."I called Aerias over so that I could tell him goodbye. Aerias ran over to where Gwena and I stood, looking at her with the same suspicion I felt. "Is everything okay?" he asked when I told him I needed to go somewhere with Gwena. "Yes," I lied. I wondered how he would feel to know the place where he spent his life until recently no longer existed. He lacked the bitterness I felt and I didn't know if he'd like that it was gone or not. Maybe he wouldn't even understand what it meant. He was young. "Go play, have fun with your friends. I have a few things to discuss with Gwena, but I'll see you later for dinner, right?""Okay," he said sounding a little skeptical. Lunging forward, he squeezed me tight and then was off, racing toward the other kids. "How is it that he came into your life?" Gwena asked as we walked through the village toward the building that acted as their headquarters. As we walked, we passed humans laughing with Morri as they worked together and I didn't think it was a sight I would ever grow used to. "Ro didn't explain his childhood?" I asked, surprised that he wouldn't have told them more about where he came from. It was crucial to his care. "I know he was held captive.""Aerias and his father were thrown into the bagrai. I do not know if his father died in the cell with him or was taken to the battles. He came into my life when I was assigned to cleaning the bagrai," I explained. "How he lived..." I shook my head, refusing to recall the memory from when I first found him, unsure if he'd even been alive. I now knew that he'd only survived as he did for so long because of what he was, part Morri. "It is because of Aerias that I agreed to work with Eliro.""He is a special child."Again, I found that I didn't particularly like the way she talked about Aerias. Something about Gwena just seemed a little off to me. Everything about this place was so refreshing, so perfect and Gwena seemed so traditional. I was probably being too weary of her, the woman had been nothing but kind to all of us. I followed Gwena through a door and down a long hallway to her office where a couple of Morri were waiting. They were both dressed in the same black military gear that the team that found us in the forest wore. The woman, I quickly recognized as the one who'd found me first. They both stood tall, their chins held high with confidence. "Lena, this is Jaren. He is our acting lead security officer.""Hello," I greeted the the large Morri man, trying to hide my surprise at his face. It wasn't that he was abhorrent to see. His eyes were bright and his jaw was strong. He was as gorgeous as any Morri, but unlike those I'd seen, he wasn't flawless. The left side of his face was horribly marred. I wasn't sure what could cause that kind of damage, maybe a burn. I'd seen scarred Morri before, but none like this, not with their ability to heal and the advanced medical technology. His hair was shaved except for a strip down the center of his head where his deep green hair stood several inches above his head. The sides of his head were covered in markings that I knew were generally symbols of honor, though I had no idea what his meant. Jaren leaned forward and reached out a hand in a very human manner. It was something I noticed many Morri here did. Every Morri I'd met seemed to make a conscious effort to make us comfortable and communicate in the way we did. "Don't let it scare ya, Ms. Lena," he said and offered a warm smile as he shook my hand."I—" I stumbled over my words. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to stare.""Ah, it takes getting used to," Jaren waived off my apology with a hand. "I have been looking forward to meeting you."I wished I could say the same. It was clear that while Eliro had kept his life here a secret from me, he had not been so secretive with the people here. They all seemed to know me and the way they so warmly greeted me left me wondering what Ro had told them. "And you've met Eda," Gwena said gesturing to the Morri woman in the room, the same one who'd found and brought us here. Despite wearing tactical clothing, she looked elegant, like one of the women in Juleen's court. Her copper skin was decorates with silver markings and her white hair was kept in dozens of braids that I had never seen worn in Aurael. "Yes," I said. "I cannot thank you enough.""Lena would like to see the broadcast," Gwena said to Jaren whose eyes went wide as they looked to me. "Are you certain?" he asked.I wasn't going to second guess myself now. I needed to see it. I wanted to see it destroyed and I needed to see if anyone could have possibly survived. I nodded to Jaren."Gwena," Eda said. "I have an update."My ears perked up. I wanted to know what the update was."If you'll excuse us," Gwena said to me. "Jaren will show you what you wish to see."I watched them walk out the door, wishing I could go with them. Suddenly seeing the city wasn't as important as knowing what Eda's update was. The rational part of me understood that these people didn't know me any better than I knew them. Trust was earned and I knew I shouldn't expect them to divulge their every plan and secret. Still, being left in the dark didn't ease the suspicious feelings I had of Gwena. "We