As We Rise: Savage (As We Rise Saga Book 2) Read online

  The idea of being the punchline to some sadistic joke deflated Sky. She slunk over to Phoenix and stood stiffly next to him, arms crossed. Rana sat primly on a bench under the great ers tree, her face tilted upward and her eyes closed as if she were soaking the sun’s rays.

  No one spoke, and the air around them felt heavy and awkward. Sky knew that both Phoenix and Rana were as anxious as she, but they were the picture of calm. For some reason, that infuriated Sky.

  She was the one who was calm during the storm. She was always the one with the plan. Sky didn’t understand why she couldn’t calm down. Maybe it was the constant soft buzz of her mark that began when she discovered Beast’s treachery. Maybe it was because she hadn’t received a return message from Jo and the holosilence scared her.

  No, it was because deep down Sky knew the council would do nothing.

  “We are wasting our time. They will not help us,” Sky announced, breaking the silence.

  Rana cracked open one eye, her lips pulling into a frown. Phoenix stared at her with a bemused smile.

  “We should be at the hut, making our own plans to save Beast’s victims and to stop him from giving away clan secrets.”

  “It’s not a waste of time to ask for help,” Rana said.

  “It is when there will be no help given.”

  “We’re not wasting time, Sky,” Phoenix said, his voice low. “I don’t think they will offer help either, but when we infiltrate Bludhaven and stop the exchange, the vid feeds from my ocular scanner and hopefully any other proof we find will protect us from punishment.”

  “I didn’t think of it that way,” Sky answered.

  Phoenix smiled kindly. “It’s okay to not always have the answers, Sky.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Sky answered, her grin matching Phoenix’s.

  This time when the silence took over, it was comforting. Sky took deep breaths, letting the peace of knowing that she wasn’t alone reassure her. By the time Sky began to feel like herself again, the door opened and they were called to the council chambers.

  The high council consisted of two men and two women who had held their council seats for longer than ten rotations. Every three rotations, the elder council voted for who would serve on the high council, and for the past twenty-five rotations, the high council had remained the same. With the exception of one.

  Sky’s gaze landed on the petite blonde woman who had spoken up for her at the previous council meeting and felt her jaw drop open. The woman hardly looked a rotation older than Sky, but there she was, sitting right next to Titus.

  “It is good to see you again, Sky,” the blonde woman announced, her greeting bright and her smile honest. “I am Elder Lark of the Heartsclaw clan. I’m sorry for the lack of introductions before, but your entrance to the last council meeting was a bit unorthodox. You still remember the others?”

  “Yes, Elder Lark.” Sky spared a quick nod in the direction of the two remaining elders. She didn’t remember their names and honestly didn’t care, but she remembered her father saying that the two of them were typically reserved and waited for the others to voice an opinion before deciding their own.

  “Please, just call me Lark. I’m not a stickler for formalities.”

  When Sky nodded, Lark turned to Titus, awaiting his greeting. Instead, he stared at Sky, his narrowed gaze piercing her heart, but Sky didn’t flinch at the anger he shot her way. She kept her chin lifted and her stare true.

  “Why have you gathered the high council?” Titus growled.

  “We have recently uncovered some disturbing news regarding another elder and felt it prudent to petition the high council in this matter,” Phoenix answered.

  “Very well. Present your statement.”

  Phoenix nodded to Sky. She stepped forward, feeling Rana and Phoenix behind her in unspoken support.

  “High council. We have witnessed another council member conspiring with the Elitians to not only kidnap and traffic our people off the twin moons for Elitian corporations and auctions, but to assist the Elitians’ goal to amass an unbeatable army by donating our warriors and technology.”

  “Are you saying that one of the clan elders is giving away our people and secrets to the Elitians?” the other woman elder asked. Her face slowly paled as she spoke.

  “Yes,” Sky answered.

  “What technology?” The male elder asked.

  “Our shields.”

  It felt as if the sound was sucked out of the room. The elders stared at Sky with wide, unbelieving eyes. It was a violation of the highest order to betray the clans in such a way. Even though Sky had seen the holovid herself, it was still difficult for her to believe.

