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PREVIOUSLY...
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The old man claimed to be the emperor. Azura realised she couldn't kill him. Shocked, Azura discovered he was no ordinary man, at the same moment the emperor realised Azura was no ordinary girl. Reminded of her marks, Azura threatened the old man with them. Cowering in fear, the emperor spilled his secrets. He revealed that for so long Palmira had been controlling the Empire, threatening the emperor with the marks though she didn't have them. He also revealed that Azura came from Yetok and that Sharlik soldiers were sent to capture her but were killed by one of Palmira's spies who had infiltrated his ranks; Azura's brother. He told her that her marks were made to kill gods. Azura killed the emperor with her marks and was bombarded with his memories of a war between demons and angels and of Lucifer. Azura made her escape.

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The bleeding hasn't stopped by the time I step into the horrid gardens of the Order, the first rays of sunlight beginning to paint the sky a dusty pink. I sway on my feet, struggling to keep my eyes open. I know I need to, I can't be weak, not now, not when this ordeal isn't over.

"Where's Palmira?" I demand one of the guards that lurk in the shadows who looks me up and down with distaste.

"In the ballroom with Erasmus, waiting for you."

I huff out a breath and stumble through the doors of the school, leaning against the oak walls and leave streaks of blood behind me. I don't look back. I don't think of anything else beyond reaching Palmira and wringing answers from her. I can't deny the truth in the emperor's words, the sincerity in them. I don't want them to be true because that means...

It means that Palmira has repeatedly destroyed my life and my brother kept more from me than I could have ever realised. It means Palmira orchestrated the attack on the Order that killed Suri.

I want to know why but I'm also terrified to know the answer to that question.

The ballroom is well lit but near empty when I stagger into it, heaving breaths that hurt. Low murmurings fall silent as I stalk towards Palmira and Erasmus, their gazes settling on me.

"You've returned," Palmira muses with a quirked eyebrow.

My fingers clench into a fist and I'm desperate for a weapon. "I succeeded," I tell her, choosing my words carefully as I see her doing the same thing.

She shifts, her silvery gown pooling at her feet like a puddle of water. "My spies have already confirmed as much. The emperor is dead and you finally know the truth."

I look down at my gloved hand, wondering which truth she speaks of. "You expect me to believe that the old man I faced was a god? Where were his wings? His powers?"

"Stripped from him," she replies with a wave of her hand and I narrow my eyes at her.

"How awfully convenient."

"Ulric—then known as Kuhric—fought with Lucifer in the Great Rebellion," she says as I move closer to her, wary of every shift she makes. "Then betrayed Lucifer and tried to return to Heaven. They tore his wings from him, severing his connection to his powers. But he was still a god, and gods can't be killed."

"Yet I just killed him."

A smile curves her lips, a glint of something shining in her eyes. Perhaps it's glee, but such an emotion can't possibly exist for a woman like Palmira. "Indeed you did. Thus proving the rumours to be true about your markings."

"And that's all they do? Allow me to kill gods?" The lunacy in my own words nearly makes me cackle, but I taste no lies. I lift my hand, splaying my fingers and stare at the black leather.

"That's all they need to do. You hardly understand the power that entails."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You needed to see it for yourself," she says with a shrug. "And besides, I couldn't know if your markings really did what was rumoured."

A muscle in my jaw flexes. "But you were willing to risk my life just to prove it?"

"Sacrifices must be made in times of war."

I stiffen at those words, remembering every other truth I've learnt today about this fucking war. "Except we're not at war with the Empire, are we?"

Palmira tilts her head, displaying nothing on her features. "What do you mean by that, Azura?"

"You've been lying to everyone," I hiss. "You've been telling the emperor for years that you have something you can use to kill him, just so you can run the Empire yourself."

Palmira continues to watch me in silence, her lack of reply making the anger that was little more than cold coals a moment ago flare into spitting sparks.

"Did you do it? Did you attack the Order?"

"I've done what I must for the betterment of Rupteran."

"Did you do it?" I scream, blood and split flying from my lips as I tremble with my fury.

She leans forward, her features hardening. "To get you to fulfil your place in this war? Yes, I did it."

My breathing quickens and I forget my pain, my dizziness, my confusion. All I see is Palmira and the web of lies she's weaved. "You killed Suri."

Palmira sighs and glances at Erasmus, exasperation on her face.

