Lightning Only Strikes Once - Clexa

Chapter 81: Family Reunion

Clarke's in the room nearest to the entry, being stared at creepily by Ontari like normal, when Roan comes in.

He strides in so confidently it takes her several moments to realise that the gona at his side aren't there to protect him but to bring him. His hands are tied behind him and he has no weapons at all. Ontari looks away from Clarke, eyes widening momentarily as they fix on him. "Roan," she growls, drawing her knife.

"Down," Roan tells her rudely. His hair and beard are messier than Clarke remembers, and he has several bruises on his face – of varying ages, but all still recent enough to be bright. "I am Prince Roan to you, and I have come to see my mother. Fetch her, will you?"

"Come to see her?" Clarke wonders, looking meaningfully at his guards. "Looks more like you were brought." Her heart pounds too fiercely in her chest, so panicked and strong that every beat hurts. Roan might have killed Lexa. That's what Nia says. He can't have. But what if he has?

Roan shrugs, as if it's all the same thing anyway. "Fetch the Azplana," he says to Ontari again, as the girl hesitates. It occurs to Clarke that he could ask any of the gona with him to fetch Nia, or even if he hadn't asked one of them probably would have gone and done that. But because he asked Ontari they're all waiting. They don't like that cruel, spoilt Ontari has a higher status than them, so they want to see her give in.

"Why should I?" Ontari snarls.

"Because I killed the Commander," Roan says casually. He bares his teeth at Ontari in a savage grin. "Is that an accomplishment you can match, little Natblida?"

Clarke's heart freezes. All of her does. Suddenly she's completely numb. Everything's a little bit distant. None of this can be real. Lying, she tells herself. He's lying. But in her sluggish state it's hard to make herself believe it. She can feel her own grief and fear, but it's somehow unreal at the same time – it's like when she would look into space and feel like it couldn't really go on forever, like it was just a painted screen around the Ark instead. It was too massive to deal with, too endless to comprehend, and so she made it into something manageable. There's no way to make this into something manageable except to block it out entirely.

There's something so confident about Roan, in what he says, that makes her think he can't be lying. But even as she thinks that, he glances at her, some unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. Is he sorry? Is that what the expression is? "Clarke kom Skaikru, I presume?" he says to her, still in that same casual tone. He looks at the walking stick she's holding and a brief frown flashes across his face. Clarke manages a nod. "It is good to finally meet you. All I have heard is that you are both heartless and smart. No wonder you work with the Azplana. It will be interesting to see if you live up to your legend."

Heartless and smart. You may be heartless, Lexa, but at least you're smart. Words Clarke said a lifetime ago. Too significant to be a coincidence – no, it's a message. A message from Lexa. Clarke feels like she can breathe again and turns away from Roan to study the wall, forcing herself not to cry, she's so relieved. This is all part of one of Lexa's plans, and this is a message from Lexa, and Lexa is fine.

Glaring at Roan, Ontari makes a gesture to one of the gona, who nods deferentially and moves towards Nia's quarters.

Clarke takes a deep breath and blinks back her emotions, making her face impassive. "So how'd you manage to kill Lexa?" she says, letting only mild interest enter her voice. "Did your mother lend you some of her Maunon toys?"

"Oh, she would never lend me anything of the sort," Roan says, now addressing her and ignoring Ontari entirely. "I did not even know she had Maunon weapons." He looks around. "I also did not even know the location of this little place of hers, although I have been north with her many times. The Azplana keeps her secrets."