With wide eyes, Ivory watched them pass.
Our horses stayed quiet and flicked their tails, releasing occasional neighs that the Plunderers couldn’t detect. There was a long string of them, several dozen, along with their horses and carts.
They passed, but we remained hidden in the woods, waiting long after their footsteps retreated before we moved forward.
She was pale as snow. “Why do they dress like that?”
“Intimidation.”
“What are they like?”
“When Necrosis comes, they sacrifice the weakest members of the herd. The elderly. The injured. The disabled. They also sacrifice children because the younger you are, the purer your soul is. And the purer your soul is…the more energy it has.”
She halted in her tracks.
It took me a few steps before I realized she’d fallen behind.
She stood there, breathing hard, practically panting. “Nobody would do such a thing…”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“And you did nothing?”
“When Necrosis hits, there’s not much you can do but try to survive.”
“But children aren’t weak. They grow. They raise the population.”
“But one child is the equivalent of four adults. It’s fewer lives.”
She shook her head like she refused to believe me. “That’s not where I come from…”
It’s exactly where she came from.
“My mother would never have allowed that.”
“When you’re at the top of cliffs, safe from Necrosis, you don’t have to worry about it. Your morality isn’t tested. You don’t have to make hard decisions because you aren’t faced with hard decisions. Your parents may seem like true north on a moral compass, but that’s only when the sun is shining, when there’s food on the table, when peace reigns.”
She shook her head slightly, her eyes about to burst with rage. “My mother would never have supported such barbarism.”
“I’m sure she didn’t. But it probably wasn’t up to her.”
“My father… He wouldn’t do it either.”
He was probably the one who had suggested the idea in the first place.
She stared me down, as if she dared me to challenge her.
I should take the opportunity to rip her to pieces, to tell her exactly how horrible her father was, but I couldn’t do it. It would bring no satisfaction, just guilt and pain. “We should keep moving.”
“Can you get them to stop?”
“No.” I kept going.
“What do you guys do?”
“We send our army out to war to protect HeartHolme.”
“How many times have you fought them?”
“Four.”
“And what was it like?”
A living nightmare. “No words can describe.”
“Is it possible to defeat them?”
I didn’t surrender. I didn’t lay down my sword. I kept going until death stopped me. “No.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
“So…what, then? Some die while others feed? And then they retreat back to their lands?”
“Exactly.”
“And they spare everyone else so they can eat you later? Like leftovers?”
“Yes. I’ve already told you this.”
“But…I just can’t believe that. I can’t believe that it’ll be this way forever. That we just give up?”
“There’re too many of them.”
“So, your solution is to go to the top of the cliffs?” she asked incredulously.
“Go?” I turned on her, my anger rising. “You mean return. Because it’s my home.”
She went still, meeting my fury with her own. “And then abandon everyone else down here. Just like my father has. Because you’re no better.”
My hand released the reins of my horse, and I turned on her, unable to believe she’d just said that to me.
“That’s exactly what your family did—and they’d do it again. Don’t pretend to be righteous saviors when you’re no different from my father. My father did some really fucked-up things, but the Runes, Teeth, Plunderers would all still be stuck down here suffering if your family was on the throne. This isn’t about doing the right thing. This is about climbing to the top and saving your own ass.”
It didn’t matter if she was right. I wanted to grab her by the neck and throw her down to shut her mouth, but my hand wouldn’t reach for her.
“The only way this works for everyone is if we defeat Necrosis.”
“And then the Kingdoms will just turn on one another down here.”
“Not if a truce is signed. Not if we make peace. Not if there’s one king who rules over them all.” Her eyes drilled into mine. “If your plan works and you take back Delacroix, those innocent children will still be sacrificed. People will still lose their lives and their afterlives. This is bigger than your need for revenge. This is about all of us.”
All I cared about was myself—not anyone else.
“You know I’m right.”
I dismissed her by walking away.
“Huntley.”
“This conversation is over.”
“And if everyone makes it to the top of the cliffs, then Necrosis will scale the walls and come for the Kingdoms. But if Necrosis were gone, some people wouldn’t mind being down here. You said it’s not freezing cold everywhere, that some places are more hospitable than others.”
I kept walking.
“Don’t ignore me.”
That’s exactly what I did.