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

Chapter three

Xavier- 9 Months Later

I never thought the days could feel so long.

It has been nine months since Forest locked hands with the Prophet, leaving all that she knew in the dust behind her.

Nine months of waiting.

Nine months of pain.

Nine months of complete and utter silence.

Growing up, I always assumed I'd find comfort in being alone.

The idea of giving my heart to anyone after my family's death always seemed like an unrealistic ideology.

Giving anyone a glimpse into the parts of myself I hold closest was one of the few things I still had control over.

She came into my life with no warning, taking over every single one of my waking thoughts. I did all that I could to avoid falling in love with her, letting the poisonous thoughts Elyon had instilled in my mind settle. I always kept her at arm's length.

But then, she saw me as something other than a monster.

She saw me as someone worthy of love.

How the hell was I supposed to turn my back on that?

Her words keep replaying in my mind. The day I lost her grows less hazy each night I am left to deal with the effects of her absence.

It's more than just waking up, knowing I won't hear her voice or see her smile.

It's the fact she has been utterly silent.

Absolutely quiet.

I almost wish she would leave a trail of bodies in her wake so that I know she is alive.

I repeatedly play the words she shared with me in my mind after tossing me her ring.

"Usque ad extremum spiritum meu."

Latin.

The same Latin I spoke to her during her confinement in the Lottery, hoping she or her brother, with knowledge vaster than most, might be able to translate it for what it was.

Back then, I was always trying to give her signs of the evil Fallan harbored, all while feeling the cold knife of Elyon press into my back, threatening to twist at any given moment.

The Latin I know is brief, taught to me by my mother through the children's stories she used to read Lily. Given the limited texts both compounds have, most of the books pertaining to the old world's many languages are in confinement or burned away to a crisp, all for the sake of hiding valuable information. Sadly, my mother's bedtime stories did not provide enough content for me to know what Forest said.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

The world is a dark place waiting to swallow you whole.

Trusting anyone other than Kai has been difficult.

Despite all that I have gone through with the others, one thing connects Kai and me more than the rest.

The love we have for Forest will always be far greater than the way anyone else around us feels about her.

Most feel as if her actions were a betrayal. One that she had been planning since the beginning.

Possibly even before her memories were wiped.

Deep down, I know that's not the case, but letting them believe I'm anything but broken is the last thing I will do.

Given Fallan's horrid presence, the one thing I won't do is repeat past mistakes. Letting anyone see the actual thoughts rolling through my mind is a weakness.

I need to play my part as a grieving man, and I need to play it well, all while doing everything I can to bring Forest home.

The girl who turned her back on me was working for something bigger than her and me.

Forest knows something, and it's up to me to figure out what the hell it is.

I can convince everyone around me I feel nothing but pain from her actions.

I know the drive to bring her home triumphs over any lies she tried to convince me was reality.

Her heart is mine to safeguard.

She should know by now my love comes with no constraints.

Glancing back at the cabin, I stay leaned on the railing of the deck, entirely avoidant of all of those settled inside my home.

Initially, I thought being surrounded by those who found some form of comfort in my presence would ease my soul, making it that much easier to stomach the fact that even in Elyon's confinement, I never felt this alone.

Every day, I wake up, forced to face the raven-haired devil, so carelessly sleeping in Forest and I's home. His thoughts are filled with nothing but all the ways he could have done things differently.

As much as I have fantasized about the idea of killing the man, I know deep down I keep him alive to savor his death.

To savor his death with her.

Her little gift to him before she left was no light message.

That man was someone who held great value in her heart, even in death. Forest is vengeful, but despite that rage, the love she has for others defeats her vile nature.

The fact she hurt Fallan without so much as a second thought brings him a fear I intend on using.

Forest's rage is not something to take lightly.

Even Kai, someone I have considered to be a martyr for peace, often looks at the man as if he is debating which way would be the most torturous to end his existence.

