A moment later, we pulled up to the Louvre.
Bartholomew hopped out of the car first, along with the driver.
That left the two of us.
I looked at her, at a complete loss for words.
“Let’s go,” she whispered. “I’m just as anxious as you are.”
We got out, and like I had twice in the past, I walked up the stairs and approached the glass pyramid that stood erect. A few people were there in the plaza, but once they saw the skulls and antlers of the Malevolent, they ran for their lives.
Once I had a full view of Forneus and his men, my eyes scanned for my little girl with her long blond hair, her beautiful blue eyes, the outfit she’d worn to school that morning. But she was nowhere to be found. “Where is she?”
It was as if Forneus hadn’t heard me because all he could do was stare at Constance. His eyes widened and exposed more of the white parts of his eyes than I’d ever seen before. He was still, and then slowly, his lips pulled back to show the most terrifying smile I’d ever seen.
I couldn’t believe I was about to let this happen.
But I didn’t have any other choice. “Where’s my daughter?” I stepped in front of Constance, blocking her from Forneus’s view.
Once she was invisible, the smile faded. His eyes shifted to me, angry.
Now I raised my voice, screamed the way Forneus had screamed when I’d denied him his heart’s desire. “Where the fuck is she?”
He looked over his shoulder and gestured to one of his men.
My hands tightened into fists and gripped the air so I wouldn’t grip my gun instead. My ribs ached from all the deep breaths I took, the way they expanded and contracted to make room for my desperate lungs. Everything hurt. Everything.
A moment later, two Malevolent appeared, Claire between them.
She looked exactly as she had that morning, with a pink bow in her hair, the straps of her pink backpack still over her shoulders. Her eyes were down on the ground, doing exactly what Constance had told her to do—not look.
I didn’t think twice before I moved forward and crossed the distance between us so I could grab her.
“Wait.” Forneus placed his hand on her shoulder and halted her.
“Don’t you fucking touch her…”
When she recognized my voice, her eyes lifted. “Daddy?”
My eyes started to smart, but I didn’t let the tears escape. My eyes stayed on Forneus. “I’m here, sweetheart. We’re going home, okay?”
Her voice came out as a whisper. “Okay…”
Forneus nodded to Constance. “You go first.”
My breaths grew deeper, harder. There was nothing I could do but hand her over and hope for the best. “Cross me, and you’re dead.”
Forneus only stared at Constance now. “Your daughter means nothing to me. I have what I want. My an-gel.”
A boulder dropped into a pool of acid in my stomach.
“An-gel, co-me he-re.” His unblinking stare never left her face.
I didn’t have to ask her to do it. Constance made the move on her own, coming to my side. Before she crossed no-man’s-land to Forneus, she turned to me, her eyes pained and her smile fake.
“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say. Words that wouldn’t change anything.
“I know.” Her arms circled me, and she hugged me—one last time.
My arms latched on to her, and I squeezed, my chin resting on her head, feeling her and smelling her during our final embrace.
She rested her forehead against my chest as she stood there, her heartbeat so gentle and quiet, so calm. She spoke words against my chest, just loud enough for me to hear. “I love you.” Then she raised her chin and kissed me on the mouth. It was a soft and short kiss. It wasn’t warm like it used to be. It was just there, nothing like it could have been if the situation had been different, if I were dropping her off at the airport for a trip or something else. Then she let me go—and she was gone.
The goodbye was such a shock to my system that words left me. I couldn’t do anything other than watch her walk away.
With his gaze on Constance, Forneus lifted his hand from Claire’s shoulder.
I snapped out of it once my daughter was free. “Claire.” I kneeled and watched her run to me as fast as she could, as desperate to land in my arms as I was to hold her in them. She hit my chest, and I scooped her up right away, my body throbbing now that I had her back. I felt the tears burn my eyes as I clutched her to me, my heart healed now that she was safe, that she was with me again.
But then I had to watch Constance.
Forneus stared at her, his eyes taking in all of her features, committing them to memory, treasuring them. The stare was intense, possessive, raw. He came closer to her, getting a deeper look into her eyes.