“Then, I must destroy it,” she said.
“No! Now is not the time,” Noah shouted, grabbing her wrist to stop her.
But she forced her arm away from his in defiance. “You must
let me forge my own path,” she growled.
She was nervous, but she knew what needed to be done. Without allowing them to stop her, she searched the structure until she found a way to climb. Pouncing upward, she grabbed a metal opening and pulled herself up. She was a faster climber than she thought, and within seconds, she was already higher than they could reach below.
Making her way to the top, she glanced down and instantly felt the pressure of gravity wobble her back. “Come on, Rae,” she groaned. “You can do this.”
But as she reached to pull herself onto the next ledge, she looked behind her. Both Noah and the woman were like two ants. Her perception of time distorted. Everything seemed to slow and sway, waving this way and that. Her heel slipped, but her grip tightened. Heart beating frantically, she kept her eyes focused on the small platform at the top so as not to slip again. She would not surrender anymore. She was so tired of doing that. She would continue on for the good of the world.
For the good of mankind… so be it.
The adrenaline coursing through her veins went unchecked. With every step she took, she could see the shadow of something looming on the platform. With the last of her energy, she took the final step. She pulled herself upward, standing safely. But what she found wasn’t what she expected.
“My God...”
Losing balance, she fell backward, falling down into the far-reaching abyss.
Killian took another glance out of the window and growled with anger. Clutching his side in pain, he stumbled through the gold doorway to the nursery. Inside, he eyed the bird-patterned wallpaper solemnly. He placed his hands over one of the wings and sighed, shedding many tears.
“So many memories,” he said. “Torn away from us.”
Then, glancing down at the large crib, his lips quivered with the utmost sadness. Instead of his kin, a taxidermy blackbird had been placed in the center. It was eerie as hell, and he didn’t dare touch it.
Neither did he turn to look at Ruby to see her expression. He didn’t want to see her, couldn’t help but hate her for what she did. The crib was empty. Not a soul was inside the nursery. This was another cruel joke. He took the pillow into his hands, pressing the soft cotton against his nose. The smell gave him the level of nostalgia fit to ruin him.
“Where are they?” he asked.
He turned around to find Ruby holding a pistol. Slowly backing away, he hit the crib. Carefully, he grabbed onto the wooden edges and squeezed until his palms bruised. “Ruby, what are you doing?”
A single tear ran down her cheek and she seemed to choke on the words that so desperately wanted to be heard. She pointed the pistol at his heart, finger visibly trembling against the trigger. “I’m sorry, Killian,” she said with honest eyes. “I never meant for all of this to happen. It’s like a nightmare… a nightmare I can’t ever escape from.”
“And you think it’s been any better for your sister? You’re more selfish than I thought,” he muttered through his teeth.
“That’s what makes this so difficult. I know that it’s been worse for her. Everyone does. This can’t go on,” she said.
Killian quietly snapped the crib barrier, but he made sure to hold a hand out to try and calm her down. Keeping the tone of his voice level and friendly, he said, “It doesn’t have to be like this. You can undo this mess. Severin is gone. You are free. You can go start a life somewhere.”
The barrel of the gun threateningly shifted up toward his head for a better shot. Still, she seemed uncertain, and her hands trembled. “We all know the dead outlive the living,” she said.
“What do you mean? You’re not making any sense. I saw him. You fractured his skull three times. They were clean shots,” he said.
“There’s still so much you have yet to learn,” she said. “So much we cannot untie. Everything is in place. The only one who can stop it is the one willing to sacrifice it all for... well, the world.”
Killian was confused, but from what he gathered, they were thinking of the same thing. “The device Severin put her inside for her coronation ceremony. It wasn’t just for show, was it?”
“If it was, would there have been such focus on it? Severin may have been a bastard, but he was no fool. A creative genius always knows exactly what needs to happen. What goes around comes around, Killian. He had been waiting for you for quite some time,” she said.
Taking a small step forward, Killian kept the wooden post hidden behind his back and made sure she didn’t react too impetuously. “I’m not your enemy anymore. We can fix this. We can turn things around. If what you are saying is true, Rae will know what to do.”
“Of course she will,” she said. “She will have to die. That was always the plan, wasn’t it?”
Killian repeated those last words. “The plan.”
“The key to everything was left inside him, his brain. Surely, he had more tricks up his sleeve, but now that the fire has spread, his body will have been utterly destroyed. The fire must have consumed him by now,” she said.