Feeling the cool breeze of the spring air roll through the wooded area, the waters once ravaged by Forest's rage have somehow emerged once more, changing with the seasons. Crystal blue in the hottest months and frosted in the coldest, the waters remain stagnant, the secrets of what lies beneath its depths something that only seems to bring Mason fascination.

Mason has taken it upon himself to train the Marked residing in both compounds, being sure to keep his thoughts safeguarded. His mind is always on high alert. After quite a few conversations and many close calls, he has managed to find allies in the Shifters, promising hope for a reality like his so long as they pledge their allegiance to what he has begun to call the Revolutionists.

During Forest's time leading her following, she, too, called her people the Revolutionists, fighting for a cause much more significant than her and me.

She believed there was a way to find peace. One that could involve the safeguarding of our kind while bringing down the evil that is Elyon.

Now, she stands side by side with Elyon while his forces paint the streets in the blood of her own as if they are worthless cattle bred to be slaughtered.

I've heard the stories of what is going on behind the wards, not only in New Haven but in Sanctum's other hubs. Forest Evermoore has become no small name. It is heard in the whispers of those who have managed to make it out of confinement. Forest's name leaves the mouth of those like a scary bedtime story, filled with monsters that were meant to stay locked in the closet or shoved under the bed.

Her name evokes fear.

A fear she would have revolted at not that long ago.

As far as I know, Elyon and Forest have worked hard to reestablish the social classes within New Haven, offering living conditions suited for kings for the Unfortunates, urging the lower class into a new wave of subserviency they don't even know they are being manipulated into.

Killing off Marked left and right, the promise of Elyon and Forest's new empire brings nothing but bloodshed.

It's a damn genocide.

Auburn's group inside the city managed to take as many as they could, retreating to the compound. They entered our doors with one absent person.

The fiery red head with the raspy voice.

Staying solo, Rowan feeds into her isolation, leaving her own trail of blood despite her young age.

Violating the throats of any Official she can, she stays hidden within the depths of the ash. Cutting all communication with her group, she has become the ghost Mason has found some fascination in.

Despite his lack of care, the girl's ability to move effortlessly through a society built around control fascinated him regardless of the fact he has never laid eyes on the child with the blazing hair.

"Hey," Kai's strained voice whispers. His eyes are heavy with the presence of exhaustion.

He holds two mugs in hand.

"I brought you some energy," he whispers, shaking the mugs filled with a dark roast.

Setting it on the balconies railing, he takes a deep breath, letting himself settle in next to me. His curls are a wild mess atop his head.

"Hey," I mutter, using my voice for the first time in what feels like forever.

Giving me a sideways look, he rolls back his shoulders. His body is strained with the tension of stress.

"Didn't sleep either?" he questions. Both of us are up early enough that it's safe to assume our thoughts were nothing short of insomnia inducing.

"I never sleep," I whisper, taking a long drink from the mug. "Every time I do, I am left to dream of a reality I am no longer in," I whisper. Her image paints my mind every time I allow myself to close my eyes.

"How are you holding up?" Kai questions, an audible scoff exiting my throat at the man's silly question.

"Every day, you ask me that," I say, finally finding some clarity in my voice. "And every day, I have the same answer for you. I’m sharing my home with the very man that ruined my life. Elyon and Forest have scathed so much in their vicinity. So truthfully? I'm blissful," I snap sarcastically. His mouth is already pulled into a smile.

"Sometimes, I think asking enough times will finally change the answer," he says, shaking his head at his own comment.

Looking me over, he holds back a thought. I'm avoidant of searching his mind.

"Say whatever it is you want to say," I urge.

"Mason thinks that the Marked and the Shifters he has rallied-"

"Kai," I snap, the idea of entertaining hypotheticals eating me alive. "The last thing I want to do is talk about more scenarios that give us both blind faith. You know how I feel. As far as I see it now, your sister is far from us-"

"I translated that Latin you know," Kai says. His eyes gaze into the depths of the waters.

