It was a long day for everyone. There were so many questions, so many interruptions. No one was interested in why Lexa returned. They wanted to know how Wanheda resurrected her.
"You call me Wanheda," Clarke repeated until she was hoarse. "You call me Wanheda and you think my only power is to deal death?"
Murphy bit the inside of his lip bloody trying not to laugh at them. He didn't agree with the decision to keep the technology secret and had told Clarke as much. In the end, it wasn't his call, and he had promised to keep silent on the subject.
Raven and Abby left when they saw they weren't needed. Raven waved at Ontari before leaving. Abby just left. Clarke barely noticed.
Hours passed before the ambassadors cleared the room, leaving Ontari, Lexa, and Clarke alone. Ontari had fielded the fewest questions and spent her time shutting down what she felt were inappropriate questions. Lexa had repeatedly assured the ambassadors that yes, it was really her, and convinced the ambassadors
She and Ontari both kept an eye on Clarke and noticed that when the ambassadors finished conversing with her, gave her respectful bows nearly as deep as the ones they gave Heda. Lexa knew Clarke hadn't noticed as she finished one conversation and immediately began another.
We are not safe yet," Lexa murmured to Ontari.
What do you mean?"
They may try to elevate Klark."
"Klark will not agree."
"That will not stop them."
"I will stop them," Ontari declared.
"Mochof."
"You and Klark may have the rest of the day for yourselves."
"Mochof, Heda."
"I will send a guard when it is time."
"We will be there."
100 – 100 – 100
Shackled in his cell, Titus remained gobsmacked. The calm demeanor of the three women was terrifying. He did not understand how Lexa kom Trikru stood beside Heda, who declared her Fleimkepa. He had personally carried Lexa's dead body from the Tower and arranged for it to be taken to Tondisi to be put on the pyre. His agents reported that it had been done, and that Wanheda was present to witness it. That should have been the end of everything, including Wanheda.
Instead, she was still Skaiheda and Azgeda bandrona. She had Ontari's ear and the respect of the other ambassadors. And now she had Lexa who usurped his role. One mistake that should have never been known brought him to the cells where he imprisoned Wanheda.
Now that mistake would be his end. He cursed Clarke again, as he had for months.
"That makes you look weak," Lexa said.
He looked up, surprised that he hadn't heard her approach. "Heda."
"Fleimkepa," she corrected.
"I do not deserve this."
"You deserve more, but this punishment will have to suffice." She looked at him impassively. "You swore to keep Klark safe, but you did not."
"She was safe," he protested.
"She was not safe from you. I was wise not to trust you."
"You trusted Azgeda instead?" Titus asked incredulously.
"Roan did not argue at every turn. He did everything I asked and more. Klark is safe. The Natblida are safe."
"And you?"
"I am Fleimkepa. I will help Heda keep the peace. That will be my legacy. It will last long after I am gone, long after everyone who knows me is gone. Your legacy is treason and lies. I should have listened to Anya and put you on the tree long ago."
For the first time, he realized that there would be no pardon, no exile, no second chance, and turned his back to Lexa. She waited for him to try to get in the last word, and when he didn't, she left.
100 – 100 – 100
When Lexa left her, apologizing that she still had things to prepare for her new role, Clarke sent Murphy to Skaikru with a message that she would meet them before supper. Then she went to find her mother.
She found her with Marcus in the library. As she approached, she heard Abby asking questions. Marcus looked relieved when he saw Clarke coming toward them, and she saw his mouth make her name even if she didn't hear it.
Clarke didn't bother with hello. "Let's get a drink," she offered, and they both followed her out to the nearest pub.
Abby, surprisingly, was quiet and waited for Clarke to speak. Clarke waited for the pitcher of beer to be delivered so they would have some time alone. She poured for all of them, quickly emptied her mug, and refilled it before beginning
"Before you ask, it's true. What Murphy and I told the ambassadors is what happened. I was getting ready to leave, to go back to Arkadia, when I saw Murphy and Titus came out of the shadows to try to kill me."
Clarke looked down at her drink. "I tried to save her but there was too much blood, and then she was gone. Titus removed a chip from the back of her neck before he carried her away. I saw him put in Ontari the next day." She took a deep breath and looked at her mother. "I know you have questions. Ask."
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Where to go. What to do. That it would work. You sounded insane, Clarke."
"Yet here we are." Clarke drank.
"You haven't answered my questions."
"I will, but only if you swear that you won't tell anyone ever."
Abby laughed bitterly. "Who would I tell?"
"Marcus?"
"You have my word."
"Remember how nobody ever talked about the thirteenth station?"
"It wasn't real."
"It was. It belonged to the company that made the chips, Polaris. It was destroyed in the hope that the AI they created would die, too. But it didn't. A.L.I.E.'s creator, came down in an escape pod. She made the natblida so they could use the chips she escaped with. We found her journal. It explained everything, not that I understood a lot of it. Raven did, though. She figured out how everything worked together. Plus, she'd been to the City of Light, not the physical plant we went to, but the artificial world A.L.I.E. created to hold people until they could be resurrected after she cleared the planet of existing people."
"Holy shit," Marcus said under his breath."
"Clarke, this still sounds crazy," Abby said.
"It is what it is. You wanted answers." Clarke drank again. "All the former hedas and flamekeepers are in the City of Light. It's how the knowledge of prior commanders is passed on." Clarke glared at Abby. "If I ever hear that out of your mouth, I will personally banish you."
Abby held up her hands. "I won't."
"Good. Anything else?"
"What now?"
"I tell Skaikru the basics tonight, and then Titus receives death of a thousand cuts. Tomorrow, we start working in the new world. We don't have to worry any more about A.L.I.E., only about holding the coalition together."
