Everlife. Gena Showalter

clouds vanish as quickly as they appeared, the rest of the world coming back into view. We’re back on the dais, the crowd overflowing the Garden of Exchange.

      “Have you decided who will rejoin our fight?” Eron’s voice booms for one and all.

      Here it is, the moment of truth. What am I going to do? Is the right choice for Troika the right choice for Killian? What about the right choice for facilitating the end of the war?

      Half of the crowd begins to chant. “Orion. Orion. Orion.”

      The other half chants, “Levi. Levi. Levi.”

      Well. The masses want a General, no doubt about it.

      But I cannot forget—these people are stuck in negative flow. A rushing river pulls us one way, and too many are content to be swept along. I’m fighting my way upstream, even though I’m tired, unsure and plagued by darkness. I can’t stop. The second I do, the very second, I’ll drift down the river alongside everyone else—and I’ll suffer the same end.

      Gotta get them in a different body of water.

      My gaze meets Hazel’s, then Steven’s. This time, they silently plead with me. Vote for Meredith, the woman who gave her life to save yours.

      My heart squeezes in my chest. I love Meredith. I want her back. I really do.

      “Tell us, Ten.” The Secondking waves in my direction. “Speak the name, and I will do the rest.”

      Shadows writhe with more force. People chant. Animals call out. The Generals stare daggers into my back. My nerves fry. Inside me, pressure builds.

      “I...” Deep breath in, out.

      I had already tentatively removed Elizabeth from the equation, but I do so with surety now. She’s with her boyfriend, Claus, and she’ll have no desire to leave him. That leaves Orion, Levi, Meredith and Archer. Who’s it going to be?

      Loyalty, passion, liberty.

      Sow, reap.

      There’s a name in my heart. The person I’ve wanted to pick from the beginning. The person I believe will most help this realm. Someone I would have picked already, if my mind hadn’t gotten in the way, obsessing about the consequences of a wrong choice.

      Heart and mind might not agree, but I’m done worrying. I’m going to take emotion out of the equation, and let my heart lead the way—the true Troika way.

      For better or worse, I announce, “I vote for...Archer Prince.”