  “Where is your proof?” Lark asked.

  “Phoenix will send you a holovid to your UABs.”

  Sky waited while the elders viewed the file and whispered among themselves. Her mark zipped shocks down her spine every so often, and Sky wondered what was being said that caused her power to fluctuate so drastically.

  “This evidence is compelling,” Lark said, her lips pulled into a severe frown and bringing out wrinkles that Sky hadn’t noticed before. She shot a narrowed glare at Titus, and Sky felt the need to shudder at the animosity behind her gaze.

  “Tell me, Phoenix, why should we trust a woman who has been cursed by our former gods then abandoned her people, and a priest of Ocmus?” If Titus’s voice wasn’t dripping with rancor, Sky would have never guessed his emotions. His face was a mask of neutrality.

  “I was never initiated as a priest. By the blessing of the Ancients, I was able resist their torture long enough for Sky to rescue me. Without her gift, the order would still be thriving and I would be dead from their training,” Phoenix answered. Sky turned to look at him. He stood tall without fear or pride. In that moment, he was just a man telling the truth without worry. Sky had never found him more attractive.

  “We do not believe you. This is the act of a broken woman trying to manipulate her way out of a marriage contract while being groomed by one of her former masters,” the male elder stated. He looked at Sky with pity as if he truly believed she was so broken that she would seek out her torturers.

  “I beg your pardon.” Rana’s voice broke his consolatory gaze as he turned to the Elitian woman.

  Rana’s shoulders were pulled back and her hands were steadily clasped in front of her. She looked every bit the fierce warrior and diplomat. Sky felt awed by how Rana commanded the attention of the seasoned councilors. She was a true leader.

  “I can attest to the legitimacy of this video, as I was present and witnessed the exchange.”

  “Why would we believe one who is so devoted to Sky?” the female elder asked.

  “You can believe me because I’m here standing against my own people. It’s my government coming here to overthrow yours. I have nothing to gain from being here and everything to lose.”

  “I believe you,” Lark announced. Her eyes burned into Sky’s, and Sky felt the truth in her statement. “However, the vote always goes to the majority, and I have been out maneuvered.”

  “Sky, you will stay here and fulfill your duty to Elder Beast. Rana, you are still our guest, and I welcome you to stay with Sky, but your friend will have to leave,” Titus announced.

  Though his voice was hard, something flickered behind his eyes for a moment. It was gone before Sky could even consider exploring what it meant. She wanted to say something, but Titus looked away and nodded to someone behind Sky.

  Sky shook her head and stepped toward Phoenix, who already had a firm grip on Rana’s arm. Phoenix’s scent of sunshine and clay surrounded her, followed by the warmth of his arm pulling her to his side. She kept her eyes locked on her father as the darkness pulled her away.

  Seventeen

  They landed in the forest that bordered Erswood. Sky ripped from Phoenix’s embrace and screamed until she ran of breath. She sucked in air and her knees gave out. She hit the ground with enough force to clank her teeth together, but she didn’t f
eel any pain.

  Sky was livid. She had never felt so much rage before. Her hands shook and she dug her nails into the soft dirt, breathing in the lush scents of the woods.

  “Why didn’t you transport us the entire way?” Rana asked Phoenix softly. “We’re still too close to the village, and Sky gave away our position with this outburst.”

  “Her raw emotions were affecting my concentration. I traveled as far as I could before I had to stop. We’re deep in woods, and even if someone heard Sky, they would have to travel quite a bit before reaching us,” Phoenix answered.

  They stopped talking, but Sky felt them both close by, waiting for her to compose herself or ask for help. Having them with her, but not pushing her to talk, helped Sky find peace in her heart. After a few slow breaths, Sky released the ground and sat back on her knees.

  “He was going to try and capture me. After everything. After the proof we handed him, he was still going to force me into marriage.” Sky’s voice was hardly above a whisper but strong as graphene.

  “I don’t think his heart was in it though,” Rana said as she slipped her arm around Sky’s waist. “There was regret in his eyes.”

