Regardless, I know deep in the pit of my soul that I’ve fucked this up. There’s no coming back from this, not based on that emotionless glint in her eyes. It wasn’t horror that danced in her blue pools; it had been nothingness. It’s as if I watched her emotions diminish right in front of me the moment Jude healed her.
There wasn’t an ounce of fear exuding from her, not even a hint of uncertainty. Did she want to run? For sure, that’s her default at this stage, but what concerns me most is what a girl like Elodie can do when her emotions aren’t present.
The walls rattle around me, reminding me that Jude has taken her and I’m left here, in this decaying pit called The Vale, lost to an Institute Game like it’s a life I chose.
I can’t even chase after him. Fuck knows where he’s taken her.
Frustration gets the better of me, twisting like a knot in my chest until it’s bundled so tight I can’t breathe. A roar of anger burns from my lungs as I sink to my knees, my head in my hands, and wallow in my own undoing. The rawness of my throat doesn’t subside as agitation morphs into anger, but the bite on my tongue is washed out by screams coming from the other side of the walls that confine me.
Cries of the rebellion’s presence continue to wail in the distance as the room shakes even harder. Dropping my hands from my face, I try to keep my balance as I watch in disdain when cracks begin to form along the walls.
It’s coming down. I can feel it.
Instead of darting for the door like I should, I blink at the crack spreading across the ceiling, the plaster bowing beneath the weight of what, I’m not sure, but it promises to come falling down on top of me, and I can’t help but encourage it.
Let the world shatter over me and take me to the pits of Hell like I deserve.
What’s the use of continuing outside of these walls when the one person who ever made life worth experiencing hates me with an unwavering passion I can never come back from?
Dust floats over me, taunting as the ground trembles beneath me. Will it be enough to kill me? That’s probably what I deserve after today, but there’s a fact that niggles at my chest, making my heart beat rapidly.
If I don’t get her back, who will?
Wiping a hand down my face, I’m on my feet before I even realize it, taking off toward the exit as the room begins to shatter in my wake. I barely make it through the door before it collapses in a pile of rubble behind me.
Gaping around me, I startle when I realize the blinding light that obscures my vision comes from the sun itself and not the feeble, dim lights from moments earlier. Rubble is scattered among trodden grass, two worlds colliding as the portal for The Institute Games collapses.
Garbled cries dim, but hysteria still lingers like a bad dream clawing at reality.
My head falls into my hands again as I try to calm my heart and breathing.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, today’s Institute Game has been forfeited. Please make your way to your dorms. The threat is not present within The Vale. I repeat, the threat is not present in The Vale. Return to your dorm immediately.”
The state of disarray worsens around me, rather than easing in response to the clear statement that we’re not under attack, but one shrill cry grows louder than the others, and I only have a moment before a body collides with mine. I still as arms tangle around my neck, sobs echoing in my ears as lips press against my cheek.
Her scent is enough to confirm who it is, but instead of the sweetness that is Elodie, grounding me in the mayhem of my life, it’s the pungent smell of gasoline; igniting the fire that will never die out. Dropping my hands from my face for what feels like the hundredth time today, I snap my fingers around her neck, tightening as I yank her away from me, putting some much-needed distance between us.
“You!” I snarl, staring deep into her watery eyes as she blinks at me in fear.
“Kael,” she rasps, her arms dropping from my neck to claw at my wrists, desperately fighting against my hold as I growl, the sound vibrating in my chest so strongly it’s almost soothing.
“What did you do, Willow?” I snap, my anger only growing as she sobs and sniffles like she didn’t leave Elodie to bleed out.
“Kael, please,” she croaks, weakly slapping my arms in hopes of loosening my grip, but it only makes me flex my fingers tighter.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t slaughter you, right here, right now.”
The threat parts my lips and makes her still in my hold as the tears stop and the pouty lips turn to a sneer. “We both know you like it when I play the damsel in distress. Let’s stick with that, shall we?”
I shake my head in disbelief at the woman who stands before me. I’ve never understood her.
I can’t decide what it is she’s chasing, and I’ve always been good at figuring out what people want. In my experience, there are three categories that everyone falls into, each one showing in many different ways, but the core is always the same:
Power.
Love.
Money.
