Amelia walked in line with me, and Theo outpaced us fast. I had the feeling she would’ve been up there with him already but was making sure I didn’t faint or pass out along the way. Whichwas fair. I had no idea how much time had passed, and my whole body felt shaky and weak.
Theo pressed the button, and the elevator doors slid open.
I quickened my pace to close the distance as he stepped inside and held the doors open for us. Amelia followed me in, and then we shot up.
Once we hit the first floor, the doors opened onto the familiar main floor of the Spires. Slot machines jangled, lights flashed, and the rich carpeting was immaculate. The crisp scent of cleaner greeted my nose.
The moment I stepped inside, relief cascaded over me. This had somehow become more of a home to me than my own had ever been. We burst out onto the floor, our hurried steps echoing with their thumps.
“We’ve got to get to the upper floors,” Theo said. “Charles said Cillian’s doing something stupid.”
My chest twisted, but I didn’t stop walking. “Of course he is.”
The elevator that had become engraved on my soul lay to the right, past the reception area, where employees chatted with customers, unaware of what was going on. The elevator I’d first used to travel up to a place I’d never expected to feel like a home. And yet, it had.
From across the room, I caught sight of those golden doors opening.
That could only be two people.
And two figures strode out.
Except they weren’t Cillian and Charles.
A familiar middle-aged man stepped onto the floor, well dressed in a suit, as if he’d just come from a meeting. My gut clenched. I recognized him—not just from pictures online but from the day Thorin had almost captured me outside the Spires. Henrik.
And Olivia.
Her gaze landed on me, and her crimson lips twisted into a triumphant smirk. The pair closed the distance between us, even as we marched forward to get to the elevator.
Olivia shook her head, and when her eyes glittered with that unfathomable cruelty, I knew the words that would come before she spoke them.
“You’re too late.”
Chapter 30
Too late.
The words echoed in my mind over and over.
I rushed past Olivia, not even bothering to acknowledge her. The elevator lay within reach, and any second wasted was precious.
We couldn’t be too late. I couldn’t fathom a world without him in it. My system was flush with jittery energy, like I’d downed too much coffee. Theo and Amelia were right by my side as we reached the elevator, and Amelia pressed the button. A second later, the doors slid open.
All three of us stepped inside, and Amelia used her key card first, imprinted her thumb on the panel, and then pressed the button for the upper floors.
The elevatorwhooshedup, but my heart lodged in my throat. Theding,ding,dingrang through the silence between us, none of us willing to speak, as if by breaking the silence we would acknowledge what Olivia had said.
My mind whirled. Had Cillian given in to Thorin and signed over his company? Or had he refused, and she’d meant it was too late for Cillian’s life?
Selfishly, I only cared about his survival.
Anything else could be rebuilt, but a world without him in it looked far darker than I could fathom.
The doors slid open, and we stepped into the hallway. It was so familiar my bones ached, this walk I’d done a thousand times over in the past few months. But now we headed toward the West Wing. I didn’t question that if he’d be anywhere, it would be the locked room.
We reached the end of the hallway and made the turn, all of us quickening our paces. The corridor ached with a quiet that unnerved me, and our footsteps echoed, echoed, echoed. An emptiness existed, as if the powerful presence that had consumed the space up here was now gone.
When the platform to the West Wing appeared in sight, I didn’t attempt a walk anymore.
