Page 31 of Love, Nemesis (Ocean to Ashes #2)

ARES DID NOT rush. He reached his hands toward the potatoes, scooting them close and drawing a metal fork to transfer them onto his plate.

He moved the pieces of potato one at a time, and then tapped the metal fork against his plate to loosen off any starchy remnants.

Every clink of the utensils was deafening, and when he was done, he passed the dish on for Lethe to then partake.

Everyone took something, wordlessly passing around the dishes and putting meager portions on their plate.

Ana and Jasper exchanged glances when passing an old soldier’s helmet to each other, which held the cooked greens.

Ana hoped it wasn’t a helmet of someone Ares had killed.

Similarly, the spoons and other utensils were both of State and Mystic make.

The knives were all combat knives of different ages and backgrounds.

There was a more than fair chance the entire house had been stocked with items scavenged from soldiers Ares had felled.

Ares began to eat, and then Lethe, everyone else following in short order.

It was a strange sort of ceremony, Ares acting natural and pleasant as if to him this was a normal course of action before a formal discussion.

It gave the sense of a person who’d been hosted at a few tense events, and then had never been allowed to host on his own.

They ate together, Jasper with urgency, like he was rushing to the conclusion at the end of the scene. He watched each plate until Ares took his last bite. Unable to bear it any longer, he blurted out, “So, we’re settled. Ares, I think it’s only fair you share with us.”

“All right.” Ares leaned back in his chair, his tone holding an edge of annoyance that made Ana straighten in her seat.

Ares patted his mouth with a cloth napkin, and then folding his hands in his lap, he said, “Now, I will share.” He scanned the room, checking to see if each person was prepared.

“I have been an informant for the Mystics.” He scanned the table as if testing their reactions before going further.

“More than that. I have been working with them in any and all capacities I can, all with the goal of ripping the State up by its rotten roots.”

Lethe removed a handful of cinnamon sticks from his pocket, handing another one off to Ares as he stuck one in the corner of his mouth.

“The State is using black breeding again,” Jasper started. “They’re growing humans. Right?”

Ares nodded, crossing his hands on the table. “They are trying to, at least. And that was how my rebellion started. However, I have discovered far more than I could have ever wanted about the terrors of the State.”

“What do you mean?” Ana said with a force in her voice that drew the attention of the table.

Ares paused, rubbing his hands together as if he’d approached this moment with great anticipation. “The Great Light is real.”

Ana felt a hole open up in her stomach. Not just at this introduction to what seemed to be grave news, but because of the fact that she’d only just discussed The Great Light with Lethe. In her world, coincidence had never boded well.

Ares continued, “When the Strike created The Great Light, they rooted its curse to a specific object which they hid from the world. The State has that object and I’ve been led to believe that if we break it, the illusion of The Great Light will also break.

I’m convinced it’s locked up in their science division’s lab.

They have not only hidden that, but they have also put forth every effort to convince everyone that The Great Light never existed. ”

No one spoke. The mention of The Great Light was a territory they had all avoided at one point or another.

Ares wasn’t done.

“The State has been invaded by the Mystics. Several small forces have been filtering through the border and are traveling under the guise of being merchants. At this rate, they’ll hit the State capital in five days, and as you know, most of the Numbers, including all of the Hours, are spread out quelling conflict on the outer borders. ”

“That’s impossible,” Ana said. “If the Mystics hit the State now…” She trailed off, her mind capturing the possibilities as she put the pieces of Ares’s plan together.

“I helped them plan the invasion myself. I didn’t defect until I was ready, Ana,” Ares confirmed for her. “Powers rise and fall. The time has come for the State. The Mystics’ desire to be free of The Great Light is genuine. I have honored that. I want to be free too.”

His words washed over her, her brain tearing through the reasoning of it.

“For this reason, I was glad when Hailey sent you all after me. I’m grateful to be able to spare all of you from what must happen. The hammer of justice comes on the horizon.”

“It must be a small army to make it through undetected,” Ana said, staring at her plate.

“Three armies. They’ll unite again before attacking the capital.”

