An unholy scream ripped from her throat. She tore at her clothes, clawing at them with vicious strength. Around her, ferals began to drop left and right.
“You ungrateful child.” She shook her head, her face crumpling. “You slug. I knew you’d never amount to anything. Your Granny was right. I should’ve drowned you in the lake.”
Nothing she could say could wipe the triumphant smile from my face. All the insults in the world weren’t going to ruin this victory. I’d come out of that Hell Gate changed in more ways than one. Starting today, things were going to be different for this warrior.
“I think that’s about enough.” Luke wiped his hand across the back of his head, spreading a smear of blood. “You can go back to Hell, where you belong.”
With a single lunge of his long legs, he struck with his sword, driving it into her heart. Elizabeth gasped and squirmed on his weapon. As he withdrew it, a cloud of black smoke seeped from the wound. It spread out among the forest floor. Curling around my ankle, I felt it try to gain purchase, as if searching for something to keep it from sinking down to the inevitable. But it didn’t find it. With a last groan, the cloud sunk into the ground and disappeared.
Elizabeth fell to the ground, crimson blooming across her torn blouse. Her eyelids fluttered as she clutched at her chest and gazed up at the pine trees above.
“Luke?” Blood appeared at the edge of her mouth. She coughed up a spray and reached for him. “My love.”
He was by her side in an instant, clasping her hand in his. Cradling her head, he leaned her up to look in her eyes. “Elizabeth.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tears fell from the corner of her brown eyes and down her lovely face. “I wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t fight it.”
“It’s not your fault.” He gasped and pulled her in closer. Blood and tears ran down his chin and onto her chest. “I’m sorry I didn’t see. I didn’t know. It’s unforgivable.”
“Don’t.” She pressed a bloody finger to his lips. “Don’t blame yourself.”
His head dropped and he sobbed into her shoulder.
I stood watching from only feet away, my eyes glued to the sight of my mother dying on the forest floor. Margaret Thatcher’s death had been quick and absolute. I hadn’t expected to get a glimpse of the mother I never knew. I hadn’t expected to watch her die.
“Lizzy.” Her hand reached out to me. I stared at it, unsure what to do. “Lizzy, please.” She coughed up blood again.
Suddenly, Gabe stood by my side. The soft heat of his body warmed mine. He gently took my elbow and led me forward, guiding my hand to hers. It was so small and childlike. My fingers curled around hers, even though I was afraid I might break her.
“Mom?” The word felt so foreign on my lips. I grimaced and tried again. “Mom? Is that you?”
Weakly nodding her head, she sighed. Her voice grew quieter. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get to watch you grow up, my darling. I’ve missed you, terribly. Just know, that I have always loved you.”
My face contorted in an effort to keep back the tears. This wasn’t fair. She didn’t deserve to die this way. “Don’t leave, Mom. We have so much to make up for. I can’t lose you again.”
“I’m afraid I have to.” Shallow breaths w
racked her body. She took a deep breath and sighed again. “My time has run out.”
Hot tears fell from my eyes. “Fight it. Fight for me.”
Her dark eyes began to cloud over. She gripped my hand tighter, her voice coming out in a whisper. “I’ve always fought for you, my Lizzy. Always.”
A long, slow release of breath brought a stillness to her features. Every muscle in her face relaxed and her eyes stared empty up at the sky. The tight grip she’d held on my hand fell soft. Her body went limp and her heart beat no longer.
Luke pulled her into his arms and sobbed into her long blonde hair, rocking back and forth on the ground. I watched, feeling empty and lost. How could I lose her again? The mother I’d always longed for?
Gabe’s arms surrounded me. At first I tried to push him away, the grief inside was too much to bear. But he gently held me against his chest and then I couldn’t fight it anymore. Giant, angry tears fell onto his shirt.
And so we mourned.
Chapter Twenty-One
We arrived back at the green lawn, now splattered in blood and pieces of broken weapons. The bodies of the fallen had been moved to the floor of the great hall. Crisp, white sheets were being draped over the victims as we walked in.
“This is too many,” Luke cried, looking around. He carried my mother’s lifeless body in his arms.
Draping my arms around my torso, I forced myself to look at the casualties. Ariana, one of Luke’s fellow board members and not my biggest fan, was the first I recognized. Her hands had been laid on top of her chest where her fierce red nails rested on the tattered remains of her shirt. Erik Lutz, Raquel’s beloved trainer, lay beside her with a gaping wound in his chest.