Clentine:
Troy stood with the rod pointed at his own chest.
"Troy, please," I requested, trying to reach him. He kept forcing the rod inward, pushing it closer and closer, and my worry grew.
"I am guilty of hurting Clentine," he remarked.
The mont he said it, he tried to drive the rod into himself. The tip pierced his skin, and the life in his eyes started to fade.
I rushed forward before he could push it deeper and grabbed the rod, stopping it from going any further.
"No. Stop." I tried to pull it back, but the strength he was using felt unreal.
Ian and the others gathered around us, each trying to keep him from pushing the rod in completely.
With my hands shaking, I did the only thing I could. I let out a small cry and yelled, "I forgive you."
He froze. His arms stopped straining against the rod, and he looked at directly.
"It is true. I forgive you," I told him. "It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know what was happening. You were innocent. He used a spell on you."
He stared back at . A strong gust ca, trying to shove us backward, but the force barely moved us, almost as if the Whisperer’s power had weakened.
"You truly forgive ?" Troy wondered. His voice no longer sounded dazed.
It felt like he had co back to himself without us even fighting the Whisperer.
"It’s true. I don’t hold you responsible. It wasn’t your fault," I repeated.
He exhaled, then looked down at the rod.
"Ow. Can anybody help ? It stings," he muttered, and then gave a short laugh.
"I’ll do it," Ian replied.
He grabbed the rod and pulled it free. Troy let out another small cry, then laughed with him.
The others exchanged looks, hopeful for the first ti in a while. That was when it hit .
"I know how to defeat the Whisperer," I announced. As soon as I said it, they all nodded.
"All we have to do is forgive the ones who are guilty," I stated.
I could see the frustration across their faces, because the truth had always been within reach.
If we had figured it out sooner instead of fighting among ourselves, we might have saved so many.
By the ti our focus returned to the Whisperer, he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere.
"I think we should still go into the station," Mira suggested.
Renee looked at her and agreed.
"You all go ahead. I will help her transition and then co back," I stated, knowing that shifting would help her heal faster.
"No. I’m fine. I don’t want to draw any monster’s attention anymore. I just want the pain to pass quietly," Mira requested, speaking softly.
"I’ll go bring Joshua," Troy replied.
He glanced over his shoulder at Joshua, who was still on his knees, staring at the sky.
I had no idea what was going through his mind, but I knew it wasn’t good.
We had to stay close to him, even after he had saved the one person none of us cared about.
We headed toward the station. Troy gently patted Joshua on the back, urging him to stand and follow. Joshua rose without resistance.
Inside the station, we were t with chaos again. Oriana was on the ground, and Haiden and Yorick stood in front of her, shouting.
"What did you think?" Yorick demanded. "That you would control us and then walk back in like nothing happened?"
I had never seen Yorick yell that loudly. He was shouting at her with all his anger, and I understood why.
She had tried to force them into sothing they did not want.
Oriana kept crying. When she looked at , she pushed herself up and rushed toward , but I held up my palm to stop her.
"Please, just listen to ," she requested shakily.
"What is there to listen to? What could you possibly say to defend yourself?" I asked, clenching my jaw.
"The fact that I don’t know how it happened. The fact that I was in the underground tunnel when that thing controlled too," she cried, making roll my eyes.
"What do you an?" Sebastian asked in confusion.
"I swear, I’m beginning to rember what I did. I had no mory of it before. It was all because of that monster. I found her, and she said she would help . All I had to do was tell her I needed help. I did, but I didn’t realise this was what she ant," she explained, breaking down.
My eyes widened. Either she was an incredible liar, or she had been controlled as well.
And if even a small part of what she said was true, then what?
"Do you trust her?" Renee asked, pointing at Oriana.
All eyes turned to , as if they were waiting for a verdict.
I slowly shook my head.
"No. I don’t."
Oriana’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"This isn’t the first ti you have caused damage. You have put many lives at risk. Even before this, you acted on your own and left Crusaders behind. You fooled for a mont, but now I rember clearly. It was you. You left Valerie behind," I announced.
Everyone gasped at how certain I sounded.
Even Oriana looked stunned. Her gaze shifted to Joshua, who was too disconnected to defend her.
So she did what she always did. She ran. She sprinted toward the door. Yorick lunged after her and caught her in the doorway.
"I swear I’m not lying. I’m only running because I know now that none of you care," she begged.
As Yorick pulled her back inside, I saw soone standing behind her in the doorway.
Not just soone.
The Whisperer.
"So one defeat was not enough for you," I said to the Whisperer as I walked toward him.
Ian lifted his hand and inhaled sharply, shaking his head to warn not to get any closer.
"It’s fine. We cannot go ho until we deal with him anyway," I whispered to Ian before shifting my attention back to the Whisperer.
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