Alissa should have stopped the moment the first breach gave way; it was enough for them to slip through. She should have conserved her magic, but these were the very walls that had imprisoned her people, constructed to conceal lies and genocide, built on the exploited power of theKsaren.
The memory of a conversation with Freyah at the beach in Golheim resurfaced in her mind.
“Life on this side of the wall doesn’t seem so fair either, Frey.”
“It doesn’t. But they have something we never did. Not truly.”
“And what is that?”Alissa had asked.
“Freedom.”
Maybe she could still fulfill Freyah’s wishes for freedom, even if she wouldn’t be there to witness it. That was the moment Alissa decided she would not stop until the entire wall lay in ruins at her feet.
As her mind invoked the power that traveled from her palms to the walls, the fissures widened, and the structure collapsed. When Alissa opened her eyes, the stones that had marked the boundaries of the end of her world for her entire life were gone. The solid wall gave way to a cloud of dust, filling the air with a gray haze that spread across the entire expanse of land. The ancient town of Bryniard shook with the roar of crumbling mortar as the last fragments crumbled.
It was the sound of hope, the sound offreedom.
Chapter 39
It Ends with Life
Brynardian people had more than enough reasons to live in pessimism, yet most still smiled even when their stomachs were empty and their clothes were threadbare. But the sight of Alissa’s hometown as she climbed the rubble with Eldric didn’t resemble the place she had grown up in at all.
The narrow streets she used to run with Freyah as a child were filled with endless piles of debris. The market where she used to sell her hunting spoils had been reduced to ashes, and the wooden benches along the cobblestone were engraved with promises of revenge. It was a town of ghosts, and only those who stayed could testify to the horrors they had witnessed.
People poured into the streets as the deafening crash of the wall sent tremors through the ground, shaking every surface. Horrified faces emerged from doorways and alleys, their shock palpable. As the initial wave of fear dissolved, the city descended into chaos. People scattered in every direction like disoriented ants. They screamed desperate prayers for salvation, pleading for the heavens to spare them from the beasts they believed were coming. Others were more concerned about what the Iron Claws would do to them now that the wall had fallen. Amid the madness, some stumbled and fell, trampled underfoot by thosewho fled, oblivious to the fact that no monsters were actually chasing them.
Alissa and Eldric fought against the tide of panicked people, struggling as if swimming against the current. Some reached for her, their hands gripping her shoulders, shaking her as they cried about loved ones slaughtered by armored men hunting her. Guilt clenched her insides, but there was no time to dwell on it. Her focus had to remain on the path ahead. All she wanted was to reach Dhalia, but with each passing second, the way to her daughter grew more crowded, more impossible, as people’s desperation intensified.
Suddenly, a man seized her from behind, pressing a knife to her throat. “I will deliver you to them. This must end!” he shouted, his voice raw with anger.
Before Alissa could react, Eldric struck the back of the man’s neck, dropping him unconscious in an instant. Without looking back, they pressed forward, gaining ground when a woman grabbed Alissa’s legs, begging her to surrender.
Alissa did not stop. She kept moving, dragging the woman clinging to her leg. When another person blocked her path, something in her snapped. “STOP!” she roared. Whether it was her magic or sheer despair that made her voice reverberate through the air, the effect was immediate. Every person froze as they turned to stare at her.
Alissa crouched down, gripping the woman’s hands. “They won’t hurt you anymore. Look!” she urged, pointing at the bodies left in her wake.
Only then did the Brynardians register the blood-stained woman before them and the stranger by her side. The corpses of the men who had terrorized the town for months lay near the rubble—a reminder of everything Alissa had done to get there. As the realization set in and no beasts came after the people, confused whispers spread like wildfire, and the terror began tofade. Panic slowly gave way to uncertainty and wary glances. Finally, when the chaos ebbed, Alissa saw her chance to move toward her daughter.
Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
The Weller’s place had never seemed so far away. When she finally reached her best friend’s childhood home, Alissa kicked the door down. The seconds that would have taken them to answer the door were precious time she couldn’t waste.
“Where is she?” she breathed.
Mrs. Weller wore a flowered dress, the red and orange details of which reminded Alissa of Freyah’s hair. An apron stained with sauce was tied around her hips. When Alissa’s gaze fell on Lorena’s face, she noticed the woman looked paler than ever. Her usual neat appearance was far gone, with her hair tousled and dark circles shadowing her eyes. It seemed losing her husband had been a weight too heavy to bear.
And she hasn’t yet learned of Freyah’s passing.
“Alissa?” Mrs. Weller’s hand rested on the left side of her chest. Alissa was almost unrecognizable with all the blood. “What took you so long?” she asked, running to the threshold to hold her.
“It’s a long story. Where’s my daughter?” Alissa demanded, when suddenly a rough, senile voice whispered from across the room.
“Mommy?”
Nothing could have prepared Alissa for what she saw then. She knew Dhalia would present all the symptoms of Senectus Subita by then, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to witness it with her own eyes. The glowing threads of the curse still encircled Dhalia, but the only thing that remained unchanged was her eyes; not even her voice was the same. So many years of her life were simply gone in a matter of hours.
It was revolting.