“Hailey will enact Chronos. It has so many citizens’ and inmates’ time tied to it, he’ll have enough to freeze all of the armies in time. Hailey is extreme—it won’t matter to him that he’s using everyone’s time. He will do whatever it takes to stop you with it.”

Ares nodded politely. “The last user of Chronos started hallucinating and jumped out of a tower in Shinlan several weeks ago. He’s dead, though The State has not publicized this.

They have deactivated Chronos and have taken it apart for reconfiguration until they can figure out how to lessen its severe side effects.

Apparently, having one host use everyone’s collected time isn’t the best formula,” Ares said with a hint of sarcasm, which was rare for him.

Many users had failed to adapt to Chronos over the last year. Mingling a host’s time with many others combined time had peculiar and unpredictable side effects. It was like stuffing a hand into a puppet that was already occupied. The results were both strange and unpleasant.

“And that’s why you defected those weeks ago,” Ana whispered vacantly. “Because you knew they wouldn’t be able to find another viable host in time if you surprised them.”

Ares nodded.

For a moment, Ana hated Hailey’s arrogance. How could he have ever underestimated the type of damage that Ares could do? The man was basically a part of their history.

Ares didn’t have loyalties. He had contracts. Hailey had severed Ares’s with the State. Ana had never trusted Hailey as a human, never sensed any moral restraint, but she’d never thought him reckless. Quite the opposite, until now.

Her brain spun with the ideas.

And The Great Light? How could the State have ever gotten hold of how to break The Great Light?

“You’re planning to meet the armies before they reach the capital,” Ana said, scanning the faces in the room before looking over at Ares. “You’re going to help lead them against the State.”

“I plan to kill the Var and Sub-Var myself,” Ares said. “And then we will break the object The Great Light is tied to. The world will become what it always has been. We will escape this illusion. What remains of the State will be reestablished under Mystic leadership.”

“And then they’ll take En Sanctus by default.” Ana nodded once, brows furrowed. “Where are the armies located now?”

“Napolli, Haddington, and somewhere between Chase and Casper by now.”

“We’re going to have to hit their supplies,” Ana replied. “Burn them, try and reach the armies before they hit the capital. If it doesn’t force them to turn back, it will slow them down, draw attention.”

“Ana,” Jasper said in alarm.

Ana looked up at Ares, who watched her calmly as if not in the least threatened by her determination.

“Do what you must,” Ares said.

Ana stood up.

“Ana, hold on,” Jasper said, rising to his feet.

“The capital is full of innocent people,” Ana said, “and the State is my home. Is my decision surprising to anyone?” She searched the table. “Ares?”

He shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Jasper?” she asked.

Jasper hesitated. “Ana. If what Ares is saying is true about The Great Light, how can we fight this?”

“The plan has always been to help the State improve, not overthrow it. We change it from the inside. We aren’t anarchists,” Ana said firmly.

“If we use a good cause to justify killing innocent people, we’re no different than Hailey, the Strike, war heroes—they all fought for what they thought were good causes, but look at what that did.

If we can hardly tell who the enemy is, whatever justifies killing people?

Everyone thinks they’re doing what they have to.

The only real solution is to stop the fighting. ”

Jasper lowered his head. He nodded, though the conflict he seemed to experience was evident on his face.

Ares spoke up. “Ana, would you feel differently if I told you that John Hailey and the State have been collaborating with the last Strike, Ivan Rowe?”

“Ah,” Lethe said under his breath, catching a glare from Ana.

“How do you know?” she demanded.

“I intercepted letters between them,” Ares said. “It’s how I discovered Ivan Rowe was still alive. Ivan was the one who handed the source of The Great Light over to the State. They’ve been working together for years.”

Ana eased back into her chair. Jasper followed. No one said anything. After a while, she looked up across the table to Lethe who sat back, one hand propped up under his elbow, his knuckles resting against his temple.

As strange as it seemed despite all of the revelations, Ana had been prepared to die in peace knowing that she was leaving the State behind, the State which she had helped support, the State which she had believed in.