  “Maybe,” Sky sighed. She had seen the brief flicker before he called his guards, but she didn’t know if it was regret for his actions or regret that Sky was his daughter.

  “We need to move,” Phoenix announced. “My mark is on fire.”

  Sky tilted her head at him, her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I feel nothing.”

  “Maybe Luz is allowing you a respite, knowing I am here to keep watch over you,” he answered without looking at Sky. Sometime after the meeting with the elders, Phoenix had donned his ocular scanner and was studying the trees that surrounded them.

  “Do you see anything?” Rana whispered as she stood, her eyes spinning while she scanned the opposite side of the forest.

  “Nothing yet, but I have this feeling that we’re…”

  “There,” Rana hissed.

  Phoenix spun in place and whispered a curse as he studied whatever they both could see through the thick foliage.

  Sky stood and brushed her knees, waiting for one of them to include her in their reconnoitering.

  “They’re heading this way,” Rana said, reaching out to Sky. Sky grabbed her hand and let Rana pull her close. “There’s only three of them. We should be able to take them.”

  “Or we could leave,” Sky announced.

  Both turned to look at her. Rana’s amused expression offset Phoenix’s confusion. It was almost as if he had forgotten she was there.

  “We’re too far from any villages, and they are not traveling on any known roads. It’s suspicious,” Phoenix stated.

  “So we check it out.” Sky’s voice rose at the end as if she were asking a question.

  “Yes,” Phoenix answered. “Get ready.”

  When the shadows dissipated, Sky was face to face with a young priest. His mouth was open in a silent scream and his eyes were almost comically wide with fear.

  Sky wasted no time pulling her swords and trapping him against the wide girth of an ancient ers tree. By the sound of swords clashing behind her, Phoenix and Rana’s targets were more prepared for an ambush. Sky studied the man trembling before her, her vision instinctively slipping from this plane. The young priest’s soul was murky, but not quite as forgone as it would have been if Sky hadn’t come along.

  The sounds of battle waned and Sky smiled reassuringly at her captive. He shrunk in on himself and shook nervously.

  “Why are you grinning?” Phoenix growled as he stomped across the field.

  “This one hasn’t been fully corrupted,” Sky announced happily. “He could be rehabilitated.”

  “Oh,” Rana stated thoughtfully. She slipped beside Sky as Phoenix took up the space on Sky’s other side. They had boxed the priest in, and when he realized this, he pressed against the tree.

  “We should question him,” Phoenix said as he studied the young man.

  Sky nodded and tried to look less threatening. She put her blades away and waited until the others followed her lead. The priest stopped shaking as soon as the final blade slide back into place with a soft snick.

  “Why haven’t you killed me?”

  The priest’s voice was deceptively deep for a man with such a slight frame. His youthful face was pinched as he met Sky’s gaze directly for the first time. She pretended not to notice the way his eyes flicked from her tattoo to drag down her body.

  “We want answers and hope you can provide them,” Sky said.

  He shook his head vehemently and mumbled under his breath. Phoenix placed his hand on the priest’s shoulder, the action causing the man to startle. Phoenix gave the man a soft squeeze before removing his hand. The priest’s gaze lifted to Phoenix, and Sky watched as the man’s countenance morphed into shock as he took in Phoenix’s tattoo.

  “Ah, I understand.”

  Phoenix’s soft smile faded as the priest’s gaze caressed Sky’s body again. This time when his lust-filled eyes met Sky’s, his lips twisted into a wry grin.

  “You belong to him.” The priest jerked his head toward Phoenix, but he kept his slimy gaze on Sky. “I wouldn’t mind worshipping at your altar.”

  Sky opened her mouth to reply, but before she could comment, the priest was holding his stomach and desperately trying to suck air back into his lungs.

  “She belongs to no one,” Rana growled.

  There weren’t many things in Sky’s life that had truly shocked her. Sky blinked as she stared. It slowly registered that Rana, her aristocratic, composed friend who only recently learned how to make a proper fist, knocked the breath from a man almost twice her size.

  “The woman is correct,” Phoenix stated, his voice laced with respect and a little awe.

  “We both escaped from the cult, and we can help you leave too.” Sky turned away from Rana to meet the confused stare of the priest.