Stopping my statement, I finally focus on the man, both of my eyes wide.

"How?" I question.

"Mason found an old textbook with his people. A dictionary. Latin was the old language. It would seem the Shifters held value in that," Kai says. Reaching into his pocket, his hands pulls out a paper.

Holding it out to me, I take the paper, its words giving me my first bit of hope in months.

"Until my last breath," I whisper, crumpling the note into my hand.

"She meant for you to hear that message," Kai whispers. "She wanted you to hold faith, so excuse me if I will choose to hold onto mine."

Pressing the note to my chest, I keep it close to my heart, letting the words settle into my soul.

I heard you, Forest Evermoore.

I heard you.

For the love of God don't let your message fail me.

"Whatever urged her to stand by his side, Xavier, there's more to all of this than we think. That ball was part of something much bigger than what we think," Kai says. The gears in his head are rolling.

"That ball was torturous," I sigh. The revelations made that day are ones that have made me look at this home as something much more than a place to rest and keep valuables.

Could she truly have pictured me with a young one, guiding their hands as I taught them how to take their first steps on this very porch?

Is that a reality she saw herself in?

"At least you got out of that situation with both of your hands," his voice mocks. Both Kai and I turn, filled to the brim with an anger we can't expel.

Leaning into the doorway without a shirt, he watches us. His severed hand is scarred and bound in a tight leather binding. Forced to become accustomed to using his left hand, his mark clings to his skin. My mind can't help but wander to the thought that she once explored that skin.

“Who knew us falling for the same woman would have such a detrimental outcome.”

Ready to rip into this man's chest, Kai speaks for me.

“You do not love my sister!" Kai yells. His hand tosses his mug, barely missing Fallan's head with the scorching drink.

Smiling at Kai's attempt to injure him, he glances my way. Mason's warnings to keep him alive as leverage fade.

"I love the idea of her. I wasn't lying when I said she was the better sister at-"

Moving forward, I force him backward, wrapping my hand around his throat. Listening to the sweet sound of his throat constricting, I bare my teeth, pressing until his grin has left his face.

"Open your mouth one more fucking time, and I will rip your vocal cords clean from your neck," I snap. His hand grasps my own.

I slam him back into the house, finding satisfaction in the way he crumples to the ground. Raising my foot, I deliver him a hard kick to the chest.

“Don't be angry with me because she is god knows where, not even thinking twice about you. That's why you're pissy, right? Because she hasn't even so much as reached out to you?”

Slamming the door shut, Aaron steps outside, his hand curling into Fallan's hair, forcing him to stand.

“Mind your fucking mouth,” Aaron snaps.

"Well, isn't it Hunter's replacement?”

Going red at the statement, Kai covers his mouth. Aaron's hand is already raised, ready to deliver Fallan a new blow.

Stepping forward, I grab Fallan's good hand, my fingers wrapping around his pinky. Giving it a good twist, his cocky smile drops as his mouth wails out in pain. Grabbing Aaron's knife, I cut my palm, slamming my bleeding wound into Fallan's mouth. His throat chokes back blood as I force him to shut his mouth and accept the drink.

"I will gladly tie you up, and break every bone in your body repeatedly, making you shatter and feed until you have gone insane. Shut your damn mouth before I sew it shut and watch you try and force it open."

Taking a step back, I nudge my head, urging Aaron to take a step back as Fallan wipes his mouth.

His finger heals as he gives us all a look of resentment.

His silence is bittersweet.

Hearing the gravel in front of the house shift, I turn. Mason's golden eyes land on my own. His arms are crossed as his eyes switch between the three of us.

"How long were you watching?" I question. His head cocks.

"Long enough to crack a grin," he says.

His expression is as cold as ice.

You would never know he is capable of smiling.

"You better have good news-"

"One of my men spotted her," he says. All of us go rigid at the comment.

"You are not going to like what I have to say."