Page 56 of Betrayed In Crimson
But she answers first. “It’s not your time,” she says softly. “Go. Live. Your friends need you.” Her fingers tremble against his skin.
“Fall in love again… don’t mourn me anymore.” A single breath. “Ghrá mo chroí.”Love of my heart.Then, she’s gone.Her body dissolving into black smoke, slipping through his arms like she was never there.
“Ghrá mo chroí…” he repeats, his voice hollow, broken beyond repair.
Stone crashes beside us. I flinch hard, reality crashing back in again.
“Cain, we have to go! Now!” He lifts his head slowly, and the look in his eyes nearly destroys me. Raw grief. Total devastation. “Leave me,” he says, his voice empty.
“No.” Another thunderous boom shakes the hall. I glance back just in time to see the ceiling collapse over the entrance stone, sealing it shut.
“Shit.” I turn back to him, heart racing. “Listen to me,” I snap, grabbing his arm. “I know you’re hurting, I know, but I am not leaving you here to die. Not like this. Not buried alive. So, get up. Now.”
“I can’t,” he grits out, tears spilling freely now. I stare at him. “Fine.” I drop down beside him.
He frowns. “What are you doing?”
“I’m staying,” I say simply.
“What?”
“You want to sit here and die? Then you won’t do it alone.” My voice cracks. “I don’t have anything left out there, anyway.”
The words slice through me the second they leave my mouth. Silas. Gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
“You can’t stay,” Cain snaps.
“Why not?” I shrug weakly. “Call it a pact. Not death, just us suffering forever.”
He lets out a frustrated growl and suddenly hauls me to my feet.
“I’m not letting you do this,” he snarls.
“Good,” I shoot back. “Because I’m not letting you either.”
The castle begins to collapse in earnest now, massive chunks crashing down around us.
“Stay close,” he orders, grabbing my hand as he runs. We weave through falling stone, barely avoiding being crushed, until we reach the blocked exit. He starts tearing at the debris, lifting stones that should be impossible to move. A gap forms. “Go,” he says.
I shake my head. “You first.”
“Lilith.”
“I’m not stupid,” I snap. “You go, or I don’t move.”
He exhales sharply. “Fine.”
He crawls through. Relief floods me as I follow. The moment I’m out, arms wrap around me, crushing me into a tight embrace.
“Fuck, I’m glad you’re alive,” Evelynn breathes. I sag into her, clinging for just a second.
“Cain! Where are you going?” Lucian calls out. I pull away, grabbing his arm gently. His amber eyes meet mine.
I shake my head. “Give him time.”
Lucian nods, understanding.
“Would you look at that…” someone murmurs. I follow their gaze. The castle collapses in on itself as plumes of black smoke shoot into the sky, twisting and vanishing into the night. Gone. All of them. My chest tightens. Tears spill over again. I glance toward Cain in the distance just in time to see him look up… then turn away. Alone. My gaze drifts and stops.