With all of its flaws, the State was not John Hailey, or its corruption.

To her, it had been a dream, and she’d given her time in hopes of helping it become a better place.

She believed that she had, despite it all, and that there were other good people doing the same.

It wasn’t just a place. It was her home. It was her legacy. It was the life she’d built apart from her En Sanctan past.

There had to be another way to fix all of this.

“How good of a ROSE are you?” she asked Lethe.

He smirked. “Not too bad.”

“Good enough to kill Ivan Rowe?”

Lethe’s eyes narrowed.

“Good,” she said abruptly. “I’m betting on you killing the Strike.”

She looked over at Ares. “You have letters proving Hailey, the Var, and anyone else have been collaborating with the Strike? Can we have those?”

“With the Strike’s seal. They’re upstairs. Help yourself,” Ares said coolly.

She looked over at Jasper. “Will you come with me to try and sabotage the Mystics or are you staying here?”

“I’ll go with you,” Jasper said flatly as if there were no alternative.

“We will alert the Hours on the border by sending out notices in the closest town nearby,” Ana said, her mind racing.

“Even if this seems hopeless—a lot of tragedy just happens and that’s it, but there has to be another way of doing things, even if that other way is just having faith that there is something else to be done. ”

Her words drifted out into the air, words that had been passed down to her, words that had carried her all of these years. Jasper seemed lost in troubled thoughts. Cal kept looking among them. Ares was watching her pensively, but Lethe, Lethe stared as if he’d seen a ghost.

As soon as she met his eyes, he looked away, brows furrowed as if something had struck him.

“And let’s say all of this works,” Ares started, seeming genuinely intrigued. “Somehow, you manage to slow down these armies, prove Hailey’s guilt, have him imprisoned along with any other collaborators, the Strike is dead and can do you no harm.” He paused. “What are you going to do with me, Ana?”

Lethe clapped, drawing the attention of the room. “Before the two of you head down that potentially dangerous direction,” he said, directing his attention to Ares. “Where do I find Ivan Rowe?”

Ana wanted to hit Lethe. Granted, his behavior now seemed oddly more comforting than it had been in the mountains. This felt normal—believable.She wondered briefly what had phased him only a second ago.

“Letters were addressed to the city of Xal Xel,” Ares said.

“How do I get to Xal Xel?” Lethe asked.

“You have no allies, Lethe.”

“I’m prepared,” Lethe replied without hesitation. “I just need a good Statesman to show me the way.” He glanced over at Cal. “Someone will need to take credit for killing the last Strike, won’t they? I imagine that’s better than bringing home a war hero.” Lethe started to stand up.

“We’ll leave this afternoon,” Ana said, picking up her part of the discussion.

“Ana, we need a real plan,” Jasper objected.

“You speak the language. You look like them. I’ll create a diversion. You torch their supplies,” Ana shot back.

“Easier said than done,” Jasper breathed, pushing his palms over his forehead.

“Feel free to take what you want from the kitchen.” Ares stood as well as if the session had ended.

“I’ll give you your space to discuss,” he said before excusing himself.

“Ana, come see me when you’re done.” He proceeded upstairs, throwing back what remained in his glass and drinking it.

Everyone watched him ascend the stairs, the room falling into silence as he left.

“I didn’t agree to take Lethe to the Mystics yet.” Cal was the first to speak again. “I think—”

Lethe put a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “You’ll just be dropping me off.”

Lethe ushered Cal outside, and Ana and Jasper sat in the ensuing silence as the room emptied around them.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

She could hear her watch again in the silence.

“We always believed the State was the world’s best chance,” she said.

Jasper released a deep sigh. “You know this is transparently insane. It’s why Ares isn’t trying to stop us.”

“I know,” Ana replied. “Final mission?” she asked.

Jasper held her eyes, something like sadness flickering across his face. For a moment, it seemed like he had so much more to say, but then it dissolved into just two words, repeated back to her.

“Final mission,” he replied, Ana ignoring the itch in the back of her mind that told her the words weren’t genuine.