  “No,” the young man gasped. “We have just rebuilt and gathered our offerings. I cannot abandon Ocmus now!”

  “You have rebuilt?” Sky asked.

  The priest studied Sky with suspicion, but slowly nodded. Sky’s skivna flowed through her, again shifting her vision. The man’s soul grew darker by the moment.

  He truly didn’t want to be saved.

  That thought deeply saddened Sky, and the strength of her emotions almost surprised her. After the disappointing council meeting compounding Beast’s treachery, Sky desperately needed a resolution regarding the priests, and it could have started with this one man. Her mark protested with violent bursts of electricity. Sky mentally groaned. Why couldn’t she win?

  “I can take you back to your sisters. We will welcome you home again,” the priest’s smarmy voice broke through her thoughts.

  “No. I would never go back unless it is to exact justice.”

  “Justice?” The priests’ brow wrinkled in confusion before he threw himself back against the tree with a gasp. “You’re her. The reprobate.”

  “Is that what the others are calling me?” Sky answered with a smile.

  The young man straightened his shoulders and leveled Sky with an angry glare. “Go ahead and kill me. I will not betray my brothers.”

  “I’m not—” Sky stopped when the man’s face scrunched in pain. His mouth opened and blood dribbled down the creases of his lips. Sky grabbed his shoulders to hold him steady as Phoenix slid his blade out from between the priests’ ribs. She met Phoenix’s eyes. “Why?”

  “This was going nowhere. I saw your face when you viewed his soul, but you are so desperate for a victory that you ignored Luz’s call.”

  “I didn’t ignore her. I just wanted to give him a chance.”

  “He wasn’t going to help us, Sky.” Phoenix lowered the priest to the ground and unclasped the UAB from the dead man’s wrist.

  “I know that, but maybe…”

  “Maybe nothing. His fate was sealed. You know this.”

  “His fate?�
� Rana questioned. “Isn’t destiny paved by choice? He could have changed his mind and decided to forsake the priesthood.”

  “He chose his destiny the moment he willingly participated in the rituals,” Phoenix’s voice lowered with disgust. “Besides, why are you concerned with this man’s death?”

  “Because it was wrong,” Rana cried as she wiped furiously at her cheeks.

  “Rana.” Sky wrapped her arm around her friend and pulled her close. “Phoenix is right. I saw his soul and knew it could no longer be redeemed. He chose the darkness.”

  “You can’t just murder someone because of his affiliation with a crazy cult.” Rana sniffed and then hiccupped into Sky’s shoulder.

  “It isn’t dissimilar from what your people do.” Phoenix grumbled. He turned his back on Rana and removed the UABs from the other two priests. Sky hoped the information they needed was on the devices, or they would be right back where they started.

  “What?” Rana lifted her head.

  Phoenix spared Rana a sad smile. “Elitians gather people they deem lesser from across the system and slaughter them in droves. Not because they believe in destiny or that their victims are evil, but for profit. How is what I did to that man any worse than what your people have done to millions?” Phoenix paused, but didn’t wait for Rana to answer. “It isn’t. This man’s soul was dark, and his destiny sealed because of the evil he chose. Your victims are innocent. They’re men, women, and children whose only crime was not being born Elitian.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” Rana answered.

  Phoenix grunted and scanned the tree line, the lights in his ocular scanner spinning vividly. Sky studied her friend. Rana’s brows were drawn together and her lips pursed. Sky didn’t agree with the timing of Phoenix’s lecture, but she couldn’t dispute the results. It was the first time Rana seemed to truly consider that the Elitian way of life could be wrong. Sky always got the impression that Rana found what the corporations did distasteful, but she’d never faced the horrible finality of death.

  Rana was the only Elitian to help those in need, and her motives were never to incite anarchy, but only because she was a sensitive soul who didn’t like to watch others suffer. Sky knew Rana hadn’t held any strong opinions about the corporations or the wife auctions because those activities never directly affected her. Sky hoped that Rana would continue to question her culture and in the end embrace the idea of change, not only for the Elitians, but for the entire system.