would tell you if we heard anything.""Huh?""You look ready to storm out after them," Jaren explained. "You do not know us, but we would not keep it from you if we had communication from anyone in Aurael.""Sorry—""Don't apologize," Jaren said. "I wanted to speak with you alone. Eda agreed to occupy Gwena."My lips snapped shut. "It seems like everyone here knows me," I said while Jaren worked with a holo-device on the desk in the room. "But I've never heard of any of you."Jaren smiled and looked up to meet my eyes. "Does it bother that you don't know what he said about you, or that he never told you about us?" I didn't get a chance to answer his question before the image pulled up on the holo-screen. The footage wasn't dark like that I'd seen of the interrogation. It was like any other city broadcast. Music played and perfect lighting hit Juleen's face. He sat behind his desk in the paestra, looking clean and unaffected by what the last several days had done to the rest of his people. "Look at that." Jaren pointed to Juleen. The smile on his face was broad, and if was being honest, a little scary. "Someone tagged the bastard," he said, speaking of the scar on Juleen's face. The scar that I put on him."He killed my dearest friend and I didn't quite finish the job."If I had none of this would have happened. Or if I had just done as we planned, he would have been killed.My chest tightened under the weight of of that thought. This had all started the moment Mia's life was taken. I was responsible.I took pride in putting that mark on his face, but realized now that it had been what set all of this into motion. I was not sorry for killing Faedra and I was not sorry for attempting to take Juleen out as well, but I could see my role in all of this now. Had I not reacted so rashly in the face of Mia's death, the city would be standing still. The plan so carefully formed by Tau and Ro would have gone off without issue and Juleen would be dead now. I tried to drag in deep breaths, but it didn't feel like I was getting any air. I was suffocating.My hands clawed at my chest which seemed to grow tighter and tighter until I thought my racing heart would explode out of it. "Lena." Two strong hands cupped my face. "Breathe through it," Jaren ordered and then demonstrated by pulling in a deep breath and then blowing it out. Tears pricked at my eyes and then spilled down my cheeks while I tried to mimic his breathing. "You don't have to watch this."That wasn't true. I did have to watch this. "I'm okay," I said when my chest loosened and I could breath again. "You can play it.""I don't—""Play it," I snapped. Releasing me, Jaren sighed and started the broadcast again. "For too long we have allowed humans to live among us. We have permitted them to serve us and they have repaid us by plotting with our enemies," Juleen's voice was cold and resolute. "They have repaid our kindness with attacks against our people, against your zashar," Juleen's voice rose as he pointed to the scar on his face. He paused either for dramatic effect or to calm himself before speaking again, his tone steady. "Today begins a new Aurael. From the ashes of our city, we will rebuild a haven from the humans who wish to see us destroyed." "How long ago did this broadcast?" I asked as Juleen continued to announce his plans for the future. "In the dawn hours of the morning," he said. "It's about to happen. He'll do some public executions and then he calls for the bombs."Juleen blinked out and the footage changed to the steps of the paestra where at least a dozen humans stood in a line. Shoulder to shoulder. The view panned across each of their faces. "I know some of them."Adrian, a boy who worked in the kitchen, stood pale faced. He was younger than me by several years, practically a child still, and more than once had sneaked the girls extra food. He was shot first. A girl, Raquel, stayed a couple doors down from the room I shared with Analiese. I didn't know her well because I tried not to know anyone. But I'd worked with her. Like Adrian's had, her body crumpled to the ground after the shot was fired. Marlee was there, too. She got the fate she deserved. One by one the humans were killed in a public showing for the world to see and then the holo-screen before me once again showed Juleen's smiling face. Sirens began to sound. "All Morri who are loyal have been called to the paestra for safety," Juleen announced. "Today, we will begin a new Aurael."Sounds of blasts and explosions were muffled in the distance before the image was Juleen was replaced by sky views of the city as building crumbled. My jaw dropped as I witnessed the destruction, never having fathomed that Juleen would take such an extreme measure. It seemed to never end. Only the very center of the city where the paestra was and several surrounding blocks where the most trusted and wealthiest of the Morri lived, stood when it ended. Minutes or hours passed in silence before Jaren spoke. "When Ro brought the boy, he stayed for a meal so we could speak strategy in the event he and Tau did not return. He told me about you then. He said you were compassionate and angry and that you were the most stubborn creature he'd ever encountered." Jaren chuckled