That night, Silva and everyone that was still there buried their dead outside the capital. They watched as the flames turned bodies to charcoal.
No one uttered a word. There was nothing to be said that hadn’t been known already.
After the burial was completed, Silva realized that he had not seen Gabriel and Rose. He assumed that they died as well, but he decided to still ask.
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So he went to find Amber, who was seated on a rock a small distance away. She placed her elbows on her knee and used her palms to prop her head up.
When she noticed Silva heading her way, she looked at him. Silva gave a small wave and then walked to her side.
“I didn’t see Rose and Gabriel,” he said.
She didn’t look at him, but she replied, “They are fine. Before this all happened, my father asked to see them. He wanted to see the half-elf that went through all that.
So I sent them there. They were lucky; they survived this whole thing,” Amber said.
“I see. Thank you.”
“You know we can’t stay here any longer, right?” Amber said.
“Yes, I know. We have two choices: take the war to the empire or head to the demon kings,” Silva said.
“So what do you plan to do? Head to the empire and wage war, or wait till you become a demon king?” Amber said.
I was heated up today, and I almost made the decision to go and start the war with the empire. I forgot that I had killed a hero candidate.
This is no longer a war that only I will be fighting. I’ll be fighting against the empire, against the heroes, and against the original families.
This is a war that I would say is beyond me, but then again, me accepting this fact is something I would normally never do.
The empire attacked me, not the demon kings. I was the one that decided to kill Leah. She stabbed me in the back. I don’t care what her motivation was or what the reason for her actions was. All I care about is that she killed Mike.
Her demonized soldiers ran rampant around my kingdom and tore it to shreds. So this is my battle. This is my war. This is my fight,” Silva said. He looked up.
“You haven’t said your plan yet, Silva. What do you want to do? You can’t refuse the demon kings. They will come for you.
After all, you are the one that started the whole war. They will not allow you to make your own decisions anymore,” Amber said.
“I understand that, Amber, but you seem to forget, in a few days, we are the ones that will take the mantle of the demon kings, and the old ones will no longer be.
So what’s so bad if I start my rule a few days early?” Silva said.
“I see. So you do plan on fighting against the empire,” she said.
“Yes, but I will not be taking you all. Only the guardians will go with me.
I have put you all at so much risk that it’s unfair to keep doing it,” Silva said.
“We never said anything about it. We wanted to help,” Amber said.
“I can’t do that anymore, Amber. You’ll have to return home. I’m sure your father will want you back when he gets word of what’s happening.
I don’t want to pull you all in just because you want to be with me. That’s just cruel. So I’ll beg you now—take the others, Quin, Lia, Fay, and Aaron. Take them with you to the elf empire.
Keep them safe for me. This is all I ask, and I’ll do whatever you please,” Silva said. He didn’t look her in the eyes; he kept looking forward as he spoke.
“What I want, huh?” Amber said. She stood up and walked in front of Silva. Suddenly, she pulled him in, her soft lips pressing against his own. Their lips locked, and for a second, everything turned black for Silva.
Before he could understand what had happened, she pulled away.
“So that’s what you taste like. I’ll remember that,” Amber said and walked away.
Silva stood there, watching her walk off, his mind still fuzzy from her kiss. He sat down on the rock she had left. He watched her head toward the fire.
‘When I come back from all this, and everything is finally over, I’ll make sure that I tell you all I love you. I’ll do my best to retain my sanity in all this, just so that I can meet you all and tell you that,’ Silva thought as he sat there.
Amber found the others. She called them all to sit near the fire.
When everyone was there, she started speaking.
“I know we are all enraged, pained, and angry at the situation that we are in, but I have something to say.
Silva is going to battle with the empire, and he won’t be taking us,” she said.
Immediately after, they all burst into disagreement, everyone saying why they would not allow him to do this. The only person that didn’t speak was Quin. He watched quietly, but when the noise got too much, he finally spoke.
“Enough. None of us are going with him, and that’s final. Do you all know the stress and pain that he is going through?
Having to carry the burden that all this was his fault? He lost his parents, his brother, and many others today. He lost everything he built and everything he had.
And he blames himself for this. He feels if he had made the right decisions, none of this would have happened.
We are what is left of the people that Silva calls family, and he wants to keep us safe. He doesn’t want to lose any of you. I can understand why.
We are not as strong as the guardians or the summons. We will only be a distraction because he’ll be trying to save us every time. So we are all going to honor what he said, and if you feel like you should be among, then get stronger.”