“Dinnae make another disastrously wrong decision,” Taran warned. “Take this chance tae make things right.”
“Taran,” Austin spat. “I should have guessed you’d be lurking somewhere.”
“’Tisnae lurking when ye’re rescuing family.” Taran took a step closer, his sword held with the casual ease of a man who’d spent a lifetime wielding one. “And that includes Skye.”
Austin’s laugh held no humor. “Family? Since when did she become family to you?”
“Since she risked everything tae save our daughter. Since she stood up tae her father for the truth when it would have been easier tae look away. Since she chose what was right over what was easy.” Taran’s voice dropped, all traces of lightness gone. “Something ye’ve never had the courage tae do.”
Skye saw something crack behind Austin’s careful mask, barely perceptible, as if Taran’s words had found a wound Austin had thought long healed.
“Don’t speak to me of courage,” Austin bit back, his voice rough. “You have no idea what I’ve survived to get here.”
“I ken well enough. Paige told me. She told me everything. The foster homes. The broken promises. The system that failed ye both.”
Taran lowered his sword a fraction, not as a concession but as a sign he was willing to talk before fighting. “But she also told me about the brother who used tae hold her hand during thunderstorms. The brother who swore tae come back for her, nae matter what. The boy she waited years for, that she crossed time itself tae find. ’Tis she who has shown courage. Nae ye, who doesnae care for any beyond yerself.”
Austin’s jaw tightened as something flickered across his face. Pain, perhaps. Or the ghost of it.
“That boy is dead.”
“I dinnae believe that. Neither does Paige. Even now, after everything ye’ve done, she hasnae given up on ye. She never will. She loves unconditionally. ’Tis who she is.”
The guards shifted, exchanging uncertain glances. Skye noted their discomfort, the way their grips seemed unsure on their weapons as the conversation turned personal. They’d obviously come for a simple retrieval, not a family reckoning.
“Take this chance while ’tis open tae ye,” Taran pressed, his voice rough with emotion he rarely showed. “No’ tae undo the past. Ye cannae do that. But tae prove the man Paige believes ye are still exists somewhere inside the one ye’ve become.”
Austin’s sneer came as his entire demeanor hardened. “You’re asking me to throw away a lifetime of work. Everything that’s now within my reach. Wealth, power, influence. For what? Another life of scraping by? No, thank you. In the world I came from I was a cockroach. Here,” he straightened his spine, “I’ll be a king.” His gaze slid to Skye with a possessive edge that made her skin crawl. “And you will be my queen. The Keeper has made promises to me. Very attractive promises I have no intention of turning my back on.”
Skye’s fists clenched at her sides. “I can never belong to you.” Determination underscored every word. “Never love you. Never accept you.” She held his gaze, refusing to let him see how much his casual claim over her life revolted her. “Please, Austin. Let us go. You can still have everything else. Just show us the portal so we can get Emily the help she needs. Give Paige that much.”
The coldness in his eyes when he looked at her made her stomach clench. “My bargain with your father has already been struck, and you’re part of it. You’re not going anywhere.”
“If this world is truly what ye want, what ye choose, fine.” Taran spoke again, quieter now. “I willnae pretend tae understand it. But ye can still give Paige something. She lovesEmily. She willnae survive losing her. Let them go through the portal. If ye cannae give her the brother she adores, help her keep the daughter she loves. Give her this one gift tae make up for all the lost hopes and broken promises.”
“And risk The Keeper’s wrath?” Austin scoffed. “Everything I’ve built, just to help the people he’s expressly forbidden me to help? You think any of you are worth sacrificing everything I’ve worked for?” His laugh told them exactly where he stood.
Skye stared at him, the cold reality of his ambition hitting her with full force. Emily’s death, Noah’s, or any of his family would only serve Austin’s purpose. Taran had obviously hoped Austin’s feelings for Paige might be a bargaining chip, but that illusion had been destroyed.
If any feelings Austin might still have for his sister weren’t enough, what was?
Skye could see Noah’s frustration building. Recognized the belligerence in Austin’s face and the inevitability in Taran’s. Talk wouldn’t last much longer. If she didn’t stop this right now, before all restraint was gone, someone she loved would die right here in this cold dungeon.
But how?
The answer landed in Skye’s mind with such terrible clarity it stole her breath. The rightness of it was as true and strong as if it had been waiting there all along, patient and inevitable. She realized all those cherished stories in the pages of her beloved books had somehow helped her prepare for this moment. She hadn’t known then that she could love anyone the way she loved Noah. The way she loved his family as her own. And now she knew without the slightest doubt what she must do.
“My father’s orders were for you to escort them out of the Citadel,” she told Austin, surprised by the steadiness of her voice when such heartbreak filled her chest. She fought with all her strength to replace it with cold numbness, so she’d havethe courage to continue. “If you take them to the portal, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing. They’ll not only leave the Citadel, but this world. Permanently. They can never disrupt your plans again.”
Austin tilted his head, interest sparking behind the calculation in his eyes. “Just give them what they want? Reward their treachery? Their convincing you to betray your own father?”
“No.” Skye drew a breath that felt like swallowing glass. “I’m asking you to give them whatIwant. In return for whatyouwant.” She paused, letting the weight of it land. “Me.”
The moment of silence that followed pulsed with its own heartbeat
Noah erupted first. “Over my dead body!”
Austin gave Noah a scorching look. “I’m more than happy to accommodate you in that.”
