Page 36 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter thirty-five

Forest

I need to go down there.

One of the Revolutionists cracks Kai in the face, drawing blood.

I need to go down there.

Our girl stirs inside of my stomach, making me feel that much more uneasy. Over the past several days, she has moved more and more, warning me of the discomfort she is feeling having to stay in my body.

Just a bit longer.

Mason grabs Xavier's hair, tossing him right into the ground.

I have to go down there.

I have to protect them-

"Forest."

Young and cold, her voice is one I don't think I will ever forget.

Rowan Eros.

The young girl from below the compound.

Turning my head, she grips her bleeding forearm. Rich with the presence of her energy, I marvel at the crack she managed to create in the ground below.

"Rowan? What are you doing up here-"

"Let's skip the part where you pretend like you don't know why I am here, Forest. I've been inside your mind. I've seen your plan all along. Our window for accomplishing what needs to be done is running thin. While you have been playing dress up, pretending like having alone time with daddy is saving you and your child, the rest of us have been keeping Xavier and your brother from falling over the deep end. There isn't any more time, Forest-"

Waving my hand, I close her throat before she can continue.

"Do not forget who you are talking to, Rowan Eros," I hiss. "You may talk big, but you are a child, and I can easily snap your little neck before you get a word out."

Gasping, she clutches her throat.

"T-Then w-who will save y-your baby?" she questions.

Cocking my head, I Winnow directly in front of her.

"What the hell do you mean?"

Easing up on her throat, she coughs.

"I'm here to make sure this all ends. If I can get us both to the cabin, Fallan, Valerie and Bekah are waiting there. You want her out? They are all I've got. I can get your child out before you do what needs to be done. You know this tyranny won't end unless Elyon is gone. You want a future for Xavier and your family, right? Then help me make it happen."

"Maybe I can find a way to detain Elyon, keep him under control-"

"I've seen it, Forest," Rowan says coldly. "I've seen what happens if you don't do this."

Shaking my head, I narrow my eyes.

"How could you have seen-"

Surging forward, her hands are on my temples before I can shove her away. Gleaming eyes and red-hot runes coat her body with power.

As if a light has been switched off in my eyes, everything goes dark, throwing me into a state of panic.

Full detached from reality, it feels as if her energy is swarming through me, taking over every single fiber of my being. Trying to reach for the tether to my girl's energy, there is nothing but dead ends.

What is this?

What is-

Hit in the face with a thick cloud of ash, I nearly cough up a lung staggering away from the dense smoke. Hitting my back, something cold and putrid collides with my skin.

Turning around, I bare my teeth at whatever vile sight is ready to torment me. Stumbling backward, I look in horror at the bodies swinging from their necks, put on full display for anyone in this town center to see. Each Marked, their bodies drained, void of the rich blood that once flowed through their veins. Moving along, even laughing at the site, the citizens surrounding me all wear the same clothing.

No Unfortunates.

No Untouchables.

Grabbing a woman's shoulder, I stop her dead in her tracks.

"What the hell is going on?" I whisper. "Where am I?"

"Have you hit your head, dear? You're in New Haven."

Swallowing dryly, I look around.

Prosperous in all the ways it should be, the great divide between the population is nowhere to be seen.

"The Unfortunates-"

"Unfortunates?" she laughs. "I haven't heard that term in years-"

"The people strung up, they aren't Unfortunates?" I question with confusion.

Shaking her head, she looks at me as if I am deranged.

"Filthy Marked," she hisses. "The real scum of our society."

Shaking my head, I run my hands over my stomach, feeling nothing.

"Where is she?" I whisper.

"Where is she-"

"Up there," Rowan's voice utters. "I'd say she went down with the first wave of Marked, assuming Elyon let her live."

No longer surrounded by patrons, it is just me and Rowan in the middle of New Haven's town square.

Pointing to the swinging bodies, vomit threatens to breach my throat.

"Welcome to your child's future if Elyon is not dealt with," she hisses. "A future in which the man in the silver mask has taken it all. He may have made you think one way, Forest, but I've seen it. I've seen it even when I have tried not to. There is no future so long as the silver mask remains."

Touching my temple, I glare at her.

"How are you showing me this? How the hell do I know this isn't just some mind trick-"

"Trust me, Forest, if I wanted to play mind games I wouldn't be wasting them on you," she whispers. "Believe it or not, I have faith in the cause you created, and now, I am doing all that I can to ensure our kind lives. That includes your daughter."

"Where is she-"

As if she was never gone, my bump returns, giving me some sense of relief.

"I don't know why I see it," Rowan's voice is solemn. "I don't know why I am burdened with it. Some pictures are clearer than others. It drove Elyon mad, not knowing how I was able to see a future he could not," she takes a look around, tucking her hands in her pockets.

"I am haunted by what I have seen. For years I have seen this reality, analyzing it well before you all found me in the compound. If there was another way, I would have figured it out by now."

Feeling her hands move away from my temples, we are both thrown back into the present, silent in the midst of chaos ensuing below us.

Pointing to my stomach, she lets out a shaky breath.

"Let's save her," she whispers. "Then, you save us all."

Extending her hand out toward me, she waits for my response.

"Save them all?" I whisper.

"There is no other way."

Rubbing my hand over my stomach, I stare at my engagement ring.

There is no other way.

I've always known this.

And now, it's time to lay in the bed that was made for me.

Grabbing her hand, I narrow my eyes.

"Run."