"Suri isn't dead," Erasmus speaks, breaking his silence, and my gaze darts to him. "It was what you needed to hear at the time."

I stumble back as though his words are a physical blow. Suri is... No, I went into the Empire for her. I killed the emperor for her. I almost died because I thought I'd lost her.

Liars. All of them.

"You used me," I breathe, my eyes widening, staring at nothing as my world cracks and shifts once again. "You used my pain to get what you wanted."

I warned you, little flame.

"Azura—" Erasmus begins, stepping towards me, but I thrust out a hand, stopping him as my face twists.

"You've lied to the entire world."

"People are easier to control when they're afraid," Palmira says, simple and clear like she's speaking about the weather and not the lives of thousands of people.

I stare at her, unable to comprehend the full magnitude of what she's done. "Did you destroy the Tacree Kingdom to spread fear?" The question burns my lips. It's the question I've needed to ask for a long time. What really happened to Ari's home?

"There are greater threats in existence than the Empire," Palmira tells me, clasping her hands behind her back. "The shape-shifters didn't heed my warnings, didn't accept our alliance."

"So you murdered an entire race of people?" The words are choked from me as my throat begins to close, the sting of tears pressing against the backs of my eyes.

"Sacrifices must be made in war." She shifts her gaze and dips her chin. I hear the struggle first, curses rising into the air, before my head whips around and I see Ari. A gasp leaves me as he's dragged to Palmira's side, spitting blood with fury sparking into his brown eye that isn't swollen shut.

"Ari?" I look between him and Palmira, my heart beginning a wild beat against my ribs.

Shouldn't have trusted, should have run. Run, run, run.

But I can't leave him behind, not when he shouldn't even be here. He should have left me behind. Why didn't he leave me behind?

Ari's wrists are shackled before him, the metal clanking on the ground as he's shoved to Palmira's feet, but that's not what my eyes focus on. My mouth goes dry when I see the collar around his throat, the iron crusted with blood from the metal spikes that jab inward, stabbing into his skin with every move he makes. It's preventing him from shifting, he'll impale himself if he tries to turn into a wolf. The cruelty of it makes even me wince and sick to stir in my gut.

"He broke into my office a few days ago and stole some letters," Palmira says, looking at Ari slumped on the ground before her. "It made me wonder why he would do such a thing." She crouches and grips his cheeks, drawing his gaze to hers, her midnight fingers smearing the blood on his face. "You're too smart for your own good, Ari of Tacree."

He spits and blood splatters against her cheek.

Palmira turns away, her nostrils flaring. She stands and I don't have time to react before her knuckles slam into his cheek, making that collar jostle around his neck and more blood drips to the marble.

I lurch forward, a cry spilling from my lips as Ari hits the ground, but I'm grabbed and tugged away from Palmira. I glare up at Erasmus, his jaw set and his eyes hard as he looks at me.

Fury is a chaotic swirl within me. It's becoming familiar now, the burn in the back of my throat, the way my gut twists. I throw out a hand and the fire bursts from the tips of my fingers, crawling up my arm to shoot forth towards Palmira. It blows the hair from my face, makes Erasmus stumble away, and dries the blood dripping down the side of my face. My mouth opens in a silent scream as I wrench the power from within me, barrelling it towards Palmira.

Something lights up, a hazy blue combating with the orange wave of fire. I don't smell burnt flesh. I don't hear her scream. I grunt as I pull my powers back before I can bring myself to my knees again, tucking my arm close to me.

I blink through the tendrils of smoke as Palmira stands there, her fingers splayed before her, sygils alight on her forearm.

She lowers her hand, staring at me like I've grown a second head. "Where did you learn to do that?"

I shake my head, refusing to answer her question, bile rising in my throat as my stomach churns and I swallow the urge to vomit.

I should have known she would have sygils in place to protect herself. Anyone powerful enough would. I'm the fool that's throwing these flames around like they'll save me.

My gaze goes to Ari who's struggling not to move too much, the iron talons against his throat making blood stain his tunic.

My back is towards the exit. I could run, throw enough fire to distract them, leave this entire mess and forget everything I witnessed in the Order. A few months ago I would have done just that without a second thought, self-preservation the foremost thing in my mind. But now...

Ari, I can't leave him here alone. I can't escape without him.

I turn my black gaze to Palmira as she continues to watch me like I'm a rabid cur. "What do you want from me now?"