a little. "He promised that you wouldn't trust any of us when you came here.""That doesn't sound like the most glowing endorsement.""Ro has spent his life around people eager to please him, or too scared to voice dissent. Everything he said about you was spoken with admiration.""Do you believe they are dead?"Jaren's eyes met mine and in them, I saw the truth. He didn't believe they were dead. "Let me show you something." He replayed the footage again, showing the public executions of individuals guilty of nothing except for being human. "They had plenty of warning, you see? You can hear the sirens start to blow during the executions."Jaren skipped the footage ahead to the sky view of Aurael as the explosions began. "Look here, they start with the outskirts and move in toward the city center."I watched the footage again and saw exactly what Jaren meant. Unless they were stuck in spot on the outskirts of the city, they had time and warning to move. They would have been driven further into Aurael, closer to Juleen. "I served under Eliro in the Seiraul army. I am not sure how much you know regarding the war across the sea, but that is where we were."I had never heard of the war across the sea. Aurael hadn't been to war in centuries. We'd lived in tenuous peace with the other great cities of Eozelle and Sieraul. I didn't even know what sea Jaren was speaking of, much less a war with someone living across it. But I didn't interrupt, that wasn't the point of the story. "I was scouting ahead with a small group and we made a misstep. We were caught and interrogated." Jaren paused long enough to gesture to his face, implying the odd scarring covering the left side had been done during that interrogation. "Eliro defied his orders and found the camp where we'd been held. Alone, he infiltrated in the night and by the morning a hundred Scala were dead.""A hundred?""Yes. Most of them killed by their own hand at his suggestion. They didn't go in a quick, painless sort of way either.""He persuaded them to kill themselves?""He had to fight a few of the guards hand to hand. He held almost a hundred minds at once, and overpowered each man and womans will to live. That is unheard of. Terrifying if he is your enemy."That was it. That was why he was so feared, why those young Morri had ran from him at only a few whispered words. Eliro scared me a couple of times since we'd met, but I'd never truly feared him the way I probably should have. Why had it not been more alarming to me that he so easily scared off other Morri? "He never told me about any of that...""He's not proud of it," Jaren said. "I owe Ro my life and if I'm being honest, no, I don't think he's dead. I've seen him survive against the odds before.""Your leader disagrees.""Gwena is an elder member of the council who is our leadership, but she is not our leader and she does not have final say. Any decisions can be put to a vote before the council.""She told me she would not endanger any more lives and would not allow me to endanger my own.""And you plan to endanger your own life?" He asked and I thought there was a challenge in his eyes. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try.""Whats your plan?"Titling my head, I eyed him trying to figure out whether or not I could trust this man. "Do you plan to stop me?" Jaren smiled. "I plan to help you." He laughed. "Don't look so surprised. Things are not perfect anywhere, Lena. Even here, we disagree with one another. Not everyone is okay with allowing those men to die. Every single one of them would and has put themselves at risk to help the people who live here. I am not the only one who owes their life to one of those men. "Unfortunately, with Tau and Keon gone, our council is short two votes and Gwena was able to convince the others the odds of finding our men alive are slim enough that it does not warrant sending more to their rescue. When Eda mentioned your talk of going back to the city, I thought we might work together."Without hesitation, I closed the distance between Jaren and myself and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. He seemed taken aback, but after a moment, returned the hug I'd surprised him with. With my face buried in his chest, I started to cry again, too filled with emotions to hold it all back. It wasn't just his offer to help. It was everything that I hadn't been able to process over the last week. Mia's death. My torture. It was seeing that footage of the executions, of the buildings that crumbled, some of which I knew must have had people, Morri and humans alike, inside as they fell. But mostly, it was relief. Someone else believed they were still alive and wanted to go after them. I wasn't alone. And I had help that I desperately needed. "Maybe we shouldn't have shown you, my apologies," Gwena said sometime later, misinterpreting my embrace of my near perfect stranger. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's get you back to your room."I squeezed Jaren tighter for a moment before releasing him. He had very quickly become my favorite person in this place. "I'll show her back," Eda said. "Thank you, Eda," Gwena said and then, apparently dismissed, she turned her back toward us and began speaking to Jaren.