"What about us?"
"What about you?"
"What will happen to us?"
"You specifically or Skaikru?"
"Both," Marcus answered.
"You keep doing what you're doing. I'm trying to get Roan to give us some land. Everybody's learning the skills we'll need. When we have a place, all of Skaikru will gather to plan. Until then, it's business as usual."
Clarke waited to see if they had more questions. When they didn't, she said, "I have to go," and left the pub.
100 – 100 -100
When Lexa returned to the Azgeda suite, Clarke wasn't there. She'd left a note on the table, though, and after reading it, Lexa decided to go down to Skaikru's floor. She opened the door quietly and slipped inside. She stayed there to listen to Clarke answer questions. Skaikru always had questions.
Lexa was waiting when Clarke finished and they walked back to the Azgeda suite together, sat at the table, and ignored the food waiting there. It was cold by the time Clarke forced herself to eat a bit. Lexa followed suit, her eyes constantly returning to the windows so she could keep track of the time.
They went down to the meeting ground before Ontari could send guards for them. It was set up differently this time. There was no dais, no throne, only what looked like a door frame with Titus' wrists and ankles bound to the corners.
The quiet chatter of the crowd became silence when Ontari appeared. She stood in front of Titus for a moment before beginning her speech.
"For months, you have questioned and wondered why I became heda. It is because of this man." She jabbed her finger toward him. "Titus killed Heda Lexa. It was not intentional, but he killed her nonetheless while attempting to kill Wanheda. He used a fayogun and his intent was to have Murphy kom Skaikru en Azgeda be blamed for Wanheda's death.
"Instead, he shot Heda Lexa with the fayogun. Wanheda attempted to save her, but could not." She began to move around Titus and raised her voice even louder than it was. It wasn't necessary; the people waited silently to hear her words.
Clarke reached for Lexa's hand. When she found it, she held it tightly. Lexa gave a gentle squeeze in return.
"Afterwards," Ontari continued, "Titus put Wanheda and Murphy in cells. He promised Heda Lexa that he would keep Wanheda safe, but immediately discarded that vow. It was Haihefa Roan kom Azgeda who freed Wanheda and Murphy. Haihefa Roan kept the promise he made to Heda Lexa before he took Azgeda's throne.
"Without a true and faithful Fleimkepa to assist me, I accepted help from Skaikru. Wanheda said she could return Lexa to this life to be my Fleimkepa. I consulted with the hedas who came before me and all agreed this plan would be best. Wanheda and Murphy went on a great voyage and returned with Lexa kom Trikru, who today became Fleimkepa.
"Lexa confirmed all that Wanheda, Murphy, and Haihefa Roan told me. Titus did not deny it. So we are here tonight to punish a traitor in the Trikru way. Trikru call it death of a thousand cuts. Each of you will injure Titus with a blade. He will die at dawn, when Fleimkepa Lexa finishes him. He will not have a pyre."
Ontari bent over to pull a dagger from her boot. She sliced Titus's back from his left shoulder to his right hip. "Natrona," she bellowed.
The citizens to Polis lined up to perform the duty given them.
100 – 100 – 100
Through the night, Ontari, Lexa, and Clarke watched Polis shred Titus. Ribbons of flesh hung from his body and the ground beneath him was dark with blood. When night faded, the line of waiting citizens returned to their places to witness the end of the ritual.
Ontari looked at Clarke, then Murphy, who stood behind her. Neither wanted to have anything to do with this, but both stepped up and added to the carnage. Lexa was last. She wasted no time. The short sword was one of her favorites, retrieved from a trunk in Clarke's room.
She pushed it slowly into Titus' chest and heard him groan before working it side to side until the hilt was against what was left of his skin. "Yu gonplei ste oden," she told him before withdrawing the blade. She drove it into the dry ground to clear it of blood and returned to Clarke's side.
Ontari stepped forward then. "Guards will leave the natrona's body in the forest for beasts to scavenge. Our duty is done."
100 – 100 – 100
Lexa led Clarke to the Fleimkepa's suite. It looked completely different. Their belongings waited for them, but they were both exhausted and left a trail of clothes on the floor on the way to the bed. They didn't talk as they arranged themselves, and both were soon asleep.
One flight up, Ontari sprawled on a sofa, her feet in Raven's lap. Ontari snored quietly while Raven read and snacked.
In the Azgeda suite, Murphy soaked in the tub and wondered whether his duty to Clarke was finished. He was ready to return to Azgeda. It felt more like home than any Skaikru gathering ever had.
100 – 100 – 100
Lexa slept soundly, but Clarke did not. Seeing Titus die stirred up memories. While she slept, they played in her mind, jumbled, but linked by blood. She'd spilled so much. The dark splotch under Titus' body unsettled her more than anything had since Lexa died.
Clarke bolted upright, panting, looking for an enemy that wasn't there.
"Klark?" Lexa asked sleepily.
"I'm ok," she answered automatically
It didn't fool Lexa. She sat up, too, held Clarke close. "It was a dream."
"Yeah." Clark moved as close to Lexa as she could. "Full of blood."
"And duty." Lexa kissed Clarke's head.
"Sha," Clarke sighed. "I'm sorry this is what you came back to."
"Duty," Lexa reminded her with a sigh of her own and laid them down
"What's next?"
"The clan leaders will arrive."
"And?"
"We will enforce the peace."
"Enforce?"
"Sha, with words, I hope."
"And then?"
"I cannot see the future." Lexa kissed Clarke's head, resting on her chest.
"You sure about that?" Clarke lifted her head to look at Lexa.
"I am sure," Lexa answered with a slight smile. She stretched to kiss Clarke, who moved to meet her. "We should rest while we can."